|
|||||
 | |||||
|
Marketing and University Communication UW-Green Bay, CL 815 2420 Nicolet Drive Green Bay, WI 54311-7001 (920) 465-2626 E-mail: hildebrs@uwgb.edu Last update: 9/26/07 |
|
|
In
the News Archive - Year:
April 2, 2007 UWGB students to help National Railroad Museum ride into future History majors to aid with planning By Kelly McBride
The students, history majors from Andrew Kersten's history seminar course, are creating an educational strategic plan for the museum.
Their collaboration is the brainchild of longtime friends Kersten and museum director Michael Telzrow. The pair hope the students' work can help take the museum in a new, more user-friendly direction.
Telzrow, director of the Ashwaubenon museum since July 2006, said the need for that new direction was apparent when he started.
"One of the first things that struck me was that we did not have an established education program," he said. "We really did not have a relationship with the schools or any of the school districts. Schools would come out here occasionally, but we really didn't have an established program."
Enter Kersten and his students, most of whom are UWGB seniors. Instead of spending their seminar semester writing a research paper, the 22 students are studying subjects such as visitors and best practices to come up with a new direction for the museum.
Normally, the history seminar is split into two different assignments — one for history students with education minors and one for non-education students minoring in a variety of other disciplines, Kersten said. But this semester's class is different.
"This project that Michael and I are doing together has allowed me to unite the class," Kersten said. "How do we help the museum take the next step? ... They're so excited about being able to shape something about history in their community right now."
Kersten's students don't seem to mind their not-so-average assignment. Megan Leist, 22, is a history major who will graduate in May. She hopes her seminar experience will boost her career prospects, she said.
"It's better than writing a paper, that's for sure, but I was a little ... leery because I didn't know what to expect," Leist said. "Now it's actually fun."
Leist is part of the best practices seminar group. She and her cohorts have been studying topics like creating better flow between exhibits and making the museum's Web site more appealing, she said.
Kersten plans to present his class' ideas to the museum board this summer. Telzrow is optimistic about the direction they will take, he said, and hopes the plan will improve the museum's educational reach.
| |
