Middle and high school social studies document based questions – I helped Actively Learn develop a set of 43 document based questions (DBQs) to supplement their existing middle school and high school social studies curriculum. The DBQs were designed to be an assessment for students after each lesson. I contributed to this project by conducting initial research on each topic area, summarizing the existing content in the curriculum with emphasis on key themes and learning objectives, and providing some guidance on potential documents or collections of documents that the DBQ could be based on.
Nevada State History – In my first project for Actively Learn, I contributed to new content for their state history curriculum for 4th grade students in Nevada. My contribution was to conduct initial research and develop outlines about aspects of Nevada history that Actively Learn’s writers could use to generate the finished articles. Together we developed over 20 articles.
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum – Monadnock Media Inc. hired me as the research coordinator supporting the development of media for the museum’s new permanent exhibit, “Harry S. Truman: An Ordinary Man, His Extraordinary Journey.” The exhibit represented a complete re-think of how the museum told the Truman story. I conducted research and executed asset acquisition, documentation, and licensing for many of the 35 multimedia exhibits.
Chepstow – While a research fellow with the Preservation Society of Newport County, I spearheaded the development of a new in-person guided tour for Chepstow, one of the PSNC’s historic properties. Overshadowed by the likes of the Breakers and the Elms, Chepstow is unique among the PSNC holdings for the completeness of its associated collection and for being occupied until the 1980s. The tour we developed re-framed the house as a story about a connection between people and place in Newport. My contributions included research, development of themes, script writing and editing, guide training, and evaluation.
The Elms – As research fellow with the PSNC, I co-developed a seasonal holiday exhibit “Celebrating Christmas Past: Antique Collectibles from The Schiffer Collection.” The exhibit interwove the history of Christmas in New England, 19th and early 20th century toy manufacturing, and the history of the Berwind family who built the Elms. For this project, I provided the research, and wrote the interpretive text and object labels.
Making History – I was a contributing curator to this award-winning traveling exhibit about the relatively unknown story of Kansas City’s pivotal role in the fight for LGBTQ rights. “Making History” was framed as an exercise in “shared authority”, acknowledging the debt historians owe to the everyday people who commit the actions and preserve the stories that become history.