Museum on the move: developing a traveling trunk program for the Sacramento History Museum

Project (M.A., History (Public History)) -- California State University, Sacramento, 2013.The Sacramento region occupies an important place in the history of the American West. It was here at the edge of the western frontier where gold was discovered in 1848 and an innovative breed of industrial entrepreneurs quickly made their marks, forever altering the national stage. The area soon witnessed the largest human migration the country has ever known, with thousands pouring in from all over the world to claim their piece of the American dream. The capital city is home to several historical museums and archives that preserve the valuable primary sources and artifacts documenting the Gold Rush as well as a variety of other themes in California???s dramatic past.\ud The Sacramento History Museum and the Center for Sacramento History are two independent public agencies entrusted to preserve, educate, and provide access to the region???s history and heritage. They continually work to expand these missions and reach out to broader audiences, including local K-12 schools whose budgets may not allow a visit to their brick-and-mortar structures. The solution to this problem is the collaborative development of a Traveling History Trunk Program to transport the museum directly into the classroom and bring history to life for students in a hands-on interactive experience.\ud \ud Sources of Data:\ud Research for the Traveling History Trunk Program was conducted using a variety of methods involving surveys, interviews, and reviews of secondary and primary sources. Survey data was compiled through questionnaires sent to third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade teachers at eighty-nine schools throughout Sacramento and Placer counties to gauge teacher interest in the program and to determine which themes they considered to be of greatest need for interactive components in their classrooms. Interested educators helped to identify and review curriculum and activities to ensure the program would meet the real needs of teachers in the classroom. \ud Review of primary sources was primarily conducted through the Center for Sacramento History and the Library of Congress. The inaugural trunk theme focused on the experiences of the California Gold Rush as told through letters, journals, newspapers, advertisements, songs, illustrations, and photographs from the period. Secondary source review included materials that document the California Gold Rush, the history and evolution of museums as public agencies with educational endeavors, the way students learn and conceptualize historic themes, effective museum outreach programs, and California curriculum standards.History (Public History