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News
Museum Receives NEH Grant to Develop
Tennessee History Website
The Tennessee State Museum has received a $194,640 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to develop a Tennessee history website geared to elementary and middle school students.
The grant will fund the costs of historical and educational review and research, as well as design and development of the website. Twelve Tennessee history scholars will be retained to oversee the historical content of the site, along with seven researchers to develop storylines, and four teachers to produce lesson plans and review the content to insure it meets Tennessee Social Studies Curriculum Standards. The teachers will also evaluate the website in classroom settings.
"We really appreciate this grant from the NEH, which will greatly benefit each and every school-age child in Tennessee ," said Lois Riggins-Ezzell, executive director of the museum. "I also want to thank Senator Bill Frist, who so greatly assisted us in obtaining the grant funds."
"The Volunteer State has a long, rich history of which all Tennesseans should be proud," Frist said. "I applaud the Tennessee State Museum for its efforts to improve history education and increase the historical awareness and appreciation of our state's children."
The website will be organized chronologically with historical themes highlighted throughout each era. It will feature images of museum artifacts, photographs and documents. There will be links throughout the site to other history-related sites, such as the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture.
"The website will offer students a fun, interactive way to learn about the state's history and to develop their critical thinking skills," according to Miranda Fraley, the museum's curator of education. Teacher resources such as lesson plans may also be accessed online, she said.
In addition to receiving a grant, the website project has been designated as an NEH "We the People" project, which encourages the teaching, studying and understanding of American history. The project began in May and is expected to be completed in 18 months. The website will go online in stages.