Museum receives grant to enhance student field trip experience

The University of Akron's Center for the History of Psychology (CHP) is receiving a grant of more than $52,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to explore how to enrich museum field trips for students.
 
"We are grateful for the support of the IMLS in helping us to bring new learning opportunities to our university and community," says CHP Executive Director Dr. David Baker. “The ability to enhance our educational programming for a high school audience is a welcome development.”

Cathy Faye, CHP assistant director, will travel to Washington, D.C. on Sept. 18 to be recognized at an IMLS event that will showcase the many ways museums support learning experiences, serve as community anchors, and are stewards of cultural and scientific heritage through the preservation of their collections.

Area teachers will aid project

UA's project will tap into the minds of 10 Akron-area high school teachers to design, implement and evaluate educational resources to provide meaningful, informative and memorable field trips.
 
To kick off the collaboration, the teachers will attend a one-day workshop to brainstorm. As a result of the brainstorming session, the museum will develop a Teachers Resource Package with guides to the museum, exhibits and classroom activities; lesson plans based on state standards; and an online repository of archival materials for classroom activities. The museum also will create a "Measuring the Mind" interactive exhibit for teenagers and young adults, providing access to historical materials from the collections.
 
The resources developed will reach far beyond the CHP. For example, the teacher, student and staff evaluations will help other museums identify which resources are most valuable to teachers and what effects they have on student learning and engagement. This information will be shared on the Center for the History of Psychology website.

About the Center for the History of Psychology

The Center for the History of Psychology (CHP) at The University of Akron is home to a new multidisciplinary institute devoted to understanding historical and contemporary issues in the human sciences. The new Institute for Human Science and Culture (IHSC) will promote education and research in the history, preservation, documentation and interpretation of the human experience. The IHSC will also incorporate educational programs and courses, special collections, exhibits and research that explore the meaning of the human experience from multiple perspectives — psychological, anthropological, artistic and historical.
 
The CHP is located at 73 College St., on the corner of College and Mill streets. Gallery visits are free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.. Research visits are by appointment only. Contact the CHP at 330-972-7285, ahap@uakron.edu or visit the Center for the History of Psychology website.

Media contact: Sarah Lane, 330-972-7429 or slane@uakron.edu.