Rice County Historical Society

RENEWING RCHS STAFF TO REIMAGINE THE LONG TERM GALLERIES AND PROGRAMS [THE RICE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY SEEKS NEH AMERICAN RESCUE FUNDS SO THAT ITS THREE STAFF MEMBERS CAN BE RETAINED TO CONDUCT APPROPRIATE RESEARCH AND EXPLORE TECHNIQUES AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR CREATING INFORMATIVE AND ENGAGING EXHIBITS, ACTIVITIES, AND SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS. IN SO DOING, VISITORS WILL ENCOUNTER AN EQUITABLE COMMUNICATION OF HISTORICAL CONTENT. IN ORDER TO PRODUCE THESE LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR VISITING SCHOOL CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC, THE RCHS STAFF WILL WORK WITH HUMANITIES SCHOLARS, EXHIBIT TEAM, AND A WEB DESIGNER. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE A WEALTH OF INFORMATION FOR RHCS?S GROWING DIGITAL AUDIENCE. WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MODERN WEBSITE, RCHS WILL BE ABLE TO PROPERLY ENGAGE WITH ANYONE IN THE WORLD WHO HAS AN INTEREST IN THE QUIVIRANS, SPANISH EXPLORERS, THE SANTA FE TRAIL, AND RURAL KANSAS.] [PURPOSE:?EXPANSION OF THE MUSEUM?S INTERPRETIVE PLAN, EXHIBITIONS, PROGRAMS, AND WEBSITE.   ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED: RESEARCH INTO LOCAL FAMILY HISTORIES, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF HISPANIC AND BLACK COMMUNITY MEMBERS. COLLECTION OF ORAL HISTORIES AND ARTIFACTS THAT WILL HELP ADDRESS GAPS IN THE MUSEUM?S COLLECTION. PREPARATION OF NEW EXHIBIT TEXTS, ACTIVITIES, ONLINE RESOURCES, AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS INFORMED BY THESE EFFORTS, CONDUCTED IN COLLABORATION WITH HUMANITIES SCHOLARS.  EXPECTED OUTCOMES:?RCHS VISITORS WILL ENGAGE WITH A MORE COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT OF THE RICE COUNTY REGION?S HISTORY. LOCAL FAMILY HISTORIES WILL BE PRESERVED AND SHARED. ONLINE AND IN-PERSON VISITS WILL INCREASE.     INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: AREA RESIDENTS, RCHS VISITORS, REGIONAL AND HOME SCHOOL STUDENTS, AND EDUCATORS.  SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES:?THE RECIPIENT DOES NOT INTEND TO SUBAWARD FUNDS.]

MUSEUMS FOR AMERICA

THE CORONADO QUIVIRA MUSEUM WILL PARTNER WITH EXPERTS IN DIGITAL MEDIA, INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY, AND SANTA FE TRAIL HISTORY TO DEVELOP A DIGITAL TOUR EXPERIENCE THAT WILL GUIDE MUSEUM VISITORS THROUGH AN IMMERSIVE TOUR OF THE TRAIL USING 360-DEGREE IMAGING, DRONE VIDEOGRAPHY, 3D TERRAIN SCANS, MUSEUM ARTIFACTS, AND VIDEO INTERVIEWS OF TRAIL LANDOWNERS. IT WILL ALLOW VIEWERS TO EXPERIENCE WALKTHROUGH LOCATIONS, WHICH CURRENTLY HAVE ALMOST NO PUBLIC ACCESS. THE DIGITAL TOUR WILL PROVIDE A MORE GEOGRAPHICALLY CONTEXTUALIZED UNDERSTANDING OF THESE HISTORIC MACRO-ARTIFACTS. THE SOCIETY WILL SHARE THE CONCEPT WITH OTHER MUSEUMS TO ENABLE THEM TO CREATE SIMILAR DIGITAL TOURS FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES.

"THE CORONADO QUIVIRA MUSEUM WILL PROCESS AND MAKE ACCESSIBLE 3,000 ARCHAEOLOGICAL OBJECTS FROM THE GREAT BEND ASPECT (ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES) IN RICE COUNTY. WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY, MUSEUM STAFF WILL TRANSPORT THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS TO THE UNIVERSITY'S ARCHAEOLOGICAL LABORATORY FOR SORTING, CLASSIFYING, PHOTOGRAPHING, REHOUSING, AND CATALOGING. A SUBSET OF OBJECTS WILL BE SUBJECTED TO DETAILED ANALYSES RELATING TO ORGANIC RESIDUES, OBSIDIAN SOURCING, AND POTTERY TEMPER IDENTIFICATIONS. THE WORK WILL BE DONE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR'S SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE CURATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS, AND IMAGES AND ASSOCIATED METADATA WILL BE POSTED ON THE MUSEUM'S WEBSITE. THE PROJECT DIRECTOR WILL ENGAGE FOUR ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTERNS AND ONE GRADUATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTERN WITH A GOAL OF SECURING AND DOCUMENTING THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE COLLECTIONS SO SCHOLARS, RESEARCHERS, STUDENTS, AND THE PUBLIC CAN STUDY AND DEVELOP IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE EARLY HISTORY OF CENTRAL KANSAS."

THE RICE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S CORONADO QUIVIRA MUSEUM WILL DEVELOP AN EXHIBITION THAT BUILDS UPON THE MUSEUM'S SOCIAL MEDIA OUTREACH EFFORT INITIATED DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND FOCUSED ON REMOTE HISTORIC SITES, SCHOOL BUILDINGS, AND ABANDONED TOWNS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. THE EXHIBITION WILL FEATURE HISTORIC AND CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHS OF HISTORIC SITES AND WILL INCORPORATE CONTENT PROVIDED BY THE PUBLIC THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA. SINCE MARCH 2020, MOST OF THE MUSEUM'S AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT HAS OCCURRED ONLINE, AND THIS NEW EXHIBITION WILL BUILD UPON THE RELATIONSHIPS DEVELOPED DURING THIS TIME WHILE ENCOURAGING VISITORS TO RETURN TO THE MUSEUM. THE EXHIBITION WILL INCLUDE AN ONLINE COMPONENT AND NEW MUSEUM WEBSITE, ESTABLISHING A FOUNDATION FOR CONTINUED DIGITAL OUTREACH TO LOCAL AND DISTANT ONLINE AUDIENCES.

IMPROVING STORAGE BY REHOUSING THE COLLECTIONS OF THE RICE COUNTY KANSAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S CORONADO QUIVIRA MUSEUM