What do you get with five Grant Jr. High students, their ideas, and the museum?  An all new exhibit entitled “We Chose Goodland” being displayed at Mann’s Jewelry/Smitty’s Sports! 

For six sessions Lucas Wood, Dawson Raymer, Emily Smith, Jesus Diaz, and Keila Sanchez came to the museum for the annual Mini-Course program.  Mini-Courses are offered at the end of every school year for the Jr. High students.  These courses are a way to reward the students for all their hard work during the year and let them have some fun.  Students get to pick from a variety of subjects, this year including the museum.  The students came to the museum for a total of six mini-course sessions to learn about museum work and experience some behind-the-scene action. 

We started our time together by giving the students a tour of the museum, so they could see and understand what happens behind the scenes.  From there we sat down together and started to brainstorm what our message and take-home message for the exhibit would be.  A message is what the students wanted communicated to the audience, and the take-home message is the objective of our story.  The students message became the story of Goodland from the youth’s perspective and their take-home message that Goodland is the good life, because of its spirit and many activities, and is a great place to call home. 

Our next sessions dealt with the objects that would tell this story.  Each student picked

one or more objects that helped tell their story of Goodland.  From football trophies to wheat to a pink binder, each object held significance to the student and helped them show the story of Goodland and why it is a great place to call home.  When the students brought their objects we taught them about loans.  Loans are items that are borrowed by the museum from an individual to put on display.  Each student signed their own loan copy for paperwork and loaned the museum their objects.

Once all the objects were in place we needed a place to display them.  Here at the museum we found in our collection a family heirloom trunk that would fit well their treasures.  The students then cleaned the trunk by brushing off the dust and got their white-gloved hands dirty!  Here at the museum we made the label using the students words and put the platform together.  Then today, Tuesday May 22nd, we all went to Mann’s Jewelry/Smitty’s Sports where the display can be seen.  The students draped fabric over object mounts and placed their objects in the trunk. 

The exhibit can be seen to left when you walk through the store’s door.  Hanging above is a picture of youth from the past along with the objects of today’s youth.  This experience has been a great one for the museum.  The students had excellent ideas and a fresh way of approaching this exhibit.  I would highly encourage each and every one of you to go down to Mann’s Jewelry/Smitty’s Sports and see this exhibit for yourselves. 

Mann’s Jewelry/Smitty’s Sports is open Monday- Friday 9 A.M. -5 P.M. and Saturday 9 A.M. -3 P.M.  This exhibit ties in with the exhibit Goodland Treasures currently on display at the High Plains Museum.