ERIC Number: EJ805059
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1059-8650
EISSN: N/A
Folkpatterns: A Place-Based Youth Cultural Heritage Education Program
MacDowell, Marsha; Kozma, LuAnne G.
Journal of Museum Education, v32 n3 p261-271 Fall 2007
In 1978, the Michigan State University Museum and Michigan 4-H Youth Development teamed together to develop Folkpatterns, a program to engage youth across the state of Michigan in cultural heritage educational activities. With support from National Endowment for the Humanities grants, 4-H education and museum-based humanities specialists, along with youth advisors and community-based volunteer leaders, planned and implemented an array of programs, publications, and events that have engaged thousands of youth and their adult leaders in investigations of personal, family, and community histories and folk traditions. The program has been replicated in total and in part by other states, and many of the elements have been adopted for use in other youth educational settings including public schools. Nearly thirty years later, this partnership between 4-H and the Michigan State University Museum is still going, many of the elements have been institutionalized, and new directions are constantly being explored. This essay will examine the history of the project, describe some of its program components, and comment on how this educational program has benefited both the MSU Museum and Michigan 4-H. (Contains 10 notes.)
Descriptors: Youth Programs, Heritage Education, Museums, Cultural Background, Humanities, Land Grant Universities
Left Coast Press, Inc. 1630 North Main Street #400, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. Tel: 925-935-3380; Fax: 925-935-3380; e-mail: journals@lcoastpress.com; Web site: http://www.lcoastpress.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Morrill Act 1862; Smith Lever Act
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A