Jackson, WY – Have you ever looked at an old photograph and wondered about the stories it holds? This winter, students at Jackson Hole Middle School and Jackson Hole High School have done just that.
On Wednesday, March 7th from 5:30-7:00p.m., the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum and pARTners host an opening in the museum classroom for an exhibit of student stories alongside the historic photographs that inspired them. All student stories on display are grade level winners of the first annual SIGH contest. During the opening, students receive cash prizes donated by the “Jim & Becky Rooks Charitable Trust.” Grand Champion, 2nd and 3rd place stories will be announced.
The contest and exhibit are the culmination of a collaborative project to bring Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum resources into local classrooms. In 6th, 8th and 9th grade Social Studies classes, students viewed images from the History Museum’s archives. Students worked with pARTners artist and local writer Matt Daly who taught the SIGH technique that historians use while viewing primary visual source material and recording detail. SIGH is an acronym that stands for: Scan for details, Identify the conflict, Guess the author’s intent, and Hear the voices. Based on their observations, students imagined stories and wrote one-page “flash” fiction pieces.
“This contest was truly a collaborative project,” says pARTners artist Matt Daly. “The photos from the History Museum archive are amazing. I really enjoyed watching students discover the history of their home region through these images. In addition, the SIGH method students practiced for scanning visual sources meets middle and high school history standards. Writing these flash fiction stories in a short timeframe challenged students to keep their writing lively and focused. This project was a great way to use local historical resources and student creativity to bring history to life.”
Jackson Hole Middle School history teacher Bill Wiley said, “It was a great opportunity for kids to look back at “Old School” Jackson Hole. Kids saw pictures and things they’d never seen before. They now understand what some buildings are and were that are still standing today. Emma Meyers was excited to figure out that the picture she chose was where present day Café Genevieve is located. That was her favorite place to go have breakfast with her grandfather, Danny Meyers. She thought it was cool to learn about its history.”
Wiley added, “Kids also learned that they can’t always go to the internet to find information. Sometimes you have to go to a book or a person or a museum!”
The public is invited to attend the exhibit opening and award ceremony at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7th in the museum classroom, 225 N. Cache. The museum will remain open until 7:00PM. The evening is a great opportunity to see the museum exhibitions, to view rarely seen photographs from Jackson Hole history, and to celebrate student creativity.
pARTners is a non-profit organization with over 15 years of experience promoting creativity and improving learning in the schools by bridging the education and arts communities. This year pARTners will work with students and teachers at every grade level and from every school to bring arts-based projects into classrooms. For more information about pARTners and upcoming pARTners projects, visit www.edu-partners.org.
The Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum is a non-profit organization that began in 1958. Its mission is preserving and sharing the heritage of Jackson Hole. For more information about the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum’s exhibitions, educational programs, and curriculum offerings, visit www.jacksonholehistory.org or call 733-2414.
pARTners Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum
PO Box 2188
PO Box 1005
240 S. Glenwood 225 N. Cache
Center for the Arts
Jackson, WY 83001
Jackson, WY 83001
(307)733-2414
(307) 733-2565 www.jacksonholehistory.org
www.edu-partners.org
Contacts:
Shannon Sullivan (Museum Curator) [email protected], 733-2414
Marylee White (Coordinator)
[email protected]. 733-2565
Matt Daly (Communications)
[email protected], 690-7706