About the Missouri Humanities Council
Council Origins
We are a tax-exempt, non-profit organization with a statewide board of twenty-four and a staff of six. We began in 1971 as part of a national outreach initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. We continue to be the single designated state partner of the NEH, though we are not a federal or a state agency.
Mission
"The Missouri Humanities Council enables families and communities to broaden their appreciation of history, literature, and the ideas that shape our democracy." Our programs bring the benefits of the Humanities to the general public. We achieve focus by concentrating on improving teaching and learning in key social institutions like the family, school, library, and museum.
Since so much personal development is rooted in very early childhood experiences, the heart of our work is the training of parents, relatives, and caregivers. We center the training on books, but the core of the program is how we develop interest in the story through conversation and play. That habit of "extending the story" beyond story hour and beyond the act of reading is the thing that develops brain power. Even more important, the relationship that develops between parent and child is a key to unlocking the potential for empathy, caring, and civic participation in adult life.
What happens in our Family programs is a prototype for the benefits of our public programs. Creative people are the most important resources of our institutions. The programs and experiences we support should unlock creative energy to shape a better household, neighborhood, village, and world.
Programs and Services
- Our family reading initiative teaches parents and caregivers the major benefits of early reading with children.
- Conferences and institutes for teachers extend knowledge of subject matter and effective teaching techniques.
- Book groups and "one-book" programs help people become smarter readers.
- Workshops and grants for museum projects expand the number of lively history institutions.
- The touring exhibits we broker for the Smithsonian Institution entail the creation of related activities that draw in every part of a host community. We support similar "value-added" programming for other touring exhibits suited to small venues.
- Chautauqua-style programs are first-person impersonations of historical figures. This is experiential, interactive learning at its best. We produce a four-program Chautauqua festival that tours annually in June. In addition, we provide "how-to" materials for towns that want to produce other kinds of Chautauqua programs any time of the year.
- Medical Ethics is a new program area in 2008. We are testing a program titled, "Literature in Medicine" in Kansas City. If it is successful, we plan to expand the scope of the program in 2009.
In recognition of exceptional teaching, non-profit programming, or humanities books about Missouri, we manage an annual program of Governor's Humanities Awards. The program culminates in a ceremony in the Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City.
We offer Grant Support for locally-developed programs that are in our areas of interest. Our grants process is easy to understand and navigate, with lots of hands-on help and advice from our professional staff.