This page was discontinued in 2006. Please refer to our downloadable Grant Guidelines for 2008, (.DOC) or (.PDF)
Interpretive exhibits or other projects to interpret our cultural heritage
The Missouri Humanities Council is interested in helping local and county history organizations upgrade the quality of interpretive exhibits and community programming. Our grants can underwrite the costs of historical consultants, exhibit designers, and the wood, fiber, and lighting that will be necessary to bring the idea to life.
Grants for Interpretive Programs on "Westward Expansion"
The bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase and the expedition of Lewis & Clark will be observed throughout the U.S. from 2003 into 2006. The Louisiana Purchase was a "defining moment" in American History and also in the histories of Spain, Britain, France, and dozens of farming towns, fishing communities, and hunting communities populated by Native Americans. How did the swift westward expansion of the U.S. affect not only U.S. citizens, but the other societies west of the Mississippi? How were the communities of Native Americans reshaped and changed by the overwhelming surge of people, and how was the U.S. nation affected by the problems of assimilating or relocating people in the purchased territory?
MHC will place a priority on grants that help libraries and historical institutions create interpretive programs on this defining period in American History, when the relatively new U.S. constitution had to be applied on a much larger scale.
Of special interest: projects undertaken by local history institutions to improve the interpretation of Native American heritage or of other distinct ethnic populations whose presence reshaped community life or will likely reshape it in the future.
Grants for Interpretive Programs on "America, The Bountiful"
A new program theme takes the stage in 2005 in connection with a touring exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution, "Key Ingredients." There are two main program ideas connected with an exhibit on foods in American culture. The first concerns food traditions in culture, holidays we celebrate with special foods, special meanings we give to particular recipes and ingredients, and how these things shape or affirm our sense of community identity. At a local museum, "Key Ingredients" activities could provide a way for people to get to know the varied customs of the people in town. Key Ingredients could be a springboard for a multi-cultural festival of learning about each other.
The second main theme concerns the issues connected with an abundance of natural resources and their management. Missouri's George Washington Carver made lasting contributions to nutrition by exploring the many uses of the peanut. The Stark Bros. Nursery in Louisiana, Missouri became an international source of improved fruit trees. The Gilbert Wild Nursery in Sarcoxie has been, for generations, a supplier of peonies and other ornamental plants to American Gardeners. For people all over America, the arrival of the Stark or the Wild mail-order catalogue marked the beginning of the gardening year.
Interpretive programs would help people think about human intervention to improve, exploit, or conserve America's bounty, and about the conflicts that arise between people or between people and the environment that sustains us.
If you would like to develop an idea along these lines, you can see and print our grant guidelines or contact Michael Bouman, michael at mohumanities.org, our Executive Director, to discuss your project.
updated 8/2/05
