2009 Museum Education Awards
The Best and Brightest
The Award for Excellence in Programming honors creativity and innovation. The winning program demonstrates clear goals and evidence of success over two years or more. Education & Arts Roundtable of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County The Roundtable is a collaboration that engages selected area schools and mid-sized arts organizations in learning experiences that are inspired by the collections and resources of the Natural History Family of Museums. The Family of Museums includes the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the Page Museum of the La Brea Tar Pits, and the William S. Hart Ranch and Museum. Through the work of the Roundtable and its partnerships, Los Angeles youth use the visual and performing arts as a catalyst to learn about the natural and social sciences. The award for Excellence in Practice honors an individual who demonstrates exemplary service to the public through museum education. The recipient promotes the highest professional standards in teaching, program development, community organizing, writing, research and professional activities. Robert W. Eskridge
Women’s Board Endowed Executive Director of Museum Education The Art Institute of Chicago Bob Eskridge has worked in museum education for almost 30 years, spending the majority of those years at the Art Institute. He developed exceptional programs with students and teachers in the Chicago Public Schools, popular family programs with local libraries, and award-winning videos and web-based projects. Through his leadership, the Art Institute doubled yearly student attendance, and increased teacher attendance nearly fivefold. He also directed the development and opening of two of the Art Institute’s education centers: the Kraft Education Center and the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Education Center, which opened in May 2009 in the new Modern Wing. Bob’s passion for teaching is infectious, and he is a champion for extending museums’ reach to all audiences and communities. He demonstrates that the museum visitor, the learner, takes priority in museums’ missions and work. EdCom promotes that museums are places of lifelong learning, advocating for diverse audiences and educators and standards and excellence. Since 1983, the Standing Professional Committee on Education (EdCom) has recognized and celebrated outstanding contributions to museum education by individual practitioners and by museums which offer distinguished programs and innovative published resources. At the 2009 annual conference in Philadelphia, awards for Excellence in Practice and Excellence in Programming were presented. Congratulations to these recipients who model how museums can remain relevant, responsive and real to visitors and communities. Cheryl Palmer,
Vice Chair, Awards
Standing Professional Committee on Education
