Good Will Home Association

Purpose: Supporting Lifelong Learning The L. C. Bates museum's Sustaining and Enhancing Community Education project will support and inspire lifelong learning in the museum's underserved rural Maine community. The overall project goal is to sustain, enhance, and expand the museum's role as a community educational resource, providing significant, effective, and enthusiastically received programs that increase science literacy. Each year, more than 20,000 visitors come to the museum, and outreach programs reach more than 12,000. About 9,000 of the visitors are schoolchildren or Scouts on field trips. Specifically, the project will (1) build collaborations with 10 middle schools to develop and implement Exploring Maine's Diverse Natural History programming; (2) create and implement a career-prep museum studies unit for use with at-risk youth; (3) build the volunteer guide base to enhance family and school services; and (4) offer educator familiarization programs. An educator/community coordinator will be hired to facilitate the museum's ability to meet ongoing community needs by providing meaningful in-house, Web site, and outreach services. The project is supported by the museum's mission and strategic plan and will meet school needs as determined by a 2003 teacher survey for curriculum-enhancing programs, materials, and services geared to state-mandated Maine Learning Results.