C.M. Russell Museum

Purpose: Supporting Lifelong Learning The C. M. Russell Museum will transform its presentation of works on view by western artist Charles Marion Russell (1864-1926) to attract new audiences, support the learning styles of intergenerational visitors, and promote the museum as a center for lifelong learning in the community of Great Falls, Montana, and beyond. The museum will reinstall its Russell galleries-which comprise more than 11,000 square feet at the heart of the museum-and will recast the accompanying interpretive approach. On the basis of data from multiple assessments gathered over time, the museum's leadership has determined that the perspective of visiting families will be the driving force in shaping interpretive choices and programming. Because they include different age groups and different life experiences, families represent a complex but broad-based set of needs as museum visitors. Families are the County's largest museum audience and, for this project, will serve as a model for lifelong learners. A desired outcome of the project is for families to use these galleries as pathways to understanding some of the larger, universal issues in and through art.