Museum of the Great Plains

The Museum of the Great Plains is a history museum located in Lawton, Oklahoma, USA. The museum’s major exhibits reveal the diverse cultures inhabiting the Great Plains region beginning with the arrival of the Paleo-Indians known as the Clovis culture at approximately 11,500 BCE. A variety of educational programs are offered year around. The museum is one of five partner museums in the Oklahoma Museum Network.

Mission

The Museum of the Great Plains is dedicated to the collection, preservation, research, interpretation and exhibition of items pertaining to the cultural and natural history of the Great Plains region of North America in effort to increase knowledge and understanding of humankind.

History

The Museum of the Great Plains evolved out of the Comanche County Historical Society (CCHS), which was formed in 1952. After a few years of exhibiting its growing collections in a building on Fort Sill, the CCHS began the planning and construction of a new permanent facility. With support from the local McMahon Foundation, the new facility opened its doors to the public in 1961 as, the Museum of the Great Plains; an 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m²) building located in Elmer Thomas Park and managed under the City of Lawton. Over the years the Museum prospered and in 1972 became the first museum in Oklahoma to receive accreditation from the American Association of Museums. In 1997, again with the generous support from the local McMahon Foundation, the Museum was able to expand to 25,000 square feet (2,300 m²) of gallery space, a foyer and a museum gift shop. The original building space was converted into much needed collections and archival storage, a library and research area, offices and a classroom.

The Institute of the Great Plains (which also originated from the Comanche County Historical Society), and the City of Lawton jointly operated the Museum until January 1998 when the Museum was reorganized and established as a public trust under the laws of Oklahoma. The Institute remained in the building as a tenant and has continued its research, education, and publishing functions to aid the museum in its programs. The Museum of the Great Plains Trust Authority has become the governing board of the Museum and received 501(3)-c status as an independent non-profit entity in 1999.

Interpretive philosophy, scope and themes

The Museum of the Great Plains believes knowledge of our past is powerful and transforming, prompting insight and discovery into who we are individually, as human beings and collectively as diverse cultures living together in this world. The more we know about the past, the more our purpose and direction become clear. Honest exploration of the past takes courage. Retelling the past also takes courage, yet the Museum of the Great Plains believes that only by looking at and presenting an honest, comprehensive view of the past can we ever hope to create a better future.

The Museum's educational goals are to:

1. Cultivate an appreciation for history in general as well as the particular history of the Great Plains region,
2. Encourage meaningful inquiry and investigation of history,
3. Reveal personal connections with broader histories that include community, society, country, and world,
4. Promote a new awareness and understanding of current day events and our place and relevance and
5. Educate visitors about diverse perspectives on the history of the Great Plains.

The Museum believes that successful educational programs are experiential in nature, innovative in their presentation, relevant to people's lives, reflective of multicultural perspectives and respectful of different learning styles and abilities.

The chronological scope of the Museum's interpretation is broad, covering a time period that begins with the arrival of the first humans on the Great Plains region at approximately 11,500 BCE. and carries the story up to the present day.

Themes include:Prehistory on the Plains, Understanding the Land, Hunters and Horsemen, Traders and Trappers, Builders (settlement on the Great Plains), Plains Warriors, and Farmers and Ranchers.

Exhibits

Major exhibits are located in three areas inside the Museum:

1. the Permanent Gallery,
2. the Temporary Gallery and
3. the Mezzanine.

Outside

The Museum also has significant exhibits located outside:

The 1902 Elgin Depot^[1] was moved to the Museum's compound in 1962. A 1926 Baldwin Locomotive is located in front of the Depot, as if waiting for passengers to board.

Weather Works, a series of interactive exhibits, clears the haze of meteorological misconception. Visitors experience the force of a tornado and explore the atmospheric thermodynamics that causes it to occur. The significance of circulation on weather phenomena is brought home through hands-on manipulation of air, pressure and temperature. Weather Works allows visitors to step into the shoes of a television weather forecaster and discover how a blue screen, maps and monitors can bring weather prediction to life.

References

1. ^ The Depot is currently undergoing major renovations that will transform the static exhibit into a multifaceted, interactive experience regarding the broader subject of intermodal transportation. Upon completion of this major renovation (estimated to be 2008), the Depot will be referred to as, The Intermodal Transportation Center.

External links

• Museum of the Great Plains
• Museum of the Great Plains information, photos and video on TravelOK.com Official travel and tourism website for the State of Oklahoma