Traveling Trunks

Vietnamese and Swedish kits available for youth

The Nebraska Humanities Council is accepting reservations from teachers, librarians, museum curators, and other Nebraska educators to use its new educational trunks, “Children of the Dragon, Citizens of the Plains: Nebraska’s Vietnamese Americans” and “Välkommen Till Nebraska: Nebraska’s Swedish Americans.”

The trunks are available for a three-week loan, free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis, to educators and community groups statewide. These “cultural encounter kits,” created for students grades 4-8, provide Nebraska youth a better understanding of the Vietnamese and Swedish cultures and their rich traditions in our state.

These new educational resources were developed by the Nebraska Folklife Network, a non-profit arts and education organization that promotes cultural understanding through the state’s traditional arts and folklife. Each lesson in the kits is tied to state social studies/history and reading/writing academic standards.

The new kits join the popular NHC kits on Nebraska’s Germans from Russia and Mexican Americans, introduced last year as part of the NHC’s major program emphasis, The New Nebraskans. All four of the kits contain a teacher’s manual with lesson plans and handouts; youth-sized traditional clothing; examples of cultural items such as crafts, cooking utensils, music, and games; and age-appropriate teaching materials that include bilingual and English language books, laminated photos, media, and maps.

A $10,000 grant to the NHC from the Peter Kiewit Foundation of Omaha and a $2,500 contribution from Union Bank and Trust of Lincoln to the Nebraska Folklife Network funded the development of the kits. Additional support for the trunks and other Nebraska Folklife Network projects is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts-Folk and Traditional Arts.

The kits have explored similarities and differences in immigration patterns by pairing a more recent Nebraska immigrant group (such as Mexican Americans and Vietnamese) with an earlier group (Germans from Russia and Swedes). Teachers report positive results after using the Mexican American and Germans from Russia kits in the classroom, according to Gwen Meister, folklorist with the Nebraska Folklife Center.

“Kids especially enjoy interviewing each other about their own folk groups when learning about culture,” she said. “It helps them get to know each other in a different way than their usual classroom interactions.”

Vietnamese constitute the state’s largest Asian American population group. Nebraska also has a large number of Swedish Americans and several communities that celebrate their Swedish heritage. So it’s likely that youth from both ancestries will participate at sites where the kits are used.

The many resources in the kits can be used creatively to teach youth who learn in different ways. The practical and user-friendly lessons, bilingual books, media, and artifacts illustrate a variety of cultural celebrations, music, crafts, foods, history, religious expressions, language and stories. The kits’ information promotes increased cultural knowledge and understanding.

“Excellent kit! You’ve done a great job of providing plenty of resources. And the kit is formatted in a way that teachers can take only what they need or want to use,” said Cindy Simonson, a 4th grade teacher at Sandhills Elementary School in Halsey.

Each kit is expected to travel to an estimated 25 schools and youth organizations during the school year, reaching at least 3,750 people annually. Additional kits pairing Iraqi and Irish cultures in Nebraska are scheduled for production by the 2007-2008 school year.

Cultural encounter kits available for youth

Encounter kits designed to give Nebraska youth a better understanding of the Germans from Russia and Mexican-American cultures are ready for use statewide in schools, libraries, museums and other organizations who serve youth grades 4-8.

The kits are available for loan through the Nebraska Humanities Council (NHC) as part of the NHC’s new program emphasis, The New Nebraskans.

A $10,000 grant to the NHC from the Peter Kiewit Foundation of Omaha supported the development of the educational kits, created in partnership with the Nebraska Folklife Network.

The kits explore immigration patterns by pairing a new immigrant group with a more established group. Teachers already report positive results after testing the kits in the classroom, according to Gwendolyn Meister of the Nebraska Folklife Network.

“Kids especially enjoyed interviewing each other about their own folk groups,” she said. “It helped them get to know each other in a different way than their usual classroom interactions.”

Nebraska’s Hispanic population grew 155 percent from 1990 to 2000, and Germans constitute the state’s largest traditional immigrant group, so it is likely that youth from both ancestries will participate wherever cultural encounter kits are used.

Multiple resources can be used creatively to teach youth who learn in different ways. The kits contain practical and user-friendly lessons, plus a manual, books, CDs, tapes and artifacts of traditional clothing, games, celebrations, music, crafts, foods, history, maps, religious expression, language, stories and other aspects of each culture. The kits’ in-depth information promotes cultural knowledge and understanding.

Each kit will travel to an estimated 25 schools and youth organizations during the school year, reaching at least 3,750 people annually. Encounter kits pairing Swedish and Vietnamese cultures are scheduled for use by fall 2006.

Additional funding for the trunks came from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Nebraska Humanities Council (NHC) recently received a $10,000 grant from the Peter Kiewit Foundation of Omaha to support the development of immigrant cultural encounter trunks. These traveling educational trunks are being developed in partnership with the Nebraska Folklife Network and will be available through the NHC’s Humanities Resource Center.

To get Nebraska’s youth interested in discovering their own heritage, the trunks explore immigration patterns by pairing a new immigrant group with a more established group. The Kiewit funding first will help create a set of cultural encounter trunks that pairs Germans from Russia and Mexican cultures, followed by a set that pairs Swedish and Vietnamese cultures.

Nebraska’s Hispanic population grew 155 percent from 1990 to 2000. Germans constitute the state’s largest traditional immigrant group. It is likely that children from both ancestries will be in the classrooms where cultural encounter trunks are introduced, beginning this fall.

The portable trunks will provide teachers statewide with practical and user-friendly lessons. Each trunk will include a teacher’s manual, books, CDs, tapes and artifacts of traditional clothing, games, celebrations, music, crafts, foods, history, maps, religious expression, language, stories and other aspects of each culture. Each will meet the state’s multicultural education requirements and social studies standards.

“The cultural encounter kits are uniquely designed to help Nebraska students become more aware and knowledgeable of the state’s rich mixture of cultural traditions,” said Gwendolyn Meister of the Nebraska Folklife Network.

Each trunk will travel to an estimated 25 schools and youth organizations during the school year, reaching at least 3,750 students annually, primarily in grades 4 through 6. Teachers using the trunks will be asked to evaluate their effectiveness in enabling students to understand both the Mexican and Germans from Russia cultures, as well as America’s broader immigrant history.

Planning for the first two trunks included consultation with the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. The Swedish and Vietnamese trunks scheduled for production later this year will be available for teachers in fall 2006.

Additional funding for the trunks came from the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, contact the NHC at (402) 474-2131.

The following NHC traveling trunks are designed to educate Nebraska youth about American and Great Plains ethnic culture and history.

Other trunks listed below are available through the University of Nebraska Museum, the Center for Great Plains Studies, the Nebraska State Historical Society, and the Joslyn Art Museum. For more information or to reserve the Nebraska Humanities Council kits or trunks, call the NHC at (402) 474-2131 or e-mail nhc@nebraskahumanities.org.

Cultural Encounter Kits
Items from the Germans from Russia kit

The NHC has four Cultural Encounter Kits available statewide to schools, libraries, museums and other organizations who serve youth grades 4-8. The kits are available for loan as part of the NHC's program emphasis "New Nebraskans." The kits are designed to be used as a pair--Mexican American with Germans from Russia and Vietnamese American with Swedish American--in order to explore the similarities and differences in the immigration experiences of a recent immigrant group and an earlier group.

Pair No. 1:

"A Treasured Heritage: Mexican Americans in Nebraska" and "From the Steppes to the Plains: Germans from Russia"

"Children of the Dragon, Citizens of the Plains: Nebraska's Vietnamese Americans" and "Valkommen Till Nebraska: Nebraska's Swedish Americans"

Encounter Kits include videos, CDs, books, clothing, cultural items and curriculum materials, including lessons.

Nebraska’s Culture and History Trunks
Nebraska native Howard Hanson famed composer

These sets use books, videotapes, CDs and other items to help students explore the culture and history of Nebraska and the region. This unique collection contains materials that play a role in Nebraska culture and history. Artists, musicians, historians, novelists, poets, filmmakers and other humanities resources were chosen for their connection with Nebraska and its communities.

Trunk No. 1 contains the following topics:
Explorers
Pioneers
1900 to 1929
General Historical Resources
Art
1950’s to Present: Civil Rights
Regional/Community History and Culture
Architecture/Building Restoration
Nebraska Folk Arts
Poetry

Trunk No. 2 contains the following topics:
1950s to the Present: Contemporary Nebraska Culture
1950s to the Present: Farm Crisis of the 1980s and 90s
Music
Ethnic Culture in Nebraska
Photography and Writing
Environment/Landscape
Native American History and Culture
1930 to 1949
Nebraska Authors

Project directors may request the materials of the topics that interest them. A complete listing of all the materials with suggested grade levels is available by e-mailing nhc@nebraskahumanities.org

The Rural Resources Project at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln created this trunk set.

Omaha Tribe Encounter Kit
Ponca Tribe Encounter Kit
Santee Sioux Tribe Encounter Kit
Winnebago Tribe Encounter Kit
These large multi-media kits include a teacher’s guide, objects and a wealth of hands-on fun to explore the cultures of the four tribes. Tribal members, the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs and the University of Nebraska State Museum developed these kits.

For more information on these kits go to the Nebraska State Museum website by clicking here.

You can also contact the State Museum at (402) 472-6302, or the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs at (402) 471-3494.

Plains Pow Wows Encounter Kit
This hands-on encounter kit is a sister kit to the Nebraska State Museum’s Omaha, Ponca, Santee Sioux and Winnebago kits listed above. This kit focuses on the cultures and traditions of the Nebraska Plains American Indian Pow Wow.

For more information contact Reece Summers at the Center for Great Plains Studies. Call (402) 472-0599 or e-mail asummers3@unl.edu

THE ADAPTED ARTIST: ACTIVITIES AND TOOLS FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS ∆

Select this mini-trunk featuring adaptable art making tools, videos, books and activities that stimulate the mind and the imagination as well as develop fine motor skills.

AFRICAN AMERICAN ART

Teach students about African American history, from the Harlem Renaissance and jazz through the Civil Rights Movement, using storybooks, videos, and teaching posters.

ANCIENT EGYPT AND MESOPOTAMIA ∆

Learn about Egyptology, Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, the pyramids, and more using CD ROMs, maps, books, videos, and hands-on reproductions!

ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME ∆

Engage your students with hands-on artifacts including Greek pottery and sculpture. Books, slides, and photo reproductions will augment your curriculum. Then, book Joslyn’s Mystery and Beauty of the Ancient World tour.

ANIMALS IN ART

Use the theme of animals to enrich elementary level teaching of science, math, and language arts. The lesson plans, activities, and hands-on objects support the Nebraska standards. Pair this trunk with the Animal Hide and Seek tour and art making activity.

ARTS OF ASIA ∆

Introduce students to works from China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia, from ancient times to the present. Teaching posters, DVDs, and incredible reproductions of netsuke, a lacquered box and a Japanese Peach Boy Doll are included. This trunk also complements the Mystery and Beauty of the Ancient World tour.

ART, TIME, AND CULTURE ∆

Study cultures from around the world by handling examples of artwork, and use an interdisciplinary timeline activity with this trunk developed especially for social studies students. A trip to Joslyn including the Leadership: Making a Difference tour rounds out students’ cultural experiences.

CONTEMPORARY NATIVE AMERICAN ART

Use actual pottery created by Native American artists, as well as collage materials, photographs, slides, books, and videos to teach about Native Americans creating art today. Tie this trunk in with the Native American and Western Art tour.

IMPRESSIONISM

Discover what the Impressionists were all about using games, resource packets, books, and videos, and then visit Joslyn to experience the artworks!

MEXICAN ART AND CULTURE ∆

Teach your students about the arts and culture of Mexico from the ancient Aztecs to the Day of the Dead using thread paintings, jaguar masks, and much more!

MULTICULTURAL ART AND THE STUDENT WITH SPECIAL NEEDS ∆

Discover a multicultural touch tour of object reproductions from around the world and adaptable lesson plans featured in this trunk. Focus on the basic elements of art to build a foundation for your class. Continue the lesson with a touch or sign language tour at Joslyn.

MYSTERY OF THE MUSEUM

Introduce your students to Joslyn using this engaging mini-trunk containing games, reproductions, and activity packs intended for elementary age students. Schedule the Journey to Joslyn tour or Joslyn’s Top Ten as a complement.

SOUTHWEST AND PLAINS NATIVE AMERICAN CRAFTS ∆

Find several hands-on art objects made by Native artists, such as a Navajo rug, a Papago tribal basket, or different examples of pottery, paired with a par fleche activity, books, and videos.

TRAVELS INTO THE INTERIOR OF NORTH AMERICA: THE MAXMILIAN-BODMER EXPEDITION, 1832-1834 ∆

Travel the North American frontier with these explorers using an expedition map, hands-on materials from nature, printmaking tools, and videos of the historic journey.

TWENTIETH CENTURY ART: MODERNISM AND BEYOND

Understand the explosion in creativity inspired by the artists of the twentieth century. Explore Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and more! Activity boxes, reproductions, and lesson plans explore these topics.

∆ Braille and large print object labels are provided for select trunks

There are three ways to schedule your trunk:

Call (402) 661-3823

Email Outreach@Joslyn.org

Or visit www.joslyn.org Click Education & Research, then Resource Center and submit the online form.