Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites

A small group of high school students got a behind-the-scenes look at how we develop new museum experiences and even had the chance to present their vision for changes to our Cultural History galleries through the OneAmerica Financial℠ Pathways Junior Fellows Program.

The Pathways Program engages and develops local talent among young people in the Indianapolis area who may not have otherwise considered a career in various industries. Through community partner-led projects, participants get to experience these industries from the inside.

Through our partnership, we gave the students a challenge: Create a 3D model of their redesign of our Cultural History gallery.

They executed the whole project in three days.

“I was immensely impressed by not only the professionalism and commitment that the Pathways participants showed, but also by the extremely creative and unique approaches they took to the level two project,” said Exhibit Developer Julia Lewis, who worked closely with the group.

First, the students toured our collection areas behind the scenes and spoke with our President and CEO, Cathy Ferree, on the impact museums can have on their visitors. They also met with Tanya Hand, our chief development officer, on ways a museum can grow as a public institution.

Next, they took a tour of the Cultural History galleries on the museum’s second floor, led by our Chief Engagement Officer, Brian Mancuso. During this tour, they focused on how they envisioned telling the story of Indiana’s people, places and things through interactive elements, collection items and other features.

After planning designs, they split into groups, each designing a different area of the exhibit.

“It was so interesting to me,” said Victor Avalon-Hernandez, one of the Pathways participants.

“I would have never seen that, for an exhibit to be made, it takes often years of work, from starting the original months of ideating and designing to creating a small 3D model so you can get an idea of what the place will look like.”

The students created a final exhibit model that included four areas of focus: changing media, evolving technology, historical Indiana and open storage, a section featuring a train that would take visitors to see various collection pieces that could be rotated out.

The students concluded with a presentation of their final product to OneAmerica associates and fellow Pathways participants.

Thank you to OneAmerica Financial℠ for collaborating with us on this incredible opportunity. Learn more about the Pathways Program.

Thank you to our sponsor, OneAmerica Financial℠.