FOSTERING FUTURE LEADERS IN HERITAGE
The Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum (OHS & BHM) hosted our first annual Careers in History Exploration Day on Thursday June 25th at sites in downtown Olympia and on the State’s Capitol Campus. The event was inspired by the WA Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual Youth Heritage Project (YHP) and with the goal of encouraging local high school students to explore pursuing higher education degrees and eventually careers in history and heritage-related fields. In designing the program OHS & BHM realized that Olympia and the South Sound region is home to organizations, agencies, institutions, and businesses that offer a wealth of opportunities for students to achieve fascinating and enriching careers.
OHS & BHM is grateful to the follower presenters for sharing their valuable time, expertise, and personal experiences with our engaged and curious student participants: Ruth Kodish-Eskind, Director of the Olympia Arts & Heritage Alliance Museum; Ed Echtle of the WA Secretary of State’s Legacy Program; Ben Helle of WA State Archives (and OHS & BHM secretary!), Dr. Guy Tasa, WA State Physical Anthropologist, and Michael Houser, WA State Architectural Historian and National Register Programs Manager, both of the State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP). We also enthusiatically thank our participating students and their parents for their strong interest in the event plus their inquistiveness and challenging questions. Attached are a few photographs of our presenters and participating students pictured at the sites we visited, including the Arts & Heritage Alliance Museum, WA State Archives, and the Capitol Campus Historic District and specifically the Halprin Fountain, Pritchard Building, General Administration Building, and the Jeanne Beal mosaic, historically located in the GA Building but relocated to the Helen Sommers Building. This event happened thanks to the support of city of Olympia taxpayers and Inspire Olympia, the City’s cultural access program.
