2019 CMA
Award of Excellence
Massie Heritage Center has been awarded the Coastal Museums Association’s Award of Excellence in Education and Interpretation for our program, “Pinching Pottery and Weaving Walls: American Indian STEAM”.
This program was created to help 3rd grade teachers meet recent changes in the Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) related to American Indian settlement across North America
Savannah-Chatham County Public School teachers expressed a desire for a more local and place-based approach. The program is an interactive STEAM program that can be performed at Massie Heritage Center, or in a classroom setting.
Recently, SCCPSS schools have popularized “STEAM Nights” as an exciting community event celebrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. Massie’s American Indian programs quickly became a favorite during “STEAM Nights”
One of the most crucial aspects of the 3rd grade GSE is that students understand how the geography, environment and resources affected the American Indians and how/where they settled. This complex relationship between Coastal Georgia's American Indians and our unique geography is something that we wanted to interpret in depth using hands-on STEAM activities. Using the exact same pottery or weaving technique that the American Indians used provides students and visitors with a fresh look on historic material.
In addition to the estimated 2,000 students from the SCCPSS that attended this program as a field trip, we also brought this program to 5 STEAM nights- reaching Savannah families throughout the low-country.
Left to right: Jim Jansen, SCAD, Rachel Warren, Massie,
Elise Butler, President, CMA (presented the awards),
Rachel Strayer, Telfair Museums, Ayela Khuhro