The aim of this activity is to explore themes that exist in the Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archives and Special Collections Object and Memorabilia Collection which consists of items from the late Senator Robert J. Dole’s life (1923-2021). These objects range from personal items of the Senators, gifts and awards given to him and items that were in either his House of Representatives or his Senate office. Object-based learning is one of the main ways that visitors learn in museums due to it being an informal learning environment and this exhibit activity is centered around that concept. Although at first glance, it appears to be a regular collection of objects stored on a shelf, each shelf has been curated to represent a theme from the Senator’s life in the form of an open storage exhibit. The concept of open storage is meant to allow museum visitors to have access to more items in a museum’s collection, while keeping the objects in ideal environmental conditions. There are six main themes in this exhibit and because this exhibit is designed to have the student create connections, there is no set order for interpreting them.
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This exhibit hits the following Standards and Benchmarks:
Standard 1: Choices have consequences
1.1 The student will recognize and evaluate significant choices and consequences that have impacted our lives and futures.
1.3 The student will investigate and connect examples of choices and consequences with contemporary issues.
Standard 4: Societies Experience Continuity and Change over Time
4.3 The student will investigate and connect continuity and change to a contemporary issue.