Page 102 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2017

DOWNTOWNS local love
Lynn Meadows Discovery Center
246 Dolan Ave., Gulfport 228.897.6039 www.lmdc.org
create Stories from Main Street
story by Kelsey SundAerman-Foster photos courtesy of Lynn Meadows Discovery Center
s part of its Museum on Main Street — a program that gives access to the Smithsonian to small-town America through museum exhibitions, research, educational resources, and programming — the Smithsonian Institution launched Stories from Main Street. This story-collecting project empowers people to embrace their history and uncover their
community’s stories. The program began in 2011 and to date, more than 1,200 people have saved their stories with the Smithsonian.
In 2012, the Smithsonian began reaching out to engage young people with the program. More than 400 youth participants from small communities have researched topics important to their towns’ histories, conducted interviews, collected photos and footage, and assembled their work into a final digital project. The youth from the Coast’s own Lynn Meadows Discovery Center (LMDC) was selected to participate.
“Lynn Meadows Discovery Center was chosen to host the Traveling Smithsonian Exhibit ‘Hometown Teams’ in 2016,” said Penny Patterson, LMDC director of development. “After being chosen to host the exhibit, we were awarded the Stories from Main Street Youth Access Grant, a youth education outreach project funded by the Smithsonian Institution’s Youth Access Grant Initiative.”
Inspired by the themes and content of their Museum on Main Street exhibition, the students conducted interviews with community members
for their project ‘The Making of a Mississippi Athlete.’ Athletes interviewed included Barry Lyons, Biloxi native and former catcher for the New York Mets; Fred Collins, Gulfport native and MSU running back from 1977-1980 who later played for the New Orleans Saints; Olympian athletes John Dane III, Danny Killeen and Gene Wallet; Sarah Thomas, Pascagoula native and first female NFL referee; and Dak Prescott, MSU Quarterback from 2012-2015 who was drafted to the Dallas Cowboys in 2016.
“Throughout the project, students learned basic filming techniques such as editing, sound and lighting, and how sports frames our culture,” said Tonya Hays, WINGS performing arts director. “In addition, we shared the film as part of our Dreams event in 2016 at the Beau Rivage. This was a great project for us.”
All of the WINGS performing arts students at LMDC were involved in the project, as were students from the gifted programs at Pass Christian and Bayou View Middle Schools. The Smithsonian was very impressed with LMDC’s contribution and has also asked them to participate in another project that will be a part of the Waterways Exhibit. “Of course we are all honored and excited by this, and we are planning to tie in some history about indigenous people and waterways with our WINGS Home School group which will be directed next year by Shannon Wooten,” Hays said.
Students using their new found
filming and inter viewing knowledge.
102 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • August 2017
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