Education Specialist Bridget Nash of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum presenting to children
Published On: October 16th, 2024Categories: Library and Museum

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum has served an important educational role in both the region and nation since 1962. Thousands of visitors pass through the halls every year to learn about the legacy of Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover, and many of these are children being exposed to the stories and lessons for the very first time. Not only is it very important that they learn about this facet of Iowa and national history from an academic standpoint, but in doing so, they are inspired to be uncommon citizens and begin to develop an understanding of what that can mean for their lives and those around them.

The person leading this effort is Bridget Nash, Education Specialist for the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. She works with children of all ages and continually strives to find creative ways to keep them engaged. Bridget is a master of keeping the rapt attention of children, which she demonstrated recently with a first-grade class from Herbert Hoover Elementary School in West Branch.

The Library and Museum normally opens at 9:00, but this morning, the staff were ready to greet the kids at 8:30, when the first class arrived to learn about the Hoover story through activities Bridget created. Each child received a paper camera and pulled them over their heads, an action made possible with colored yarn affixed to the cameras acting as neck straps. This was in addition to pairs of plastic binoculars that they would also use on their journey. The rules were simple: no running and no yelling.

To set the tone, Bridget sang a song as they went from gallery to gallery in the Museum.

Let’s all go exploring, exploring, exploring.

Let’s all go exploring, together you and me.

first-grade students gathered around Herbert Hoover fishing gallery

The first graders experiencing one of the galleries in the Museum.

Kids would use their binoculars to discover items. Once they had an opportunity to explore, Bridget asked them what they saw. One by one, she called on each child with an eagerly raised hand to ask what their object was. This gave her an opportunity to talk about each item and the historical significance of it. She would then have the kids use their cameras to take an imaginary photo of an object of their choosing before singing the exploring song and moving to the next gallery.

Upon completing their tour, the kids drew their favorite items on a paper film strip, which was glued to their camera, which was also colored, to take home as a memorable keepsake from their history adventure. You could hear each child talk about what they were drawing, visibly happy about their experience. Boredom wasn’t an option. The pace and act of discovery were enough to engage the young children throughout their outing.

a first grader coloring her camera

A first-grade student coloring her camera

It’s not just first-graders who get to have a Hoover experience. What many people from this region fondly remember is their fourth-grade field trip to West Branch. This is a time when children are starting to study civics in school, which makes it a great time to visit the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum and the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. Throughout the school year, there is the ever-familiar sight of yellow school buses dropping off children at the entrance of the Museum. This is another area of engagement for Bridget.

This process starts before their arrival. Teachers will convey what the kids are studying in school, and Bridget will integrate this into the tour. For the class arriving on this day, the topic will be World War I. Since it is also an election year, part of the focus will be on the election of 1928. To further enhance the experience, props will be brought from the archives to show the kids.

Visiting groups like this requires the efforts of multiple people. For this day, 60 kids would be visiting the Hoover Campus, 30 to start in the Museum and 30 in the Historic Site. The experience starts in the Figge Auditorium, where they watch the introductory Hoover film. The group of 30 is then divided into two groups of 15. One group starts in the temporary exhibit, and the rest start in the Museum. Once completed, the two groups of 30 would then swap destinations, and the process restarts with one moving into the Historic Site and the other into the Museum, passing each other along the way. The fact that this is moving children in such a seamless manner is an operations marvel.

a yellow school bus sits in front of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum

One of many school buses that visit the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum

Unfortunately, not all regional schools have the funds to send kids to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum and Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. This is why the Hoover Presidential Foundation established the School Bus Travel Grant. The grant assists schools by providing money to travel to West Branch to experience the Hoover story. The grant is completely funded by donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. To learn more about how you can help us provide funding to bring students to the Hoover Campus, visit the School Bus Travel Grant page.

Perhaps, you were once one of the kids experiencing the Hoover story here or have kids of your own doing the same. If you live outside the area and would like to get your kids engaged, both the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum and Herbert Hoover National Historic Site are great ways to get your kids interested in history and have a lot of fun doing it. Both are open 9-5 daily.

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