The Kansas City Museum is immensely grateful to the Wylie Charitable Foundation that established the Kansas City Museum Challenge Fund in 2022 at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation to match all contributions 1:1 for the creation of digital exhibit interactives and media for the history exhibits in Corinthian Hall. The features may include films, touch screens, animated/projection maps, listening stations for oral histories, an accessible on-line collections database, QR codes, etc.
The Museum has fulfilled the challenge grant and is working with museum design firm Gallagher & Associates to produce exhibit interactives for The Sunderland Foundation Living Room gallery on the first floor; Cultural Confluences: Rivers to 1870s, The Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area Gallery on the second floor; An Evolving City Landscape: 1880s to 1920s, The William T. Kemper Gallery on the third floor, and Our City, Our Stories gallery on the third floor. These interactives will enhance the exhibits in Corinthian Hall by adding more dynamic content and learning experiences.
As the Kansas City Museum works with Gallagher & Associates on the development of the interactives and media, the following principles guide the process:
- Design for young people as the primary audience.
- Use a restorative practices approach to develop and display content.
- Highlight the relevance of the past to the present.
- Ensure diversity and representation.
- Foster a sense of belonging and shared humanity.