City of Fort Worth (Fort Worth Public Library)

The MUSE project, a collaborative effort of the Fort Worth Public Library, the Forth Worth Public School system, members of the Tarrant County Storyteller's Guild, and the staff of several major arts organizations in Fort Worth (the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, the Log Cabin Village, the Cattle Raisers Museum, and Imagination Celebration) will give local students of all ethnic backgrounds an exciting, innovative introduction to the richness of local history by teaching them how to tell their own stories about the historical objects and art locally available. Student participants will learn about history from library research and observation of museum artifacts. They will receive schoolroom instruction from storytellers-in-residence about how to tell stories and will have the opportunity to present their stories in a public event at the close of the school year. MUSE will foster collaboration among these local institutions by developing a storytelling model that can be used to share the heritage and culture of this community with others. Newspapers in Education, Inc., will produce and distribute a storytelling supplement to 350 area schools.