288 TENNESSEE ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMS HONORS MTSU STUDENTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 2, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Dr. Brendan Martin, 615-898-2643 or cbmartin@mtsu.edu

TENNESSEE ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMS HONORS MTSU STUDENTS FOR EXCELLENCE

Student-Created Exhibit on Permanent Display at Sam Davis Home in Smyrna

(MURFREESBORO)–The Tennessee Association of Museums (TAM) has awarded a group of MTSU students in with an Award of Excellence for their class project, which is now a permanent exhibit at the Sam Davis Home in Smyrna.
Dr. Brenden Martin, MTSU history professor, said graduate students in his Museum Management Seminar class spent last semester planning and constructing the exhibit titled “Recovering Their Story: African Americans on the Davis Plantation, 1850-1925.”
“Interpreting artifacts uncovered in a 2004 archaeological dig, the exhibit tells the story of free and enslaved African Americans who lived on the plantation,” said Martin, who—along with teaching assistant Brian Hackett—assigned specific jobs to each of the 10 students in the class.
“The idea behind this experiential learning project was for students to receive hands-on training in developing a professional work product,” Martin explained. “From design to publicity, students got a crash course in exhibit development and created a final product that reflects the complex lifestyles of an often-overlooked group of people.”
Martin and his students—all of whom are master’s and Ph.D. candidates in the public history program at MTSU—will receive the award during the 2007 TAM Annual Conference, which will be held March 21-23 at the Murfreesboro DoubleTree. The students also will lead a presentation on the exhibit project during the conference.
Regarding the success of the exhibit, Martin said, “Hopefully, this project and the TAM award will enhance their prospects on the job market.”
The exhibit was sponsored by Nissan North America Inc., the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area and the MTSU Public Service Committee.



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