Many, many Durham businesses and organizations collaborated with the Museum of Durham History in the early months of operation, demonstrating our community’s grassroots museum support. To all of our partners, thank you! We haven’t room to list all, but here are a few examples:

 

• The Humanities Alliance: This group, spearheaded by the Discover Durham, was instrumental in starting the museum, and many of its members were participants in the Parade and Grand Opening. Members include Bennett Place, Duke Homestead, Durham County Library, Hayti Heritage Center, Historic Stagville, Preservation Durham, Parrish Street Project, and the Pauli Murray Project. The DCVB worked with the museum to create a map and driving directions from the MoDH to key Durham cultural destinations.

• Durham County Library: In addition to working together on the opening exhibits at the museum and creating an archive for Story Room recordings, the museum and the Library’s North Carolina Collection collaborated on several public programs in 2013/14, including the Soul Souvenirs exhibit, website, and event.

• Local Schools: In our first year, the museum partnered with students and teachers from many schools across Durham, including Durham School of the Arts, Durham Academy, Jordan High School, and YE Smith Elementary School. Rising ninth graders enrolled in Student U curated one of the opening exhibits at the museum. The museum also partnered with the East Durham Children’s Initiative on history programs in the neighborhood.

• Colleges and Universities: Interns from North Carolina Central University and Duke University have made a lasting impact on the museum and gained experience in public history, marketing, and graphic design. Faculty from both institutions serve on the Museum’s History Advisory Committee and bring students through the museum to ground classroom experiences in the local community. Teachers and students at Durham Technical Community College created a weekly history column in the The Herald-Sun.

• Medical Institutions: The opening exhibit on Durham’s first hospitals was made possible thanks to support from Duke Medicine and initiated partnerships with Lincoln Community Health Center and Duke Regional Hospital, where the exhibit is currently on display.