As part of the City of Vallejo's Participatory Budgeting process, the Museum
is seeking funding to implement a three-part community outreach program that will
increase awareness among Vallejoans about the city’s past and the important
contributions made by many of our city’s residents.
The first
part of the project consists of the design and fabrication of ten “pop-up” exhibit panels that will
be loaned to local schools, community centers, senior residence facilities,
libraries, retail centers, churches, Farmers Markets, City festivals, or other
high-traffic areas of the city. These panels will reflect ten different themes
of Vallejo and Mare Island history and will be designed for either
“stand-alone” use or in combination with each other. The themes selected for
the first ten panels include: 1) Vallejo as California’s state capital, 2)
Founding of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 3) Vallejo’s Hispanic Heritage, 4)
Growth of Vallejo’s African American community, 5) Filipino Immigration, 6)
History of Vallejo’s schools, 7) Vallejo transportation history, 8) Vallejo
sports history, 9) Mare Island’s role
in World War Two, 10) Vallejo’s wartime defense housing communities.
These ten
themes were selected because they reflect the areas of greatest interest
expressed by visitors to the Museum. The pop-up banners will be approximately
3’ X 6 ½ ‘. They are portable and free standing, requiring no installation
hardware or technical expertise by the borrower.
The second
part of the project consists of three portable display cases that will contain
artifacts (or reproductions) reflecting themes of Vallejo and Mare Island
history. Topics of these cases can be changed to suit the locations where they
are placed or the event where they are used. The topics may also augment one or
more of the banner themes described above. These locked exhibit cases will also
be available for loan and display at the types of locations described above.
The final
part of the project will allow local residents to share their stories via oral
history recordings. The Museum will purchase digital audio and video recorders
which will be used to gather oral histories at community events like
Juneteenth, Pista Sa Nayon, etc. or at senior citizens facilities, veterans’
organizations, schools, or other locations. More extensive oral history
recordings also can be done at the Museum, in a more controlled setting. Oral
history recordings can often augment written records or fill in gaps in the
community’s history. They provide first-person recollections and can be used as
a bridge between older and younger generations. Capturing the stories of
Vallejoans will insure that their history will be preserved at the Museum for
the benefit of future generations. These recordings can be loaned to schools or
churches with school services for educational enrichment programs. Total Project Cost: $29,413