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I am the Lead Educator at Minnetrista, a museum in Muncie, Indiana. Ball State University, a state school here, is within walking distance of our museum’s campus. While we are entirely separate entities, we have a unique and fulfilling relationship with the university. Specifically, our museum’s education team works on a variety of projects with the Teacher’s College at the university…including providing volunteer opportunities for freshman, speaking with student teachers at the beginning of each semester, and even holding teacher professional development workshops.

My department is currently analyzing what our relationship with the university is, how to strengthen and improve it, and also trying to determine what relationships we might actually be forming by extension of the existing relationship. (Example: I speak with El Ed seniors doing their student teaching, they then remember that and bring their class to the museum as part of the unit they develop. If they have a good experience they then make a trip to Minnetrista an annual event in their curriculum when they have a class of their own.)

So, I guess I have two questions I would like to pose to educators/interpreters/programmers in the field:

1.	Does anyone out there have a similar relationship to a local university, and what do you do to further cultivate that relationship?

2.	How can we make the relationships we have with other organizations, be it another museum or a university or even other local non-profit organization in the area, a core resource for branching out into the community as a whole?

I am greatly looking forward to your thoughts and ideas.

Stephanie L. Dilk
Education Manager
Minnetrista
1200 N. Minnetrista Parkway
Muncie, IN 47303
(765) 213-3528
www.minnetrista.net
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Minnetrista Cultural Center
 1200 MInnetrista Parkway
 Muncie, Indiana
 United States
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