Behind the Scenes MOTAL: In the Beginning: Long BeachPart One

Perhaps you are one of the many people who have asked how The Museum of Teaching and Learning got its start. The answer is rather complicated, for MOTAL had several beginnings. One of them was in 2001, almost five years before the museum ever created its first exhibit. During that era, 2001-2006, many groups of people helped lay the groundwork. The museum’s acronym was not yet MOTAL; it was MOTL for a quite a while—and might have stayed that way except that the website for MOTL was already taken!


Initial research efforts took place, not in the current headquarters city of Fullerton, California, but at California State University, Long Beach. Additional activities took place in other cities, especially Santa Ana, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, where a significant number of individuals contributed their opinions and ideas to propel the project forward.

The story that follows tells about the earliest days, when the museum was not yet an independent nonprofit. Instead, it was a project under the umbrellas of other nonprofit organizations.
 
In 2001-2003, founder Dr. Greta Nagel conducted an array of studies. Her original intention was to write a book about the key concepts teachers needed to understand to be successful educators. A museum was only a device to organize the material, and the book was outlined and annotated and used as an instructional tool for several introductory classes in Education. The working title was When Will We Ever Learn: The Story of the Great New Museum of Teaching and Learning.


However, within those initial years, colleagues at Cal State Long Beach nattered, “Why not start an ACTUAL museum?” Their excitement and encouragement spurred things on. So, further information-gathering events were devised.


Some of the events were Sunday afternoon parties called “Two Cents Teas” in which local educators and education advocates gathered in living rooms at homes to hear about the possibility of a museum of education. Beverages (yes, including tea) and treats were served to the guests in exchange for their two cents, as they shared their ideas about what such a museum could/should be.
 
More formal inquiries were supported by seed funds from CSULB and Edison International, along with contributions from over one hundred individuals. Nagel received the university’s “Scholarly and Creative Award” for her conception of a museum about education. A Texas nonprofit called the National Education Institute took a liking to the project and invited Nagel to speak to its Board members who offered their support.


In 2004 the museum entered another phase after it was awarded nonprofit status
as a project of the California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) Foundation,
naming Nagel as the director. She applied for, and was granted, a CSULB sabbatical to continue studies. Her work included recording observations and gathering ideas in museums across the nation, noting visitor engagement across types of exhibits in various kinds of museums. She was inspired to implement a unique place, a magnet for visitors.


Fundraising continued with direct mail requests to individuals, and another project offered the opportunity for supporters to create Tribute Tiles. By contributing twenty-five dollars or more, individuals could honor teachers who had been special in their lives. They were to design a work of art on paper that would be transferred to permanent ceramic tiles. Some of those tiles, shown here, were intended for installation in a tribute wall in the eventual brick and mortar museum . . . one day.

Another way to gather insights was to convene inventive “Dream Teams.” Four different groups of educators and creative designers/ engineers met for a day-long experience to tour different venues together and then gather to discuss their impressions. They convened at museums in four cities within California: The CSULB Japanese Garden, Long Beach; The California Science Center, Los Angeles; The Discovery Cube, Santa Ana; and The La Jolla Art Museum, San Diego. The venture was rewarding for all to share their ideas with other creative and thoughtful individuals.


DREAM TEAM PARTICIPANTS
Cheryl Ahern-Lehmann
Liz Hartung
Karen Johnson
Candace Kaye
Walter Lehmann
Barbara Moore
Linda Symcox
Bernie Dodge
Amy Jaecker-Jones
Bob Jones
Kathy Kellerman
Chuck Leinbach
Laura Phelan
Pat Wegner
Erin Gruwell
Brian Jaecker-Jones
Will Kaulfuss
Linda Larson
Philip Molebash
Jeff Rudolph
One of the documents that was used to record thoughts appears below. In the original, the questions and tasks were presented in a spacious format to allow individuals to write their responses. They are collapsed into a tighter configuration for presentation here. Dream Team responses would serve as a beacon for the museum project to come.


Helping to Dream Survey


What is the best museum you ever visited?


Why did you like it?


Are there other museums in your past that you could include as favorites?


What exhibits (at any museums) do you remember well? Please tell about them what impact they had on you. Use the reverse if you would like.


Who likes to go to museums? Why?


Who does NOT like to go to museums? Why?


Would YOU like to go to a Museum of Teaching and Learning? Why or why not?


If you went to a Museum of Teaching and Learning, what is an exhibit/activity you   
would like to see/do?


Is there anything you know today that you learned in a museum? Please explain.


Who should be the biggest target audience for a Museum of Teaching and Learning. Why?


Should visitors pay to go to a Museum of Teaching and Learning? If yes, how much? If no, why not?


What do you like about attending school?


What do you like to study?


If you could go to school and do one thing most of the day,what would it be?     
(besides recess and lunch!)


What would you like to do at school that students are currently unable to do?


What kinds of classrooms SHOULD schools have?


Tell about your most memorable teacher in 50 words
(Use the reverse of this page to continue, if you would like to write more.)


Who should be a teacher?


Who should NOT be a teacher?


What do good teachers do?


What do bad teachers do?


Should everyone go to college? Why or why not?


Should everyone have formal education beyond high school?


Now YOU ask a few questions…(related to teaching and learning).
Why do …?
When did …?


What types of technology would YOU like to use in a museum (circle)?
computer   
television   
tape recorder   
camcorder   
tape player   
word processor


What types of food(s) should be served at a Museum of Teaching and Learning?
 
What information do you think should be shared in a Museum of Teaching and Learning?


Describe what you would like to see in each category, please.
Famous educators
Famous theories and the people who created them
The Brain
History of education
Education in various nations
A look in a classroom today
Classrooms of the past


What names for this museum appeal to you (comments)?
The Learning Center
The Museum called “How Do You Know?”
The Inquirium (from inquiry)
The Museum of Teaching and Learning
All about Learning
In the Know


OTHER: (anything else at all)


Later in 2005 a team of four educators from Florida, Illinois, and California joined Nagel in Las Vegas to conduct three full days of surveys and interviews from their post at The Museum of Teaching and Learning booth at the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) convention. Although those individuals had complimentary room and board, they volunteered their time and travel expenses from their home states. Putting in long hours with expertise and enthusiasm were Jo Ellen Sandburg, Karin Wunderlich Urban, Linda Gunn, Darlene Sellers, Jackie Wayman, and Greta Nagel.

Many more activities occurred in those early years, but further details and information about the next phase of MOTAL will be portrayed in a future article, “Long Beach, Part Two.”


In closing, you may consider The Vision of the Museum of Teaching and Learning (MOTAL) that follows. This version is one of three or four dusty versions that are similar in their perspectives but different in their language use. They all portray an undying belief that a fabulous national museum about education should exist. One day.


Submitted by
Greta Nagel, PhD
MOTAL President and CEO