Renovated Ford Museum adds learning center

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by Cynthia Price
Legal News

The Gerald Ford Presidential Museum has not only a new learning center but also a whole new look.

As Board President  and former Ford administration member Red Cavaney explains, “One thing we discovered is that schools are not teaching civics and government, or at least are teaching it with less emphasis than science or math. We saw a great need there, so we initially developed a fund to bus students in — because there’s less money for those types of trips now.

“But then we realized we didn’t have the space to do a good job, so we started a campaign for a learning center, and added this whole section on,” Cavaney said, gesturing to the bright, well-equipped classroom.
Development of the DeVos Learning Center also afforded the museum an opportunity to work on curriculum and hands-on learning opportunities.

As Clare Shubert explained to author and speaker Juliette Turner, a proposed activity for student visitors would be to ask them to find something in the Museum that represents a difficult decision and bring it back to the classroom.

Tuner found out about President Ford’s difficult decisions when she wrote her book “Our Constitution Rocks,” aimed at teen readers.

The young author was one of many celebrities who spoke at the pre-opening gale, held Monday night at the J.W. Marriott Hotel, which included former Vice-President Dick Cheney and David Ferriero, archivist at the National Archives and Records Administration. Also present both then and on opening day were members of the Ford family, including sons Michael and Steven, and former cabinet members.

But the real star is the renovated museum, and its reflection of Jerry and Betty Ford.

Cavaney explained, “We discovered as we were making the plans for the addition that in museums, technology advances so quickly that you need to review every 10 to 12 years. So we’ve changed and added a lot.”
Among the interesting and new exhibits are a brief film about President Ford’s war service which, after it ends,  reveals the actual plane behind the screen; a television-like showing of President Ford’s funeral coverage with the memorial flag and other memorabilia; and a replica of the Oval Office during the Ford era.

 

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