Truman Elementary Exhibit Garners Space at MO History Museum

After an entire year in the making, the student-led history of Truman Elementary School is coming to life at the Missouri History Museum on Saturday, as Chalkboards to Computers.

"Students learn so much more when they put the learning to practical use," said 4th-grade teacher Jane Hake, as she led students in creating the exhibition. "This is something they will always remember."

The exhibit opens Saturday in MacDermott Grand Hall with a celebration from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The St. Louis Cardinals' own Fredbird will put in an appearance. The Lindbergh High School Pompon Squad will appear dressed in uniforms through the decades.

Hake—the lead on the project—was first approached last spring about doing a retrospective on Truman Elementary for the History Museum. After careful consideration with the school administration, she accepted the challenge and began making preparations for the unique task.

“This is the first student-led exhibit at the Missouri History Museum,” Hake said. “The students did everything; the design, they collected the items, they are archiving, writing the history, everything. It is really a neat thing,” she said.

This project means even more to the students and staff of Truman Elementary since the district boundary changes for the coming school year are underway to convert Truman back into a middle school.

For the history project, students filled out job applications for the project's positions: curator, exhibition designer, community education and events, public historian and video producer. Professionals in each field from the museum worked with their team of students.

Last fall, students took a field trip to the museum to explore the space and see other exhibits. The Chalkboards to Computers exhibit is 1,100 square feet with a budget of $10,000. Funding came from the museum and a Spirit of Lindbergh Grant.

Hake incorporated learning throughout the process as students used history, math, art and technology to create the displays, stay within budget and maximize the physical space at the museum.

Students from two other 4th-grade classes were recruited to help. To add to the community involvement, Lindbergh High School held a competition to design the logo for the exhibit and senior Rachel Minton won.

Hake’s students wanted to organize the school's history into eras: the junior high-middle school years, the early childhood years, the elementary and now back to middle school.

Part of the display is interactive. The actual lockers from the school will be on display with memorabilia and recordings of people from the community remembering their time at Truman.

They have memorabilia collected from school alumni including grade cards, school projects, buttons, clothing and athletic uniforms.

School documents collected confirm that the name of the school has changed several times over the years. One report card lists the name as The Middle School while another one called it North Junior.

With each donation students asked for a memory about the item and the school. Students conducted interviews, wrote and recorded the memories.

The exhibit will include items retrieved from a time capsule that was buried at the school in 2000. The time capsule was to be opened in 2025 but with the chance to exhibit at the museum the decision was made to open it now. Once the exhibit is over the students will add to the time capsule and once again bury it to be opened in 2035.

The exhibit, Chalkboards to Computers will run through July 10 after the opening event Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park at Lindell and DeBaliviere.