The U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced the recipients of its fiscal year 2021 grants. Among the list of 239 funded projects are six ASTC-member institutions.
The announcement includes $28.4 million in grants in 14 different categories, including preservation assistance, sustaining cultural heritage collections, collaborative research, digital humanities advancement, and more.
Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the NEH supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation.
ASTC Grantees
Boston Children’s Museum
Boston, Massachusetts
$200,000 for Our City: Building Kindness and Empathy (Project Director: Kate Marciniec)
Implementation of a 3,500-square-foot permanent exhibition exploring the diversity of identity through religion, history, and art.
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Denver, Colorado
$297,271 for WS Ranch Archaeological Project Collection (Project Directors: Stephen Nash; Dominique Alhambra)
An implementation project to sustainably rehouse a collection of 500,000 artifacts from the WS Ranch Archaeological Project, an Upland Mogollon Pueblo site (occupied ca. 800 to 1300 CE) located in New Mexico and excavated from 1977 to 1994.
Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum
New York, New York
$162,382 for Perspectives on World War II in the Pacific Theater (Project Directors: Lynda Kennedy; Gerrie Hall)
A two-week, hybrid institute for 25 K–12 teachers to study World War II in the Pacific from multiple perspectives.
Midland Center for the Arts/Alden B. Dow Museum of Science & Art
Midland, Michigan
$10,000 for Midland County Historical Society Historic Collections Preservation Assessment (Project Director: Jacob Huss)
Preservation assessment of archival and textile materials in the wake of a recent flood that damaged and displaced collections. In addition to the assessment, a conservation consultant would also conduct training for staff on caring for damaged collections. These objects include a variety of materials related to the history of Midland County, including court and board of education records, records from local businesses such as Dow Chemical, and over 9,000 artifacts. The region is now a federally declared disaster area, and the materials are in temporary storage at the Midland Center for the Arts.
Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center
Wenatchee, Washington
$10,000 for Environmental Preservation Equipment and Professional Development for Enhanced Collections Care (Project Director: Anna Spencer)
The purchase of supplies and equipment for the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center to protect Workers Progress Administration murals and collection storage areas.
Witte Museum
San Antonio, Texas
$75,000 for Reinterpreting Texas at the Witte Museum, Where Nature, Science and Culture Meet (Project Director: Michelle Everidge)
Planning for a reinterpretation of the museum’s permanent exhibition on the history of Texas.
As a reminder, science-based cultural organizations are eligible to receive NEH grants. Many grants to science and technology centers and museums have been made through NEH’s Public Programs and Preservation & Access divisions. NEH encourages first-time applicants to connect with a program officer to discuss which grant programs might be the best fit for your institution or project.
Additional Information
- “NEH Announces $28.4 Million for 239 Humanities Projects Nationwide,” August 17, 2021.