Bringing Local History to the Classroom through Creating Primary Resource Education Kits

Abstract

In early 2023, the archives at New Mexico State University received an institutional grant for a pilot project creating primary resource education kits available for checkout to NMSU and the surrounding communities. Containing facsimiles of archival materials, the kits will showcase the history of southern New Mexico through NMSU Archives and Special Collections materials. This will bring our unique history to learners in a special, hands-on way right in their own classroom. The kits and the educational materials within are meant to be used across many disciplines; a truly interdisciplinary opportunity for learners. These kits will be a new effort at meaningful community education and outreach that extends beyond the space of the university and the time of the archivists in the building. As a companion to the physical kits, a digital expansion pack will be built specifically for K12 classrooms in New Mexico, making it possible for students to have a hybrid experience with archival sources. This article will detail the creation of the kits over the summer, detailing how the digital expansion of the physical boxes can be used in coordination with the physical kits, or as a standalone offering.