Steel Stories in New Spaces: Bringing the History of Black and Immigrant Steel Workers to Life Outside of Museum Galleries

FAIN: TA-296546-24

Roebling Museum (Roebling, NJ 08554-1019)
Lynne Calamia (Project Director: June 2023 to present)

The creation of an interpretive site plan for the Roebling Museum. 

Roebling Museum requests $25k to invite volunteers, the community and local historians to work with consultants to create an interpretive plan.The plan will bring the museum together with a newly acquired immigrant worker house, the company town, and historic millyard into a cohesive experience that shares stories of Black and Immigrant steel workers. Staff and consultants with experience with underrepresented histories will assemble a team, conduct research, ask for community input, and draft a plan with implementation goals. Consultants will lead a workshop on interpretive methods for volunteers, staff and board members. This grant builds staff capacity to create appropriate interpretive interventions that engage visitors with the Great Migration, immigration, environmental impact of industry, unionization, and other topics that are still relevant today. The outcome is an interpretive plan that uses multiple historic places to tell the story of Black and Immigrant steel workers.