Organization: Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation
The Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1963 that operates historic sites in Santa Barbara County, including El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park and Casa de la Guerra in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. As a historical museum and archaeological site, we provide comprehensive educational programming that addresses the history and relevance of the region’s multi-cultural and layered past.
Project:
The selected UCSB Public Fellow intern will be piloting interpretive programming for visitors to Casa de la Guerra, SBTHP’s historic house museum located in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. Casa de la Guerra is a site of immense importance to Santa Barbara’s past and present but has not yet reached its potential to engage and educate the public. Through an investigation into the history of the De la Guerra family and the historical significance of their historic Mexican-period home, the intern will help pilot multiple educational programming ideas for everyday visitors to the site, elementary, middle and high school groups, and for the general public. The intended outcome is that the UCSB Public Fellow intern will increase the public’s awareness and interest in the relevance of Casa de la Guerra’s history to their own lives and concerns. With a focus on relating the site’s history to contemporary issues facing people in the Santa Barbara community, SBTHP Programs Department staff will work with the intern to pilot the interpretive programming at the site. Because Casa de la Guerra and De la Guerra plaza have, since 1828, been a community hub for commercial trade, public discourse/debate and civic engagement, this opportunity for an internship could be an enriching and enlightening experience for graduate students from a variety of disciplines and subject areas.
- Intern will engage with and learn from SBTHP’s collections and resources about the Casa de la Guerra family and the De la Guerra family history.
- Intern will then pilot multiple ideas for interpretive programming at Casa de la Guerra. This will include leading school/camp youth programs and leading pop-up engagement programs for everyday visitors.
- Intern will help develop and administer assessment and evaluation techniques to measure the reach and success of the pilot programming projects. This will include administering short surveys and recording other forms of visitor feedback. The intern will work with SBTHP Programs Staff to analyze these results in order to measure the success of the pilot programming.
- Intern will become familiar with the California State Standards (Curriculum framework and content standards) for the targeted age group(s) for the pilot program ideas.
- Intern will consider and incorporate current, relevant issues facing the Santa Barbara community.
- Intern could also help with research and development of another project relating to early California weddings in the Presidio chapel (TBD).
The internship will take place for ten weeks (20 hours/week) beginning in June 2020.