Cultivating Curiosity
The Kentucky Derby Museum Begins Meaningful Partnership With Churchill Downs to Bring Equine Education to Students
Written by Kelli Kinman
Planning a visit to the Kentucky Derby Museum (KDM) is so special for adults and children alike. Two floors of interactive exhibits boast the history and spectacle of The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports and turn learning moments into fun experiences.
Opening to the public in 1985 as a nonprofit organization, the museum’s core mission has always been to engage, educate and excite guests about the extraordinary experience that is the Kentucky Derby. The Education Team at the museum is made up of three full-time educators who have created 19 in-house and 12 outreach programs that teach about the Kentucky Derby, but also teach important concepts in history, science, math, cultural studies, social-emotional learning and career studies.
Programs can be delivered to students in school or virtually. Some of these programs include in-house field trips, outreach programs, virtual field trips and a student art competition, Horsing Around with Art (HAWA). Their goal is to remove as many barriers to knowledge as possible. All the programs use different props, visual presentations and educational tools to teach and keep more than 30,000 students engaged over the year. It is not only educational for students but also key to fostering a connection with horse racing, a love of museums, a pride in Kentucky and a possible inspiration for future careers.
In-house field trips
January and February are the slow months for tourists visiting the museum, so KDM offers free field trips during this time. The in-house field trip free admission program allows students to experience a high caliber field trip without the burden of cost passing along to schools or families. The museum understands that funds can be a barrier for many schools, so they absorb the cost to help educate the hundreds of students who walk through the museum doors.
Over the course of two and a half hours, students will experience a guided tour of Churchill Downs Racetrack, a core-curriculum driven education program, exploration time around the museum with numerous interactive exhibits and a unique 360-degree immersive sound and visual experience with a showing of The Greatest Race.
Chaperones love to share fond memories of their first field trip to the museum when they were kids. It warms the hearts of the Education Team to know that the effort and funding channeled into decades of field trips and educational experiences is fostering a deep love and connection to Louisville’s Derby legacy for generations to come.
Outreach programs
Outreach programs started in the early 2000s as a way to bring Derby education to schools throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana that may not be able to travel or afford to pay for a field trip. The programming is designed to supplement and align with core curriculum standards taught in the classroom. Every program is engaging, interactive and most importantly, fun. Teaching is tailored to each grade level with static content written to align with a variety of grades’ standards and is appropriate for multiple levels.
Sharing Kentucky Derby history with students helps them to make real life connections whether it be learning about caring for Thoroughbreds, the science of building a safe surface for the horses to race or learning about the economic impact the big race has on Kentucky. To date, the Education Team has been to schools in all 120 Kentucky counties.
Virtual Field Trips
For those who can’t make it to the museum, the museum will come to them. Developed during the pandemic as a new way to connect with classrooms across the country, this 45-minute virtual presentation was designed to supplement and align with curriculum in a variety of content areas. Students learn about career possibilities in the Thoroughbred industry, the anatomy and physiology of these great horses, as well as the history of Louisville and the Kentucky Derby.
Horsing around with art competition
Horsing Around With Art (HAWA) is KDM’s annual student art competition for Louisville Metro students to showcase their talents and celebrate the Kentucky Derby experience. Students are encouraged to use various artistic styles and mediums including sculptures, paintings, drawings and more. Each art piece submitted is then proudly displayed from January to April on the museum’s second floor for all to see, with funding provided to the winning students and their schools to support their art programs. The latest competition this past spring for Derby 150 awarded 62 students with honors and had over 250 entrants.
KDM is proud to provide such a wide array of educational programs that students can experience without worrying about cost. Their initiative hasn’t gone unnoticed, and the doors were recently opened for an amazing opportunity.
The Kentucky Derby Museum and Churchill Downs have been great neighbors and worked together on several projects over the last 40 years to share the joy of the Kentucky Derby with guests from all over the world. With their shared love of education, they have recently launched a meaningful partnership that will impact thousands of Kentucky children over the next three years. The partnership will help cover the cost of the outreach programs and field trips as well as spreading the mission of the Museum well beyond Jefferson County. “We love that it’s Derby every day at the museum. So, we do everything we can to make field trips, outreach and educational programming more accessible to students of all ages and in all corners of Kentucky. We’re proud to partner with Churchill Downs to further these educational programs that our educators are so passionate about,” says Patrick Armstrong, KDM President & CEO.
Because the museum is a nonprofit, they were absorbing the costs involved with offering free field trips to students in the winter months. The Churchill Downs partnership will greatly support KDM’s mission to engage, educate and excite students of all ages and income levels. “Educational content for students, designed for their grade level and understanding, is so important! Partnerships like this allow the barrier of cost and transportation to be removed. Our Education Team works incredibly hard to share the importance and joy of Derby with every student we can possibly reach, and we are thrilled to partner with Churchill Downs on something so important for student growth and learning,” explains Emily Dippie, KDM Curator of Education.
To learn more about the educational programs and offerings at the Kentucky Derby Museum, visit
www.KentuckyDerbyMuseum.com.
Read More: https://www.churchilldownsincorporated.com/flipbook/2024_Fall/#page=159
