Churchill, Derby Museum Accomplice for Training Program

The Kentucky Derby Museum is proud to announce a brand new multi-year partnership with Churchill Downs that may assist the museum’s longstanding dedication to educating college students concerning the Kentucky Derby.

This partnership, with a monetary dedication of $150,000 over three years, will bolster the museum’s in-house subject journeys and outreach applications, making certain that tens of 1000’s of scholars throughout Kentucky and past can expertise the magic of the Derby.

Training has been a cornerstone of the Kentucky Derby Museum’s mission since opening its doorways in 1985. As a nonprofit group, the museum has offered generations of scholars with enriching, standards-aligned programming that brings the historical past, science, and cultural significance of the Kentucky Derby to life. In fiscal yr 2024 alone, the museum’s Training Division reached greater than 32,000 college students via its various instructional choices.

“We’re excited to associate with Churchill Downs on this vital initiative that instantly helps our mission to interact, educate, and excite college students concerning the Kentucky Derby,” stated Patrick Armstrong, President and CEO of the Kentucky Derby Museum. “This beneficiant dedication permits us to proceed providing free instructional applications that our instructors are so captivated with. With our organizations’ shared love of training, we’re proud to work along with Churchill Downs to not solely protect the Derby’s legacy but additionally encourage the subsequent era.” 

Via this partnership, Churchill Downs will assist the museum’s efforts to make these instructional experiences extra accessible. The funding will particularly permit the museum to proceed providing free in-house subject journeys throughout January and February and free outreach programming all through the college yr, extending the museum’s attain to colleges that won’t have the ability to journey to Louisville.

“Churchill Downs is thrilled to come back along with the Kentucky Derby Museum, one in all our long-time companions on this unbelievable training initiative,” stated Mike Anderson, President of Churchill Downs Racetrack. “Educating the subsequent era of horse racing followers is so vital to the vitality of the game. The Kentucky Derby Museum has an extended historical past of teaching the subsequent era on the historical past, richness, and legacy of the Kentucky Derby, and we’re excited to associate with them to proceed this nice work.” 

BACKGROUND

Subject journeys historically come at a price for colleges throughout the nation, whether or not for transportation, meals, or a payment per pupil. The museum budgets yearly to soak up as a lot of the fee as potential as a way to make subject journeys accessible to all colleges within the area.

As well as, the museum began providing different choices for free of charge to colleges to try to eradicate all limitations. Free subject journeys in the course of the slower winter months of January and February date again to a minimum of the Nineteen Nineties. Because the free outreach program began within the early 2000s, museum educators have traveled to colleges in every of the 120 Kentucky counties to offer the identical programming. Then, in the course of the pandemic, the Training Crew added free digital subject journeys as one other software of the outreach program, increasing to colleges all throughout the nation. 

“The Kentucky Derby Museum has all the time been devoted to bringing the historical past and pleasure of the Derby to college students throughout Kentucky,” stated Chris Goodlett, Senior Director of Curatorial and Instructional Affairs. “Our academic applications are designed to spark curiosity and foster a deep connection to Kentucky’s cultural heritage. This partnership with Churchill Downs helps assist our efforts, ensuring price will not be a barrier to studying concerning the wealthy historical past of the Kentucky Derby.”

BY THE NUMBERS

The Kentucky Derby Museum’s Training Division gives a variety of standards-aligned content material that spans historical past, science, math, cultural research, social-emotional studying, and profession research via 19 totally different in-house and 12 outreach applications.

This winter, the museum’s Training Crew of three full-time educators facilitated 76 free in-house subject journeys with a complete of 6,213 college students, academics, and chaperones. Through the 2023-2024 faculty yr, the free outreach program totaled 59 in-person journeys and 17 digital subject journeys, reaching a complete of twenty-two,854 folks.

The partnership takes impact in September 2024 and can run via August 2027. As a part of the partnership, the Churchill Downs brand shall be added to the Training Division’s outreach car, crew uniforms, nametags, supplies, and different shows.

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