NEW EDUCATION DIRECTOR ENLIVENS MUSEUM PLANS.Byline: Jean Russell Vogel Community Columnist Alexis O'Neill's new job as education director is to create more connections between Ventura County residents and the rich resources of their museum. The Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. teacher, writer, and education consultant started working 25 hours a week in April in a newly funded position for the Ventura County Museum of History and Art. Offering aesthetic as well as educational opportunities, the museum will be expanding its hours for visits and extending its outreach, O'Neill said. Reaching youngsters all over the county through their teachers will be a priority for O'Neill, who earned a doctorate in teacher education and staff development from Syracuse University Syracuse University, main campus at Syracuse, N.Y.; coeducational; chartered 1870, opened 1871. Syracuse is noted for its research programs in government and industry; facilities include the Center for Science and Technology, the Newhouse Communications Center, and in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . She has been a classroom teacher, a director of a teaching center and a writer/consultant in varied educational enterprises. O'Neill is preparing materials to familiarize teachers with the museum's resources. These will be distributed at an open house for teachers Sept. 28 at the museum in Ventura. Volunteer docents are regularly available, and class visits can be scheduled Tuesdays through Fridays. Tours of the museum can be correlated with current studies of any class in first grade through sixth grade, O'Neill said. The new education director also is enthusiastic about the museum's offerings for adult visitors, including local memorabilia dating to the turn of the century, art exhibits and an extensive, noncirculating research library. The library is now part of the Ventura County Library Services Agency. O'Neill, who has published two articles on effective research, said the museum staff can help residents research area land history, genealogy and other other subjects. The museum's operating hours on Thursdays will be extended to 8 p.m. starting July 24. The $3 admission price for an adult will cover a tour at 6 p.m. and speaker at 7 p.m. There is no admission charge for those 16 and younger. The speaker on July 24 will be John Langellier, director and curator of the Seabee Museum, founded 50 years ago. On Sunday afternoons, the Ventura County Museum is open for docent-led tours for all ages as well as self-guided viewing of the exhibits. Elder hostels also schedule educational sessions at the museum. An exhibit, ``Ventura County and the New West,'' recently won commendation by the American Association American Association refers to one of the following professional baseball leagues:
O'Neill notes that the exhibit traces the coastal Chumash village life, the coming of missions, the Spanish and Mexican ranchos and the broadening of agriculture with the arrival of immigrants from the eastern United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and other countries. The museum boasts some colorful packing-crate art, such as a label from the Tapo Citrus Association of Santa Susana Santa Susana can refer to several places:
Simi Valley was the boyhood home of O'Neill's husband, David Boeshaar. The couple moved to Simi Valley in 1991. O'Neill's career had been in the Syracuse and Onondaga County area of New York. She was the educator for the Erie Canal Museum Erie Canal Museum is a museum on the Erie Canal in New York, USA. The museum was founded in 1962 and is a private, nonprofit corporation. It is housed in a weigh lock building dating from 1850, where canal boats used to be weighed when travelling through Syracuse on the . She also served as consultant for the Everson Museum of Art The Everson Museum of Art, in Downtown Syracuse, New York, is a major Central New York museum focusing on American art. History The museum was founded in 1897 by art historian George Fisk Comfort (who also helped found the Metropolitan Museum of Art); at that time, it and the Onondaga Historical Association in joint museum-school programs with the Syracuse City School District. She developed the concept and script for the first permanent exhibit on the history of Onondaga County. She won a 1979-80 fellowship from the Rotary International Foundation for study in London. Since her move to Simi Valley, O'Neill has been an educational consultant for the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Office of Education and has taught in the writing programs of the UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX Extension program and the Learning Tree University. She was recently named to the board of the Museum Educators of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . The Ventura County Museum of History and Art is at 100 E. Main St., Ventura. For detailed information regarding exhibits, tours and more, call (805) 653-0323. |
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