William Shakespeare said that “Sweet are the uses of adversity.  Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel on his head.”

Aah – Adversity. Yes, the outreach program at the Kentucky Derby Museum begins with a bit of adversity.  Due to unforeseen personnel issues, our Western KY trip scheduled for this week has been postponed until January.  It was going to be the largest undertaking this program had attempted in the 10 years of its existence – 3 educators in 12 schools in 4 days.  And the good news is that every school on the trip is rescheduled and I’ll have time to train two other educators and be ready to roll in January.  Now let’s just make sure it doesn’t snow. 

Then on Friday, I heard the news that the Sherman Minton Bridge, the Interstate 64 bridge that connects Indiana and Kentucky has been shut down indefinitely due to a number of cracks.  Guess what side of the river I live? (north)  Guess how long it normally takes to drive to the museum?  (20 minutes)  Guess how long it takes now, with thousands of people trying to get to work in Louisville using two bridges? (2 hours) 

But like Willy paraphrased about 400 years ago: “chill out and make lemonade out of lemons”.  It’s very possible we’ll be making lemonade for a long time as it’s possible a completely new bridge will have to be built. 

Morningside Elementary in Elizabethtown hit lead-off this year.  I taught the “Vanishing Bluegrass” program several times to the fourth graders and I just have to say:  They completely ‘got it’.  Teaching 4th graders concepts about land conservation, “smart growth” and suburban sprawl isn’t easy.  Some groups of kids get it – and some really don’t.  But as fast as E-Town is growing, situated on I-65 and the Western KY Parkway, those kids see it every day. 

The next day was another treat – on the banks of the Ohio River in Hancock County – Cloverport School.  I taught several programs throughout the afternoon, then an after-school program in the school cafeteria.  Although the county, like a lot of rural Kentucky counties, is plagued with poverty and the social issues that occur, the kids in Cloverport know they have an opportunity betterment at an excellent school.  And do you know how “poor” kids   perform in the classroom when they have great teachers, those teachers have administrative support, and encouragement at home?   Here’s how they perform:

Cloverport kids CAN

My editorial comment here is – growing up in poverty doesn’t make you “poor”. 

After teaching, I was treated to some down-home cooking at a non-descript little place called “Becky’s”.  And Becky’s certainly lived up to expectations – a large hamburger with cheese and grilled onions, along with a large pile of hand-breaded onion rings.  I hear that breakfast might even be better! 

Becky's in Cloverport

The first week of outreach came to a close with my colleague,  Liz Williams, teaching at Bowling Middle School in Owen County.  Liz had her own adversity to deal with as she relates her tale: (luckily, Liz is a big Shakespeare fan as well)

For my first outreach of the 2011-2012 school year I ventured out to Owen County, an hour and a half drive from the Kentucky Derby Museum.  I went to college for my undergraduate work at Northern Kentucky University so I am very familiar with Interstate 71, but I had never gone through Owenton before.  It was a straight shot off of the interstate, and I have started keeping a tally of the animals along the roadside.  There are the typical cows and horses, but I even saw sheep, chickens, and a few goats.  There was even a donkey rolling around on his back.  This city girl was enjoying the variety.

I arrived at the school and quickly realized that something was wrong.  There was the building that said the name, there were parking signs, and signs directing visitors to sign in at the office.  All of the usual school building pieces with one big exception: there were no cars or people.  But the school was marked so I thought that maybe there was a back parking lot I didn’t know about.  I gathered my things and walked to the front door (marked “Office”) and immediately knew I was in the wrong place.  The hallway was dark, and there were boxes, furniture and other items strewn about the floor.  This wasn’t a suitable place for kids, much less an educator in high heels.

Thankfully I live in a world of cell phones, so when I called the school office and said “I’m from the Kentucky Derby Museum and something isn’t right,” they immediately knew I was at the old school.  Apparently they opened the new school after Christmas break last year and it was less than a half mile down the road to the new building.  I made it there in time for my first program, and I must say that the new building is great!  And yes, there were plenty of cars and people.

I taught a history lesson to the 8^th grade students and they were great.  They were very well behaved and I even had some journalism students taking notes for their newspaper.  After teaching I made it back to Louisville just in time to get caught in the traffic of everyone trying to get to the U of L football game.  It was a great start to the school year, and it sets the bar high for the rest of my visits!

So that wraps up our first week of outreach.  It loooks like we might be in store for a wild ride – but you can’t trade these experiences for anything.  Next week, schools in Bellevue, Georgetown and Henderson are on the docket.   Until then, remember:

Most museums do not offer outreach.  A successful outreach program takes money, staffing, time, and a commitment to education which frankly, most museums can’t or won’t commit to.   We are lucky here at the Kentucky Derby Museum because we have funding from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, as well as from an anonymous donor.  We also have management that truly values the importance of providing cultural and educational experiences for students across the state.  Most of these kids will never walk through the doors of our museum, but virtually all of them will know and hopefully appreciate what the Kentucky Derby means to Kentucky. 

Has it been successful?  After a decade of providing free outreach programming, this year’s calendar filled up completely in 26 days.  That’s 72 schools, in 37 counties, and 30,405 students.  Yes, we have quality and engaging programming; and yes, it’s free.  But it also shows the hunger for schools to provide for their students relative and real-world applications of the things the teachers are teaching in the classrooms – even if it’s a horse race in Louisville that only lasts two minutes. 

So tomorrow brings another year of traveling, teaching, fast food (hopefully not much), getting lost (hopefully never), and best of all, teaching and interacting with students across the commonwealth.  There are schools like Crittenden County Elementary or Rockfield Elementary in Bowling Green, where I’ve been before, and at those schools, it’s like seeing one of those friends or relatives you only see once a year.  Other schools will be first-time visits – Rosspoint and James Cawood Elementary way down in Harlan County are on the schedule in April, and I’m very excited to get down that way. 

There will be a few changes for the upcoming school year.  My colleague in the Derby Museum Education Department, Liz Williams, will be teaching outreach programs as well as myself.  Although this program is my baby, so to speak, I have no trouble admitting that the travel can become a grind.  I love to teach, but I don’t necessarily enjoy the driving part unless I’m driving through Red River Gorge or the Bluegrass Region.  And speaking of babies, I am expecting my first in mid-October, to join the ranks of my wife, two foster children and two cats in our house.  This has necessitated that I limit my dates out on the road, and am thankful that the outreach program will continue as strong as ever, with Liz and myself dividing the load. 

Another change is a secret.  For now.  But it’s big – and it’s going to further expand our museum goal and mission of “Sharing the Fun of the Kentucky Derby Experience”.  I’ll blog about it when I can. 

Elizabethtown, Cloverport and Owenton are leading off this week.  Stay tuned, there’s never a dull moment when you’re working with second graders. 

Ashland, Kentucky is a long way from Louisville - three hours east on I-64.  My first program teaching ratios and probability to 60 sixth graders  is scheduled for 8:30.  I’m out of bed by 4:45 a.m. and on the road by 5:15, stopping for coffee at 5:17.  I roll into the parking lot of Crabbe Elementary in downtown Ashland at 8:10 with the feeling that this is going to be a good outreach trip.  Just a feeling.

I taught 7 programs, traveling from classroom to classroom throughout the day.  These kids were prepared too – every class (even the kindergarteners) knew Animal Kingdom was the Derby winner on Saturday.  The fourth graders were especially impressive – they knew everything Derby related.  They knew more than me! 

They even called me out on a mistake that I have been making for at least the last year.  Here it is:

There are 7 official colors a thoroughbred can be….here is the breakdown of Derby winners:

Bay – 51

Dark Bay – 30

Chestnut – 44

Grey – 9

Black – 4

Roan – 1

White  – 0

Which is impossible since there have been 137 Derby winners and this list equals 139.  Jennifer Campbell, a fourth grader raised her hand and informed me of this.  OH NO!!!   So I’m in my office now and I’m going to look in the official Churchill Downs Media Guide to see where I’ve been steered wrong. 

OK – so change grey from 9 to 7 and that gets us to 137.  I think I can remember that.

I walked out of Crabbe Elementary at 2:45 tired, but happy.  It was a really good day.  But as I drove to my hotel I noticed the clouds starting to build in the west.  By the time I drove to dinner at 6:00 and two thunderstorms later, downtown Ashland was flooded.  I did a U-turn (along with everyone else), stopped and got a carry out pizza, headed back to hotel, luckily on high ground. 

The next day it was back to downtown Ashland and a visit to Hager Elementary.  I taught four programs and received maybe the greatest compliment I’ve ever had.  As the first graders were leaving the gym, I heard one little girl tell her friend – “that guy really knows what he’s talking about”….a great endorsement.  At 12:15 I loaded the van and it was back the way I came – I-64, listening to the Reds as I made my way back home to Indiana.  It’s my last trip of the year until September when another school year will be under way.  Maybe by then we’ll have a Triple Crown winner to talk about!   That’d be fun!

And oh yeah – my hotel bathroom had a bottle opener next to the toilet paper. 

Only 38 days until the big day….things are ramping up very quickly here at the museum. The front desk has really picked up this past week with spring breakers stopping in for a visit. The gift shop staff is stocking up with boxes of merchandise being organized. The marketing and sales staff are planning Oaks and Derby parties. And here in education it’s prime field trip season. I’ve got four school groups coming into the museum today while my fellow educator Liz Williams takes over outreach for this week. It’s a great time of the year!

Back to the blog:

A couple of weeks ago I took the outreach program to Southern Indiana, to the Ohio River town of Madison. Madison was one of the few towns that got serious about preserving and protecting its architecture and history early on. Today, over 100 blocks of nineteenth century buildings compose the largest contiguous national historic landmark in the country. It’s a wonderful place to stroll through historic neighborhoods and shop along Main St.

In the middle of this landmark, sits Lydia Middleton Elementary School, where I visited March 16. Middleton is a wonderful school in so many ways – but one thing that stands out to me is just that it’s there. So many communities, when a building gets old, they discard it. And it sits, and sits and sits while falling apart. I go into communities all the time with large, consolidated schools sitting on the outskirts of town. And most of them are great places to learn. But in the meantime, the old school building, formerly a gathering place for the entire community, sits rotting away in town. A school is more to a community than just a place for the kids to learn. It’s a central point that usually is a community’s cornerstone.

I wish more communities would do like Madison. Restore and rehab the old building to make it an inviting and cost effective place to learn, but also help keep the community vibrant and relevant.

This will be my only trip to Southern Indiana for outreach this year. But Middleton is a highlight for all it strives to be – and for what it is to the Madison community.

It’s the second week of March.  Winter’s over.  Outreach is BACK!

It’s been back with fits and starts for about a month now.  But after snow days and a wicked stomach virus, I’m declaring outreach back for the spring in a big way.  And just in time, because Derby Day is just under two months away!  Better start picking your horse out now.  I’m telling the kids Uncle Mo is going to win – but it’s only because of the name. 

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Letcher County for the first time. Know where Letcher County is?  It’s way, way out there on the Virginia border…a good 4 1/2 hr drive on a rainy Monday evening.  I visited three schools – Martha Jane Potter, Letcher and Whitesburg MS.  All three were excellent and I think they really enjoyed the programming. 

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The first part of the outreach season is in the books. It’s been a whirlwind three months for sure, and the outreach educator and the van is looking forward to a winter break! Here are the numbers, for those of you keeping score at home:

35 schools
15,200 students
143 programs taught
7,022 miles travelled

I’ll hit the road again in February, but in the meantime, I’ll recharge my batteries and work on several exciting projects here at the museum.

On Dec. 1st, I made the three and a half hour drive to Mayfield, KY in Graves County and taught three programs in a large auditorium at Mayfield Middle School. It was “Character Day”, so many of the students were dressed up as characters, like Cookie Monster (complete with a painted blue face), Elmo, and several others that I didn’t recognize.

After a stop at Hill Brothers BBQ in Mayfield (excellent) it was back on the Western Kentucky Parkway for a two hour drive, headed towards Ohio County, where I got a room at the Beaver Dam Inn.

A Mexican restaurant was recommended by the hotel front desk staff, so I found the small, storefront restaurant and took a fajita quesadilla back to the hotel room for an exciting evening of college basketball. Hotel life is what it is.

The next day, it was up the road 15 minutes to Hartford, KY, and home to Wayland Alexander Elementary, a large, modern school on the outskirts of town. I taught seven different programs throughout the day in the media center, to large groups of enthusiastic, but very well behaved groups. I was impressed with their handle on the core content as well: The fourth graders knew all about weathering (science), the fifth graders knew about opportunity cost (economics) and the third graders, despite not knowing the term “ratio” (you don’t get to that until fifth grade), figured out probability concepts with no problem. I’ve been to several Ohio County schools over the years and I always walk out impressed. And no soreheads either.

Owensboro, Kentucky is a great town. If you’re ever there, be sure to visit the Owensboro landmarks: the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and then head over to Moonlite BBQ. They never disappoint.

Another great asset to Owensboro is their schools. Imagine being in a town for a whole week, visiting  five schools – and never, not one time – ever have to tell a group of kids to get quiet. That’s how it is in Owensboro and it’s been like that since we started visiting there nine years ago. That’s what happens when you have great central office leadership, dedicated teachers with high expectations and family support at home. It’s a district that has supported our outreach program since it began; so despite the fact that I’m not scheduling “repeat schools” this year, I gave an exception to Owensboro. Two schools – Tamarack Elementary and East View Elementary have had visits from our program every year since it began, and I certainly wanted to keep the streak going.

Unfortunately, I had a sick child to deal with on Wednesday and had to reschedule Tamarack for a February date. On Thursday, I visited East View and finished the week at Deer Park Elementary. Normally, I would have spent the night in Owensboro and made a serious dent in the Moonlite BBQ buffet. But with foster kids at home now, I drove the two hour trip after the school day was over. 

At Deer Park Elementary, all of the programs went like I knew they would – really well.   But I was given a big surprise at lunchtime.  Moonlite is world-famous for its Owensboro style BBQ, but the locals claim Old Hickory Pit is the best. I’ve also been to George’s and Old South BBQ and both are very good. This is a community that takes its BBQ so seriously, it hosts the International BBQ Festival every May.  So I was surprised that Deer Park Elementary just might have the best BBQ is in Owensboro!  Maybe I was just really hungry, but it was really, really good.    

While Deer Park is special for it BBQ, the other school I visited is special in its own right. East View Elementary is just outside Owensboro next to a small community called Thruston. Since I’ve been there every year, most of the students know who I am and know what to expect; although they see a different program every year. Every year it’s the same thing: great kids, great teachers, great experience. But what makes East View even more special is what is across the street from the school.  

While most of our Derby winners are from the inner bluegrass area around Lexington, there is one from Owensboro.  Across the street from East View is a farm called Spend A Buck Farm, named after our 1985 Kentucky Derby winner who ran the Derby in, at that time, the third fastest time.   Unfortunately, the farm has deteriorated over the years. The wooden fencing is falling apart, and I had heard a few years ago the property was in danger of being sold and subdivided. The good news is that the farm was recently bought by former major league baseball player and former Owensboro resident Brad Wilkerson who plans to fix it up. As you can see from the picture below, it’s a beautiful piece of property and just another thing that makes the Owensboro community a great place to live.

Watch Spend a Buck crush Derby field here

My favorite part of every program is the last five minutes or so when I give the kids time to ask questions. It’s usually pretty predictable what they will ask: “Who won the first Derby?” (Aristides) “How old do you have to be to be a jockey?” (16) and “Can girls be jockeys?” (absolutely) And then, with the younger kids who don’t understand the concept of a question: “My mamaw has a horse and I can ride it.” (Uh…OK)

Then I visited Longbranch Elementary in Boone County on November 12. After a rousing Economics and the Derby program for the fifth graders, it was time to ask questions. And it was here, that I met my match.

After a couple of “normal” questions, I called on a boy who asked “How many bones does a Thoroughbred have?” After I got over the “deer in headlights” look, I had to admit I wasn’t sure and would have to look it up when I got back to the museum. On to the next question which was “What percentage of a horse’s body is muscle?” Yeah – that coming form a fifth grader. I just looked at him for a second before admitting that I had no idea, and once again, would have to look it up. The last question, thank goodness, was a little more palatable: “How fast can a Thoroughbred run?” (About 40 miles per hour at top speed)

And upon further research, that answer would be 205 bones and skeletal muscle makes up 45% of a horse’s body weight.

Just think of the questions they probably ask the teachers (and their parents).

Earlier in the week I made the long, long drive to Murray, Kentucky, to teach at the elementary and middle schools. Murray is a nice college town with the famous Big Apple Cafe which came highly recommended. I’ll go ahead and recommend the shrimp enchilada if you’re ever in the area. Both schools were great and I look forward to visiting again.   But only if they ask easy questions.

It’s July 10, 1924 and opening day at a brand-new racetrack outside of the small town of Chinnville in Greenup County, Kentucky; located just north of Ashland and only several hundred yards from the banks of the Ohio River. The track is splendid: the one mile dirt oval is surrounded by a bright white fence and “rambling red roses. The bridle paths and front lawn were paved in red tapestry brick, matching the clubhouse, steward’s stand and judge’s stand. The infield contained a lake and several sunken gardens.” 22 stables housed Thoroughbreds from all over the country competing at America’s newest and grandest racetrack, nicknamed the “Million Dollar Oval”. It’s name was Raceland.

Nine days later, was Derby Day. Not Kentucky Derby Day, but Raceland Derby Day….and five horses that competed in Louisville for the roses made their way to the brand-new track in Chinnville – including the Kentucky Derby winner – Black Gold! Over 27,000 people packed the grandstand and grounds as the crowd made Black Gold a heavy favorite. But it was the horse that finished dead last in the Kentucky Derby, Bob Tail, who stunned the crowd and won the inaugral Raceland Derby. Black Gold came home third.

The “Million Dollar Oval” ran out of money just four years later and closed it’s doors for good in 1928. Later attempts to reopen were unsuccessfull and finally, in 1937, the land was sold and the grandstand torn down.

The town of Chinnville is now called Raceland, and I visited Greysbranch Elementary just a couple of miles north in Greenup County. After class, I drove over to where the old Raceland track used to be. There are two structures still standing: the boarded up clubhouse, and one falling down horse stable (you can still barely make out the numbers above each stall). And as I walked around on that beautiful October afternoon, I could almost hear the roar of the crowd, as it tried to coax Black Gold home 86 years ago.

The van is tired. Myself and two colleagues drove it down to Baton Rouge, LA for a conference for museum professionals the third week of October. That’s 12 hours down and 12 hours back. Then it was back down to Morgan County for more outreaching. Then it was to Bowling Green, then all the way to the far northeastern tip of Kentucky – Greenup County. Then a trip to Lexington, then Ohio County, then to Frankfort for a speaking engagement for the Kentucky Historical Society. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s about 5200 miles for the month. Yes, the van is tired. I’m not going to tell it we’re heading to the far south western tip tomorrow – Murray.

I finished up Morgan County with maybe the smallest school I’ll visit this year – Ezel Elementary with about 150 wonderful students . They were beautiful October days and I was able to eat lunch at their beautiful city park (best in Kentucky) along the Licking River.

After teaching that afternoon, I drove to the next county to visit a park I had passed on the way in – the perfectly named Broke Leg Falls. I hiked the trail down into the ravine, but didn’t bring hiking boots and very nearly added to the legacy of its name.

The dining selections in Morgan County are, shall we say, limited. So it was fried chicken from the local pizzaria. (don’t ask – I’m tired of pizza) At Morgan Central Elementary the next day, I ended up meeting a superhero who berated me about my dining choice from the evening before and encouraged me to make better dietary choices. Here he is:

The next day I travelled to Berea, Kentucky for a first-time visit to Silver Creek Elementary. Silver Creek is a large, sprawling school with maybe the most enthusiastic staff I’ve met this year. The large group sizes took nothing away from the experience and I walked out thinking I need to visit more schools in Berea! Here is an excerpt from their website after the visit:

Silver Creek students caught Mathin’ Around The Track
Wednesday, 03 November 2010
On October 22, Silver Creek Elementary students found out just what it takes to win the Kentucky Derby. “Sure it takes a fast horse,” said the presenter from the Kentucky Derby Museum, “but it also take a whole lot of math!” Students applied their knowledge of Number Properties and Operations, Measurement, Geometry, Probability, and Algebra (the 5 Big Ideas of Math) to solve real life problems that they would encounter if they were gearing up to race a horse in the Kentucky Derby.

The program provided is aimed at students with hands on experiences that integrated math and social studies. Third graders learned just what it takes to win the Kentucky Derby – strong math skills. Students used their knowledge of math concepts in real world applications to determine what times the trainer needed to exercise the horse, what color Thoroughbred they would want to invest in, how tall a Thoroughbred horse is, and much more!

If you would like to obtain information about getting this program to visit your school, please contact: Ronnie Dreistadt, Outreach Education Coordinator, at rdreistadt@derbymuseum.org or 502-637-7097.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.  And I want Veggie Man to know that I’ll do better.