Hi Listers
A couple of weeks ago there was a thread on using people who were under
court supervision as workers in museums.  The current issue of Museum News
reports on the effect a museum can have on offenders, especially juvenile
offenders.

Here are a few excerpts:

"Rewarding Good Behavior
Museums interested in working with at-risk youth should take note of the
Experimental Gallery, based at The Children's Museum, Seattle.  The program
takes members of the museum and art communities into Washington State's six
juvenile facilities to complete creative projects with incarcerated
teenagers, who learn to cooperate, achieve goals, and reshape their future.
Last year, the gallery won the National Endowment for the Arts Coming Up
Taller Award, given to programs that improve the development of children
through the arts and humanities."

"Projects created in the Experimental Gallery benefit diverse audiences.
For "We're Your future Too", a multimedia exhibit designed and implemented
for the Seattle school district, participants used their experiences with
criminal behavior and incarceration to convey an anti-violence message"

"The Experimental Gallery's impact also can be measured statistically.  For
three years the University of Washington has been monitoring participants
behavior while they are incarcerated and after they leave the facilities.
Incidents of violence within the institution have decreased by 75 percent...
the study reveals that those who do not participate in the program have an
80 percent chance of committing another crime and returning to a juvenile
facility or an adult prison, while those who do participate have a 50
percent chance of doing so."

Linda Wilson
     Visitor Studies and Evaluation
     Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL 60605
     PH (312) 692 3261
    FAX (312) 939 8677
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