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Students of the Applied Museum Studies course at the Ìϲ©ÌåÓý are currently setting up a Ìϲ©ÌåÓý Politics exhibit in the Shared History Program at the newly renovated Lincoln Hall at the University. The exhibit, named Battle Born to Battle Ground, will feature various artifacts from the Ìϲ©ÌåÓý Historical Society's collection that illustrate the history of Ìϲ©ÌåÓý, starting from statehood and finishing at the 2016 elections. The exhibit's opening night is Nov. 3, beginning at 4 p.m. and lasting until 6 p.m. The event will also include guest speaker Heidi Gansert, executive director, external affairs for the University, and candidate for Ìϲ©ÌåÓý Senate.

According to Anita Watson, Shared History Coordinator at the University, the Shared History Program in the College of Liberal Arts incorporates three important elements of history: public history, digital history and oral history. To meet the third element, the students will perform a brief oral topical history interview with Gansert while asking questions regarding her educational and political experience, as well as her motivations for office.

"The students researched a number of political ‘battles' that have been waged over the course of Ìϲ©ÌåÓý's history," Watson said. "The exhibit is an opportunity to offer viewers information and awareness of the significance of some of the past battles in Ìϲ©ÌåÓý's political past."

This particular exhibit was based on a matter of timing with the upcoming elections. The students knew that since their topic was around the elections, they wanted to work with the idea of Ìϲ©ÌåÓý, the Battle Born state and Ìϲ©ÌåÓý as a Battle Ground state in modern elections. The students then wrote text and labels for the pieces they wanted to include in the exhibit, and Christine Johnson, curator of artifacts and registrar for the Ìϲ©ÌåÓý Historical Society, helped the students find the appropriate artifacts from the society's collection. The pieces chosen from the collection relate to the points that the students wish to make about Ìϲ©ÌåÓý's political history, including early conflict over statehood, women's rights, the Silver Party and legislating moral issues.

The Shared History Project exhibits student displays every year, with two exhibitions per semester. Currently, the exhibit accompanying Battle Born to Battle Ground is Numu Tumaduguna: Mabenaena Soomadino (Ìϲ©ÌåÓý Native Culture: Preservation and Adaptation). The Shared History Project plans to have two new exhibits in spring 2017, featuring work from Samantha Szesciorka, the curator at the Wilber D. May Museum, with the second exhibit topic focusing on tattoos.