Business & Tech

Grant Will Combine New Technology and Local History at Noah Webster House

A grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving will help the Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society expand its programming through the use of iPad-guided tours.

A grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving will help bring history alive to a tech-savvy public through the introduction of iPad's to expand the reach of guided tours at Noah Webster's birthplace in West Hartford.

Creation of the iPad-guided tours, which will initially be available in both English and Spanish, is being funded by a three-year, $225,000 grant that the Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society received from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

According to a news release from the Foundation, an earlier grant helped the museum develop a strategic plan to broaden its outreach and base of support. The additional grant will allow for implementation of the plan at the birthplace of the man who is known as "the Father of American Scholarship and Education" for his development of the dictionary and blue-back speller. 

"The iPad project is very exciting," Christopher Dobbs, executive director of the museum, said in the release. "In many ways, we will be trail-blazers. The project can redefine how the public can interact with historic houses and museums."

According to the Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society website, the museum already services approximately 10,000 students and thousands of other visitors each year. Other offerings include workshops, summer camps, and a history club.  

"We have a wonderful group of volunteer tour guides, but we don’t have enough of them," Dobbs said in the release. "The tablet-based tours – to be developed in English and Spanish to start – will allow us to significantly expand public hours. And visitors will be able to explore the museum at their own pace and tailor the experience to meet their interests. Think museum audio tours – only better."  

William Newman, chair of the organization's board of trustees, mentioned another advantage that will accompany the use of the iPads. "We are focused on not becoming a stuffy, old cobwebbed museum that doesn’t relate to the kids in school today. They represent the future core support for this museum. They can relate to tablet technology. The Hartford Foundation is helping us reach out to them," Newman said in the release.  

Other projects being funded by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving grant include expansion of the National Dictionary Project – which has provided a history-based school assembly and free dictionary for every third-grader in West Hartford – to include Hartford. Plans are in place to expand that project to other area districts as well. 

According to the release the museum has also developed another new program, a Civil Discourse Forum for students, which "will focus on Noah Webster-related themes that are relevant today such as advocacy for improved public education."    


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here