For the first Kids as Curators exhibition of 2019, students from Edward Little High School have curated, designed, and installed an exhibit in Museum L-A’s gallery space called “Nights at the PAL Hop: How Music Can Change History.”

Focused on the history of music in the local community, the exhibit opened with a public reception featuring a live musical performance of a student-led band on Wednesday, January 16.

The Kids as Curators program brings students from area schools to Museum L-A to create special exhibitions. For this exhibit, the co-teacher team of Alyssa McLean and Sarah Brooks of ELHS asked students from the school’s music and social studies departments to work together to explore the history of music in the local area.

Over the past semester, the students conducted research to understand what music was popular and why over succeeding decades. Much of their research centered around the famed PAL Hop of Lewiston, a local dance hall that many L-A residents may remember.

“I’m so proud of the creativity and professional effort my students put in to make this exhibit happen,” said Alyssa McLean. “We asked them to do a very large task, but they rose to the challenge and worked really hard. They learned a lot along the way and had a lot of fun doing it.”

“Nights at the PAL Hop” will be the first of four Kids as Curators exhibitions Museum L-A will host in 2019. The exhibit also kicks off programming coordinated by the museum as part of the City of Auburn’s year-long 150^thAnniversary Celebration. As the year continues, the museum will work with students from several Auburn schools to create exhibits in locations around the community that showcase the history, people, and positivity of the city’s younger generations during this special year. For more information on these upcoming exhibitions, see Museum L-A’s website.

“It’s always amazing to see what our children are capable of as they work and become the curators of our local history as seen through their eyes,” says Executive Director Rachel Desgrosseilliers. “We are excited that more classes are taking advantage of this program and that we can get students involved in Auburn’s year-long 150th Anniversary Celebration.”

Museum L-A is located in the Bates Mill Complex at 35 Canal Street in Lewiston.  Its hours of operation are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Special and large group tours outside of these hours are available by appointment. For more information, call 333-3881 or email info@museumla.org.