Colorado Desert Education Collaborative

Matthew Herbst
Making of the Modern World Program
UC San Diego

This Engaging Humanities project is an educational partnership between the Imperial Valley Desert Museum (IVDM) in Imperial County, CA and Professor Matthew Herbst of UC San Diego’s Making of the Modern World Program. The project has two inter-related dimensions: one virtual and one in-person. For the former, the project supports IVDM’s educational outreach in school districts in Imperial and eastern San Diego County by creating digital content on the human and environmental history of the Colorado Desert region. This content will be used in primary and secondary education lesson plans, which provide innovative ways for students (and teachers) to engage, understand, and value their home environment. This digital content can also be used for educational settings beyond the regional context. The project enhances the impact of IVDM’s educational effort, allowing it to provide new curricula through digital content. The in-person component provides the means for 15 UC San Diego undergraduate students who have completed a term-long course on the Colorado Desert region to work with IVDM to support community projects, including helping with primary/secondary student school visits and the museum’s annual Community Day.