By Sarah Wilson, Senior Director of Education and Museum Learning

The Autry Museum has long been recognized as a center of learning and cultural engagement. Beyond our role in serving the public, the Autry Museum supports education through various opportunities, including field trips, in-class programs, online curricula, and professional development, such as the Educators’ Institute. Made possible by a generous donation from the Steinmetz Foundation, the Educators’ Institute is an annual multiday workshop with a new theme each year. Each Institute’s sessions link the artifacts on display in the Autry’s galleries to curriculum standards, instructional strategies, and important skills, including critical thinking and visual analysis.  

The Autry is uniquely positioned to provide teachers with content-rich learning experiences grounded in authentic artifacts, primary sources, and real-world examples. While textbooks and digital resources are valuable, they cannot replicate the immediacy that objects create. The Autry’s collections and exhibitions can bring subject matter to life in a way teachers do not otherwise experience, and professional development opportunities like the Educators’ Institute allow teachers to deepen their subject-matter expertise in a way that is engaging, memorable, and rooted in evidence-based practices. Teachers who experience these rich learning opportunities are better able to translate their excitement and knowledge into dynamic classroom lessons.

The 2024 Educators’ Institute, Genocide, Resistance, and Resilience Across Native California, featured lectures, facilitation training, lesson modeling sessions, educational resources, and exhibition tours highlighting the exhibitions Reclaiming El Camino: Native Resistance in the Missions and Beyond, Human/Nature, Imagined Wests, and Journeys. Based on feedback from participant surveys, the 2025 Educators’ Institute, Mining the Gold Rush for Broader Perspectives, emphasized scholarly presentations, discussions, educational resources, and in-gallery activities that invited participants to explore the exhibitions Black Cowboys: An American Story, Art of the West, Imagined Wests, Journeys, Community, Human/Nature, and the Firearms Galleries.

A key takeaway from both Institutes is that participants appreciate the opportunity to build a broader community of learning. The Educators’ Institute brings together teachers from different schools, districts, and grade levels; these peer-to-peer connections can offer new perspectives, resources, and partnerships. The chance to spend time listening to, learning from, and speaking with expert scholars is another benefit, and many participants enjoy being treated as learners and scholars in their own right, a reminder of the reasons why they became educators in the first place.

As we collate the feedback from this summer’s Institute, we are looking forward to next summer’s program, which will highlight the stories woven into the upcoming exhibition Life, Liberty, and Los Angeles (opening May 30, 2026). The 2026 sessions may incorporate presentations about Los Angeles history and civics, with lesson modeling, facilitation training, group discussions, educational resources, and plenty of time spent in the galleries.

Initiatives like the Educators’ Institute affirm the Autry’s role as a partner in education, not merely a place for occasional visits. By investing in teacher growth, the Autry demonstrates its commitment to supporting the educational ecosystem and building lasting relationships with teachers. This commitment reinforces the Autry’s value to our communities, strengthens our relevance in the eyes of educators and administrators, and ensures that the Autry’s collections and expertise actively inspire learning. By equipping educators with knowledge, resources, and innovative teaching strategies, we can extend our impact far beyond the museum’s walls, directly influencing student learning, fostering a lifelong appreciation for museums, and cultivating curious, informed, and inspired learners for generations to come.