Congratulations to all of the American Association for State and Local History's 2010 Leadership in History award winners!

The Leadership in History award encourages excellence in the collections, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States and is presented for excellence in history programs, projects and people when compared with similar activities nationwide.

This year two Connecticut organizations' projects, both of which received funding support from the Connecticut Humanities Council's Heritage Revitalization Fund, were recognized and honored:

• The Middlesex County Historical Society, Middletown, for the project Hard and Stirring Times: Middletown and the Civil War.  This project combined an exhibit, a virtual exhibit on the society's Web site, and a teacher-directed curriculum development project focusing on the Civil War years in Middletown.  Visitors and students walk away from the exhibit with a broader view of the war and a greater sense of the town of Middletown which serves as the central theme for the project.
  

• The Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society, West Hartford, for the Tomorrow's Museum Project.  This project changed the way the museum presents Webster's story and West Hartford's past.  The organization transformed their lobby into a Visitor Reception Center, produced an orientation film, developed an exhibit to introduce visitors to the site's main themes, and reinterpreted the historic house.  As a result of the project, the Noah Webster House presents the history of the man as well as the town in a way that allows visitors to make personal connections to history in a fun and lively way.

If you haven't seen these projects yet, check them out the next time you're in the area.

Kudos!