Teaching through Collections | P17AS00016

Opportunity Information: Apply for P17AS00016

Teaching through Collections (Funding Opportunity Number P17AS00016) is a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative agreement designed to turn museum and park collections into practical classroom resources for teachers and students in central Alaska, with a strong focus on the Denali area. This notice is not an open call for proposals; it is a public announcement that NPS intended to make a non-competitive, single-source award to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), specifically the Museum of the North (UAMN), under an existing cooperative framework (Cooperative Agreement P13AC01025). The project sits under CFDA 15.945, Cooperative Research and Training Programs, and is authorized through 54 U.S.C. 101702(a) and (b), which support cooperative agreements and cooperative research and training efforts.

The planned award was up to $27,450 in federal support (with no cost share required), structured as a three-year effort running from December 1, 2016 through September 30, 2019. The central goal is educational outreach: helping elementary and secondary educators use cultural resource collections to teach local history and culture, while also highlighting why museum collections matter and how they can be used as evidence in learning. The partnership aligns with both organizations missions, with Denali National Park and Preserve supporting the effort as a way to broaden public understanding of the region's cultural resources.

The work is organized around three main deliverables. First, UAMN would run a teacher training workshop in the Denali region, either as one two-day session or two one-day sessions, hosted in local communities such as Cantwell, Healy, Anderson, Nenana, and/or Talkeetna. In this training, museum staff would introduce teachers to object-based learning and the cultural history of the Denali area, then guide them in developing standards-based lesson plans and classroom activities connected directly to museum and park collections. Where relevant, the lessons would incorporate the Alaska Cultural Standards for Educators, and the workshop would also provide professional development support, including covering any continuing education credit fees charged by the University of Alaska for participating teachers.

Second, UAMN would build longer-term access to these materials by creating an online portal to host teacher-created and museum-edited lesson plans, activities, and other educational content. A major component of the online resources would be a digital or virtual exhibit using selected cultural resource items from both Denali National Park and Preserve (DENA) and UAMN collections. To help the resource reach beyond the workshop participants, the project also included developing basic promotional materials like a brochure or flyer to point educators and community members to the website.

Third, the project would end with a public outreach event in the Denali Borough meant to connect local residents with the collections and the educational tools built during the agreement. The event concept is hands-on and community-facing, similar to a science night or school-based program, with teachers invited to participate and showcase activities that translate the collections into engaging learning experiences for families and students. In addition to the public-facing products, UAMN was required to submit a final written report to Denali Park by August 31, 2019 documenting the methodology used for the digital exhibit and summarizing completed work.

Roles were clearly split but intentionally collaborative, which is typical of cooperative agreements. UAMN was responsible for delivering the workshops, developing the lesson plans and online portal, producing the digital exhibit alongside NPS cultural resource staff, hosting the final outreach event, and submitting the final report. The agreement also specifies that any relevant equipment purchased would remain the property of NPS Cultural Resources for future use in similar education and digitization efforts. NPS, in turn, would be substantially involved by helping recruit teachers, publicizing the outreach event, assisting with logistics and reservations, providing access to NPS collections, offering staff expertise for review and development (for example, curators and cultural resource specialists), and supplying up to $27,450 in financial assistance. Where feasible, NPS could also allow the project team to use government equipment and infrastructure for tasks like photographing collections or supporting audiovisual needs, subject to standard NPS accountability rules.

Finally, the reason this award was issued without competition is explained through the Department of the Interior single-source policy criteria, specifically "Unique Qualifications." NPS justified the non-competitive approach on the grounds that the relevant museum collections needed for the educational content are jointly held across NPS and the UAF Museum of the North, making UAMN uniquely positioned to work directly with these materials and deliver the intended outcomes. The announcement also notes that applications would only be accepted from UAF under the Cooperative Ecosystem Study Unit arrangement tied to the existing cooperative agreement, and that the expected number of awards was one. The listed point of contact for the opportunity was Erica Cordeiro.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the education, environment, humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda), natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Teaching through Collections" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 08, 2016.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 17, 2016 Applications will only be accepted from the University of Alaska Fairbanks under their Cooperative Ecosystem Study Unit program P13AC01025.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $30,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for P17AS00016

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: