Hollister CREATIVE

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Who they are
Through its collections, exhibitions, research and educational programming, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology seeks to advance understanding of the world's cultural heritage. Founded in 1887, Penn Museum offers a wide variety of interpretive exhibits, educational programs and electronic communications to engage and enlighten both students and adults. Its educational programming not only provides original curriculum materials for students, but also cultural outreach in the community. The museum itself is a magnet for inquiry and exploration, with three gallery floors displaying materials from Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Bible Lands, Mesoamerica, Asia and the ancient Mediterranean World, as well as artifacts from native peoples of the Americas, Africa and Polynesia.

What we do for them
Hollister Kids is the education division of Hollister Creative and a custom creator of teaching and outreach materials for cultural institutions and Newspaper in Education programs. Penn Museum chose Hollister to create a Teacher Guide to extend the educational reach of an exhibit on the art and history of Africa's Benin Kingdom. "Iyare! Splendor and Tension in Benin's Palace Theatre" explored the influence of one of West Africa's most renowned early political states by examining its art, architecture, politics, history, ceremonies, customs, deities and social structure. This custom project became not only a guide to the exhibit, but a permanent curriculum piece for Philadelphia public schools, which now require that every student take a course in African and African American history to graduate. In earlier projects for Penn Museum, Hollister created a student newspaper supplement and Teacher Guide in support of the evolution exhibit "Surviving: The Body of Evidence" and a student supplement for the exhibit "Amarna: Ancient Egypt's Place in the Sun."

Why they like us
Hollister has proved to be a wonderful partner in the production of printed materials around our exhibits. They make learning fun, and it is very obvious from their work that they are very attuned to the museum visitors. It is a great pleasure to work with them.”
— Gillian Wakely, Associate Director for Education