Penn Museum was recently honored with a Pinnacle Award from the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC). The Museum was chosen for its virtual programs that offer interactive learning for students in grades five through 12.

In the 2014-2015 academic year, the Museum offered 32 workshops, serving 1,587 virtual students. Last year, it increased to 85 workshops for nearly 3,000 students.

 The Pinnacle Award is given annually by the CILC to organizations that receive outstanding scores on program evaluations submitted by educators and other key users. Winners stand out in the areas of educational content and program delivery. At the end of the 2014–2015 academic year, the first full-scale year of the program, the Penn Museum received an Honorable Mention.

“The Penn Museum has extraordinary international collections and a wealth of expertise about the world, ancient and modern. New technologies allow us to share these treasures and knowledge across borders, allowing much greater access,” noted Ellen Owens, Merle-Smith Director of Learning Programs at the Penn Museum. “We know we have the content to enrich education at all levels, and we are thrilled to have achieved this distinction with the Pinnacle Award with our virtual programs. This is only the beginning for us.”

Allyson Mitchell, outreach program manager for the Museum, said, “The more we do, the more possibilities we see for expanded programming and audiences, including elementary school students, virtual professional development opportunities, and soon, adult learners.…Two exciting outcomes from last year were multi-program partnerships with regional schools and collaborations with a new cyber school.”

School and adult groups interested in booking a virtual visit can visit http://www.penn.museum/teachers-and-students/in-your-classroom/virtual-programs Allyson Mitchell, outreach program manager, Learning Programs, can be reached at (215) 898-8706, or by email, outreach@pennmuseum.org