Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center of Virginia Inc

In 2024 we continued serving small and medium groups but not large groups, in order to protect the health and well-being of our employees. We served public, private, and homeschool groups and taught them about the Lewis and Clark Expedition and its local roots. We gave tours to adult groups and tourists from both in-state and out-of-state.We ran outdoor arts programs for visitors of all ages related to exploration, such as journaling based on the Lewis and Clark journals and photography that connects historical exploration with modern skills. We continued research and exhibition planning for an expanded interpretation of York, the enslaved member of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. We worked on watershed issues in partnership with other area nonprofits and presented student-made watershed videos created on field trips to the Exploratory Center. We continued to write for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District watershed newsletter.In 2024 we implemented the school lesson plan and interactive art exhibition developed for the City of Charlottesvilles Sister Cities Commission. We made presentations on York to other organizations, such as the United Way, and we researched and published articles on history and museum interpretation in a regional newspaper and a national magazine, including articles focused on York. Throughout the year, we worked with volunteers from the University of Virginia on renovating our full-sized boat replicas and collaborated with scholars to further develop a French foreign language tour.As hosts, we carried forward and completed planning for the 2024 Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation national conference, which took place in Charlottesville in September 2024. We participated in the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundations governance (including one Board of Directors membership) and in the broader planning for their conference. We continued to open our building to events for other nonprofits and government agencies, participated in the BAA Rivanna River Festival, hosted a conference for teachers of deaf and blind students organized by VCU, and hosted a meeting of the Charlottesville Albemarle Tourism Bureau and their stakeholders.In the summer of 2024 we again ran small group camps for children related to exploration. We partnered with CBI Forest School on outdoor programs, including photography, filmmaking, and other skills of exploration. Throughout the fall, we continued our small- to medium-sized field trip programs and adult programs. We offered a variety of community programs, including an event focused on fishing and art projects involving the river and a community event focusing on Indigenous cuisine. We also continued extensive research and program development to support the 2025 LCTHF Annual Meeting.