Site Manager Elizabeth Williams said the museum recently celebrated its fifth anniversary and has benefited from laying a good groundwork in terms of permanent and rotating exhibits of interest to people in the community.
However, she said, the museum needs to raise its exposure to people outside of Logan County.
"One thing I have been challenged with is getting the museum recognized outside of Logan County," she said Wednesday as special guest speaker for the Rotary Club of Logan.
Williams said the museum is putting together new outreach programs which will go into public schools in other counties. She said the Kanawha County school system recently cut out arts-related field trips and she intends to fill that void. Some of the outreach programs will be based on displays that are currently in the museum. The first program will be for middle school children and is about coal. Living history reenactors will be part of another program.
Williams is currently working on a program based on one of West Virginia's most famous blown-glass makers.
Williams said she wants to put together a program based on the Mamie Thurman story, as well.
The museum currently has crafts programs for kids and has as many as 50 kids showing up for them on Saturdays.
Williams said attendance is another challenge as the park which houses the museum gets around 800,000 visitors a year and the museum itself only gets a percentage of those visitors.
"We have to broaden our appeal and we are working on new exhibits," Williams said. "We have a suggestion box in our lobby and we routinely get good ideas out of it".
This weekend, the Museum in the Park will once again host the Aunt Jennie Wilson Music Festival, in honor of Virginia Myrtle "Aunt Jennie" Wilson who was born in 1900 in what is now Chief Logan State Park. She was a legendary music pioneer in appalachia and her music and storytelling made her internationally known for her preservation of Appalachian culture.
There will be two outdoor concerts on Saturday, Aug. 30, from 4-10 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 31, from 1-6 p.m. he concerts will be held in the park's Liz Spurlock Amphitheater, located about one-half mile from the museum featuring Roger Bryant, the grandson of Aunt Jennie Wilson; Cora Hairston, a performer from Omar who will sing original tunes and gospel songs; Tom Breiding, a folk singer who has been honing his singing, guitar playing and song writing talents since the early 1980s, from his hometown of Wheeling, W.Va. to his current residence in McMurray, Pa.; John and Marvine Loving of Cross Lanes, noted for their folk- and ballad-singing; Glen Simpson, a folk musician from Hardy, Ky.; The Dick Taylor Band, a bluegrass group from Chapmanville; The Street Players, a rock band hailing from Logan; and 119 South, a country band from Logan.
The Sunday afternoon concert will feature another Breiding set; The Earl of Elkview, George Daugherty, a trial lawyer who has traveled the world singing and talking about West Virginia; Elaine Purkey, a traditional vocalist from Ranger; the Stewart Family, a gospel group from Clear Fork; Robert Shafer and the Pour House Crew, a country band based in the Charleston area; and Daddy Rabbit Band, a local pop band from the Logan area.
The concession stand outside the amphitheater will be open for refreshments. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
Visitors also are welcome to come to the Museum in the Park to see the current exhibits from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and 1-6 p.m. on Sunday. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday from 1-6 p.m.
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