PITTSFIELD, Mass. — School is out, but learning continues at Hancock Shaker Village. 

 

For the past 10 years, Cindy Dickinson has served as the museum's education director, developing engaging educational materials for the museum's visitors, which has earned her the iBerkshires.com Teacher of the Month designation.

 

The Teacher of the Month series, in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, will feature distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here.

 

"I'm proud to reflect a 65-year tradition of educating the public … I've always loved museums growing up, and as I became interested in the possibility of teaching or educating, museums seemed like a really good career for me," Dickinson said. 

 

"Museums, to me, are the classroom that everyone feels comfortable in and can engage in and find some connection to something that they might not have realized they were interested in." 

 

Dickinson said she is very fond of Hancock Shaker Village's model because of the many different ways that people can experience the museum.

 

The village is largely a self-guided model, featuring formal talks, craft demonstrations, and other activities that visitors can participate in. 

 

Additionally, it offers a series of school field trips that engage students from kindergarten through 12th grade. It also has summer programming for kids between the ages of 6 and 14.  

 

When people think of education at Hancock Shaker Village, Dickinson is the first person who comes to mind for many, said Carrie Holland, the village's director and CEO. 

 

For many Berkshire County residents, field trips to the farm and its hands-on material are a core memory, whether it's from their experiences in textiles, architecture, or the farm. 

 

"So, when we think of education, there are a lot of children facing programs — some are on the farm, which is a beautiful summer program, our hatch program, which brings Cindy and our egg incubators into classrooms, and the field trips. A lot of children have those memories and have those educational moments," Holland said. 

 

"And that's a lot of Cindy herself, as well as the team that she manages. So I think that's a huge impact that she's had over the years." 

 

It was said that thousands of people are impacted by the educational material created alongside Hancock Shaker Village staff.

 

The museum has approximately 3,000 students participating in its school field trips, around 60 students in its summer programs, and five to six interns. However, this does not include the visitors the museum receives on a daily basis. 

 

The adult learning opportunities are another significant layer of Dickinson's impact. There are numerous workshops, holiday events like "Haunted Hancock," special lecture series, guided tours of the museum, and more, Holland said. 

 

Dickinson is "one of the fuels that keeps the village going," said Jaycee Babbs, village interpreter. 

 

She develops all of the museum's interpretive programming, creates the lectures and programming, writes the educational panels, and more, he said. 

 

"They're written in a very accessible way that no matter how much knowledge you have, whether you're an expert or you're a novice, you can really understand and digest that information," Babbs said. 

 

"She also makes sure that everybody knows that they're appreciated, and she brings that into the classroom and brings that into anywhere that we're educating. She always makes sure that everybody is considered and makes sure that everybody is comfortable and is learning what they would like to learn."

 

It is very important to have someone like Dickinson to enhance visitor experience at a museum, he said. 

 

I feel like visitor experience is something that can kind of get jammed into a number of categories, and it's one of those things that needs to be its own thing as a practice," Babbs said. 

 

"I like to say that in the education department, we do work a lot with visitors, and we make sure that their experiences are as educational and as great as possible." 

 

"One of the things that did attract me to Hancock Shaker Village is the fact that we have an excellent working farm," Dickinson said. 

 

The farm introduces people to what a farm is all about, what life is like on a farm, and how to take care of animals in a responsible way, she said. 

 

Dickinson was introduced to the Shakers in middle school in Kentucky and has been fascinated by them ever since. 

 

The Shakers are a wonderful entry point into understanding how we live together as a society. [They] in many ways, do not live the way most of the rest of us do, and yet they have thrived." 

 

Although the Shakers shared the values of our society is committed to — equality, peace, and harmony — their ways of living were different, Dickinson said. 

 

Another aspect that interested Dickinson in the Village is the opportunity to remind visitors "that there are other models and ways of living that we can explore and consider as we choose our own paths for how we want to live our lives," she said.  

 

"And helping people to get to know this really wonderful religion and the people who have practiced it for 250 years."

 

Dickinson has worked in museums since graduating from the University of Delaware, where she participated in the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture. 

 

From there, she went on to work at Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst for 19 years. 

 

"That was a very interesting experience. Dickinson's house is owned by Amherst College and was a small house museum. During the time I was there, working with other colleagues, it expanded into a two house museum and really became an interesting destination for visitors," Dickinson said. 

 

"I got to do a lot of exhibits and program planning, and really had a great, great career-building experience there."