During the supplemental legislative session, funding was approved through the Washington State Historical Society’s budget to support planning for the 250th in Washington and begin to develop materials for the public. Funding will go toward:

Full time America 250 Coordinator position

The America 250 Coordinator will be located in the Heritage Outreach Department of the Washington State Historical Society and will work to:

• Ensure cohesion in planning across the many state agencies and entities involved
• Lead meaningful, consistent, and responsive outreach to the public to maximize engagement
• Engage a diverse variety of partners and communities

Downloadable Historical panel exhibit

The historical panel exhibit will be a free, downloadable tool interpreting topics related to the founding of the nation and the themes established by the Semiquincentennial Committee. The panels will be designed to be adapted into many spaces such as history museum, libraries, community centers, and more. It will offer a starting point for local partners to adapt to their community and history, and will be scalable to any size space.

Marketing and communications resources

Funding will go toward a 250-specific website for Washington State that can represent all state governmental partners. It will serve as:

• A central location for information, resources, and other materials
• An interactive calendar of events from across the state
• Updates and news from communities across the state participating in commemorative activities

For organizations that would like to utilize the Washington State 250 branding, we will be providing:

• Logo files including fonts and colors
• Images and template packages
• Video and other multi-media

Education materials

We plan to create a “curriculum overlay” tool that educators can use to engage the topics and themes of the 250th in their classrooms alongside the material they are already teaching. This tool will focus on:

• Highlighting erased or minimized histories
• Emphasizing the importance of primary sources
• Connecting to local history organizations

Targeted toolkits and resources for the public

Targeted toolkits will provide multiple avenues of engagement for the 250th with a particular focus on the importance of civic participation and the importance of history organizations as civic institutions in our communities.