We have some really exciting news to share—the American Heritage Center is creating a new Education and Outreach Department.

If you’ve been following along with us, you know we’ve always been about more than just preserving collections. We want people to actually use them, learn from them, and find their own connections to the past. This new department makes that official.

Brie Blasi is heading up the department. If you’ve visited the AHC in the last five years, especially with a school group or for one of our programs, you’ve probably already met her. She’s been our Public History Educator, and she’s been doing a lot of this work already—now she’ll have a whole department behind her to offer even more support.

“The AHC has so many treasures to share,” Brie said. “This new department gives us the chance to welcome more students, teachers, and community members into the world of archives and to show how history speaks to our everyday lives.”

Pretty much everything the Center does is to engage with the community—teaching university classes, hosting school field trips, putting on exhibits, giving lectures—now falls under one umbrella. The idea is to make it easier to connect people with our collections, whether you’re a researcher diving deep into a topic or a curious visitor who just wandered in.

We’ve already hit the ground running with two new exhibits:

• “The West is Waiting” looks at how railroads advertised the American West back in the day. Think bold promises and romantic imagery designed to get people to pack up and head west.
• “Life Between the Rails” is based on oral histories exploring the history of the Union Pacific Railroad from an employees’ perspective. Real people telling their stories about working on and living near the railroads.

Both will be up through March 6, 2026. After that, we’re planning something special for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Our collections cover everything from Wyoming history to the energy industry, journalism, entertainment, railroads, politics—you name it. We’re one of the largest non-governmental archives in the country, and we want more people to know what’s here.

If you’d like to plan a visit, ask about educational programs, or just have questions, reach out to Brie at bblasi@uwyo.edu or call 307-766-2580.

We’re looking forward to this next chapter.

Visit us online at uwyo.edu/ahc.