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In an effort to improve, Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown Museum will begin American Association of State and Local History Standards and Excellence Program for History Organizations or StEPs program this year. StEPs is a self-assessment study designed specifically for small- to mid-sized organizations to gauge themselves against national museum standards.

The program is divided into six sections - mission, vision, and governance; audience; interpretation; stewardship of collections; stewardship of historic structures and landscapes; and management. Within each of these sections, organizations use self-assessment questions and performance indicators to identify their current practices as basic, good or better. To earn StEPs certifications, an organization reports to AASLH each time it achieves all of the basic (bronze), good (silver) or better (gold) performance indicators in one of the six workbook sections. In addition to being a motivator, the certificates can bring recognition to organizations and can act as support material for funding requests and grant applications.

StEPs is different from other museum assessment programs. It is a self-study and can be done at any pace. While museum accreditation is a long-term goal, StEPs allows a museum to find areas that need improvement and determine benchmarks and set goals in a long-range strategic plan.

“The museum staff and advisory council only want the best for the museum. This program will help determine what areas need to be focused on so that visitors can have the best experience while learning about the discovery of oil in Beaumont,” said Troy Gray, executive director of Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown.

Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown is a replica of the boomtown that grew up around the Spindletop oil fields in the early 1900s. Located on US 69 at Jimmy Simmons Blvd in Beaumont, the museum is open Tue. – Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 1- 5 p.m.  The entrance fee is $5 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and $2 for children under 12.

For more information contact the museum at 409-880-1750 or by email at gladyscityinfo@gmail.com.