Texas HELP (Hands-on Experiential Learning Project) was specifically designed to meet the needs of small and midsize museums in Texas. The four-year project (2002–2006) served 18 museums in three regions of Texas (Panhandle, East Texas, and Gulf Coast).

Over the course of four years, each museum hosted four traveling exhibitions, each fully supported with technical assistance and staff and volunteer learning opportunities; attended a minimum of 12 supporting workshops/meetings; and received eight on-site professional consultations.

Participating museums furthered their museum skills in focus areas such as:

• Marketing/Public Relations

• Educational Programming

• Volunteerism

• Exhibition Design

• Fundraising

Texas HELP was designed to be as local as possible. Using an "on-the-job" training model, each museum set its own targets and goals in a specific training area of focus. In association with a regional consultant, museums used the exhibition experience as a means to test their abilities, try new methods, and reach their individualized goals.

Consultants returned to the museum to conduct follow-up evaluations and analysis, and to urge the staff, board, and volunteers to implement lessons learned.

No two experiences were alike. For instance, the West Bay Common School Museum in the Gulf Coast region concentrated on volunteerism in its first year of participation. Many of their goals centered on trying new means of attracting volunteers.Meanwhile, the John E. Conner Museum decided it needed to work on volunteer recognition and orientation as part of its learning experience.

Across the state, museums in the Panhandle, East Texas, and Gulf Coast regions utilized some of the same exhibitions to improve their overall operations in exhibition design and educational programming.

As a result, Texas HELP:

• Provided practical, "on-the-job" training to museum personnel in specific areas of acute need

• Provided participant museums with affordable temporary exhibitions that featured strong arts and humanities content, universal appeal, and local interest

• Utilized affordable and professional museum training resources that reinforced "best practices" in museumship

• Established formal and informal museum networks among participating museums so as to facilitate routine resource sharing
  

HELP for small and midsize museums in Texas was made possible through the combined vision and generosity of the Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston; The Don and Sybil Harrington Foundation; Houston Endowment, Inc.; The Meadows Foundation; the Texas Commission on the Arts; and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership, and a lifetime of learning.