StoryCorps Interviews

The New Children’s Museum was the recipient of the 2019 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, awarded to only five museums by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). As an award recipient, the Museum was given the opportunity to work with StoryCorps, the independent nonprofit organization who preserves and shares stories, and builds connections between people (heard on NPR).

StoryCorps came to the Museum January 21 – 23, 2020 to record 40-minute conversations with people that were connected to the Museum in a meaningful way, whether as an artist, a board member, a staff member, supporter or members of the community. Each interview was unique to the two people in the conversation, about their life experiences with art and connection to the Museum.

As part of the process, we worked with StoryCorps to select one of the 12 interviews to be edited into a 3-minute segment, similar to those that air on NPR. That interview is below.

Lani Bautista Cabanilla + Edwardo Gillison

Senior Programs Manager, Lani Bautista Cabanilla, speaks with Museum Board member and friend, Ed Gillison, about their respective roles at The New Children’s Museum, their first experiences visiting the Museum, the impact it has for children and adults alike, and their family histories.

Lani and Ed’s condensed interview: 

See below for the full 40-minute interview on the StoryCorps archives.

All of The New Children’s Museum’s StoryCorps interviews are archived in perpetuity at the Library of Congress, in the world’s largest collection of oral histories. The interviews are also available on the StoryCorps archive website or by clicking on the names below.