The American Association for State and Local History has honored a former fourth-grade class of Sandy Gantz of the Perry-Lecompton school district and two Lecompton museums with an Award of Merit for their collaborative effort in creating a smart-phone assisted walking tour of historic sites in the western Douglas County community.

The project sprung from a research assignment Gantz gave her 2014-2015 fourth-grade class at Lecompton Elementary. Aided by a grant from Thrivent Life Insurance Company and with the help of staff at the Constitution Hall and Territorial Capital museums in Lecompton, 15 volunteers were recruited to visit the school in the spring of 2015 to help the students research 15 historic sites in the town.

The fourth-graders toured the sites before smaller student groups teamed with a volunteer. The students made quilt block art pieces about the sites and made short videos about their assigned sites based on their research. Those videos can now be accessed by using smart phones to scan quick response codes provided on Lecompton walking tour maps and on signs at the 15 sites.

The Lecompton project was the only one the American Association for State and Local History recognized with an award this year. Accepting the award at a Sept. 16 ceremony in Detroit will be the Rev. Bob Dulin, and his wife, Alrutha, of Detroit. Dulin is a member of the Lecompton Historical Society and 1959 graduate of Lecompton High School.