A collaboration between Midwestern State University students, faculty, and the Wichita Falls Museum of Art not only created a unique hands-on learning experience but also attracted international attention, earning a prominent mention in a BBC story about the American Revolution.

The Wichita Falls Museum of Art and Midwestern State University are not institutions typically featured by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Yet both were highlighted because of an exhibition centered on prints from the American Revolution, a project that combined academic research, museum expertise, and student involvement. 

In the Fall of 2025, as Matthew Bailey, the new Director of the WFMA, was just beginning his work, a plan was already in place to add an exhibition focused on the prints of the American Revolution. This exhibition was brought to fruition by Mary Draper, Ph.D., who is a professor of history at MSU Texas. While a tremendous amount of work and consideration went into the exhibition, it proved worthwhile when it drew the attention of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). 

Draper reached out to BriAnna Satterfield, the museum’s collections manager, in May of 2025 with the hopes of putting together an exhibition to honor the 250th anniversary of the United States using items from the museum and the Special Collections branch of Moffett Library. The exhibit is open until August 22, 2026.

"These are the images that you read about in middle school and high school, and here they are, just a hundred feet away," Draper said. 

Draper designed the project as part of her Revolutionary America course. While the first half of the semester followed a traditional classroom format, the second half focused on developing the exhibition. Draper and Bailey combined their expertise throughout the process, with Draper contributing historical analysis and Bailey applying his background in visual interpretation and exhibition design. 

Students played a central role in selecting artifacts for display. Many had the rare opportunity to handle centuries-old documents and prints firsthand. After choosing an item that interested them, each student researched the piece and wrote an essay, which was later condensed into exhibition text for visitors. 

Draper wanted to provide her Revolutionary America class with a more hands-on learning opportunity through direct work with artifacts that reflected what they’d be learning in class. The first part of the semester was like an ordinary class, but the second half was focused on the exhibition as Draper and Bailey teamed up to bring together their strengths to make the plan for the exhibition a reality. While Draper was well-versed in the history of the period, her knowledge mostly came from analyzing texts, whereas Bailey’s specialty is analyzing images.  

Draper said students were part of the process in selecting pieces that would be added to the exhibition. Getting to delicately handle the centuries-old items was an experience the students likely won’t forget, as it’s one thing to learn about an artifact and another to get to handle it. From there, the students were to pick an item that stood out to them and write a research essay about it. That essay was then condensed into an exhibition label for that piece. Draper and Bailey were then able to map out how the exhibition should be organized, while Bailey filled in gaps with additional pieces. 

“They did a fantastic job — object labels are an art form in themselves. I just provided some strategies and advice, and the students did the rest,” Bailey said. “Mary wrote the main exhibition text and the text on the Paul Revere print, while I wrote the text on revolutionary portraiture. Editing those was a collaborative process, with the exhibition design and installation involving myself and BriAnna.”

For Draper, seeing the completed exhibition was especially rewarding.

“To see all my students’ work carefully and professionally displayed — it was like a vision realized,” Draper said. “Even though I