Dayton Explorers take UD students to the Dayton Art Institute

The Dayton Explorers, the Senior Stewards’ capstone project, took 12 students to the Dayton Art Museum Saturday, November 20. This was our biggest turnout to date! We reached out to students through our Facebook group, also called Dayton Explorers, an email to all the international students, and a digital flyer shown below.




The Dayton Art Institute, located across the Monument Street Bridge from downtown, has been a Dayton establishment for 91 years. It is easily accessible, close to campus, and free! It was chosen as a destination of the Dayton Explorers because it is a hallmark of the Dayton cityscape and is a place of history. The museum displays a permanent collection and is temporarily featuring works by the Dayton native, Bing Davis. The Art Institute is truly a gem of downtown Dayton.

Out of the students that joined us for the trip, there were multiple first years and one graduate student in the group. Several of the attendants were also international students. A few of those who came on the trip had already been to the museum once, but for most of the students this was a new experience. The majors of the students also varied, adding even more variety to the already diverse group. Below are several photos taken throughout the trip.

For the Senior Stewards, planning these events has been a learning experience. Inspiring students to leave campus and to see what Dayton has to offer has been a challenge. We have discovered that students respond most to online advertising rather than paper flyers. In addition, students are often very willing to explore Dayton but need help in terms of providing transportation and pointing out specific sites around Dayton that would be the most interesting to students.

We are hopeful that when our events start up again next semester we will have even higher turnouts, and the diversity of the group shows that all different types of students are interested in exploring the Dayton area. Each successive event has garnered more attendees and with exciting event selections like the Air Force Museum and ice skating planned for next semester, we are hoping to increase our attendance levels even more.