In 1997, Hollywood Entertainment Museum changed the paradigm of what a modern day museum can be by opening the Education Center for the Entertainment Arts in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Office of Education's Division of Juvenile Court Community Schools and the Los Angeles County Probation Department. This unique fusion of a cultural institution with an educational institution allows the Museum to preserve and celebrate the achievements of the entertainment arts while grounding itself in a deep sense of social responsibility.

The Center includes a fully accredited year-round high school, which offers youth offenders on probation and other at-risk teens a complete core curriculum integrated with an infusion of the entertainment arts, thus enabling them to earn their high school diploma with extra benefits. In 2002, the high school became a Community Day School, extending the academic day and opening enrollment to community students who were at-risk, but not necessarily on probation.

Reel Hollywood

The after-school enrichment program, Reel Hollywood, utilizes entertainment industry professionals to educate and train hundreds of young people in specific disciplines and skills in the entertainment arts. They are introduced to video production, sound recording, acting, film editing, lighting design, animation, digital media and costume design, preparing them for career opportunities in the entertainment industry. The program also includes a series of life skill courses, including conflict resolution and occupational therapy. An active mentoring program helps ease students' transition from school to workplace.

To fulfill the school-to-career mission, the Education Center employs a job developer to establish and nurture relationships with industry partners that include Paramount Pictures, Color Deluxe Labs, Eastman Kodak, FotoKem, Warner Bros. Studios and Crest National.

Education Outreach

Curriculum Guide
As part of its educational outreach and to complement the Entertainment Center, the Museum implemented the Beyond The Stars project in December 2000. Entertainment industry professionals and high school teachers, representing the four core areas for grades 11 and 12, were brought together for a series of seminars during which each group talked extensively with the other about the nature of their jobs and any relationships that might exist between them. At the end of that process, teachers brainstormed about incorporating aspects of the entertainment arts into their teaching. The final product, Beyond The Stars: A Guide to Integrating The Entertainment Arts Into The Core Subject Areas, is a resource high school teachers of English, Mathematics, Science and Social Science utilize either by taking lesson plans straight from the guide or by using it as a springboard to introduce the entertainment arts into their classrooms. This guide is being distributed to teachers in the Los Angeles area and will be available on-line at the Museum web site.

Teacher Training
The Guide is the centerpiece the Museum uses to create and implement a comprehensive professional development program that encourages teachers to infuse the entertainment arts into their standard core curriculum, bringing relevance to the education of an audience that is inundated with media.

Teacher Resource Center
A Teacher Resource Center, which houses a reference library and computer center, as well as a specialist, assists teachers with research and to maximize the use of the guide.

Online Resources
An additional outreach program is the Center's Online Career Resources Information area, which will be accessible through the Museum's website. By accessing video clips of industry professionals, the viewer will be able to research the skills and training necessary for specific careers and jobs available in the entertainment industry. The site will provide information and links to institutions of higher education and to industry related unions, guilds and professional organizations, as well as books and other publications pertinent to the chosen field. A highlight of the site will be virtual career game that will take the viewer on an interactive journey through the film making process. It is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of 2002.

Field Trips
Offered to school districts, youth organizations, summer camps and other youth programs, field trips to the Museum take students behind-the-scenes, highlighting the careers and skills that comprise the entertainment industry. Programs are tailored to meet students' needs, including arranging for guest speakers from the industry, screening a 30-minute video focusing on the jobs in the industry produced by The Los Angeles Times, or providing educational materials relating to the exhibits.