Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center Receives M&T Bank Charitable Foundation Grant to Promote Equitable Access to Digital School Programs

Antony Tokarr, Ridgefield M&T Bank branch manager, presented Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center executive director Hildegard Grob with a $5,000 sponsorship of its History Programs for Title 1 School Students project.

The M&T Bank grant, given on Thursday, December 3, will fund the development and execution of digital learning programs and virtual field trips so that every classroom can engage with the museum’s story remotely.

“This gift will allow Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center to be able to provide equitable access to our school programs,” Grob said. “Now, more than ever, it is important to provide all students the opportunity to learn about history’s relevance in framing current issues and providing a deeper understanding of the world we live in. Engaging with students and teachers on a digital platform also allows us to expand our reach beyond the typical school bus ride to include classrooms from across the nation.”

Gifts such as the M&T Bank donation allow KTM&HC to present engaging stories about local history using a variety of instructional technologies, including online lessons and virtual field trips, which are presented live with a museum educator and are streamed into classrooms or home-based learning environments.

“M&T Bank is proud to support the Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center with our donation,” Tokarr said. “M&T is invested in the Ridgefield community, and Keeler Tavern is a shining example of an organization that highlights the rich history that Ridgefield has. Keeler Tavern connects the past with the future through its history education programs to young students. M&T Bank is proud to support Keeler Tavern’s mission and make it more accessible for all learners.”

With over 300 years of history at its site, KTM&HC offers school programs that use local history as a window onto larger, nationally significant events -- like the Battle of Ridgefield, the only inland battle in Connecticut during the American Revolution. A British cannonball that struck the tavern is still visible today.

During the pandemic, when on-site, in-person learning is not possible, KTM&HC’s school programs present these engaging stories using a variety of instructional technologies, including live virtual field trips as well as printable lessons and activities available on its website. Using digital platforms like Google Slides and EdPuzzle, KTM&HC offers interactive learning experiences where students can design their own museum exhibits or participate in inquiry-based learning with objects from the museum’s collection.

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: Antony Tokarr, left, banking officer of M&T Bank in Ridgefield, and Hildegard Grob, executive director of Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center.