The Ryan White collection at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis formed the basis for the Museum’s most compelling permanent exhibit, The Power of Children, which tells the powerful stories and impact made by three extraordinary children: Ryan White, Anne Frank, and Ruby Bridges. The lives of these youth inform an array of Power of Children programs and events popular with families, students, and educators who visit the Museum. A valuable primary source subgroup of this collection, currently limited in usage, is Ryan’s compilation of letters that were written to him as a child in response to his internationally-known efforts to educate the public about HIV/AIDS. To fully leverage this resource and build upon one of its most well-known experiences, the Museum partnered with the IU Indianapolis University Library Center for Digital Scholarship to digitize and preserve the letter collection online. This project will serve as a step in bringing an array of documents and objects related to Ryan’s life to audiences through a publicly accessible, online archive.
Ryan White Letters
