As students become more global and move about this changing world, planting roots in a community takes on new significance. Community Quest is a program that gives students the tools to study their community’s history. It also provides skills to understanding their impact on and responsibility for that community. This program is adaptable for grades 3 - 12.

Community Quest is a multifaceted educational program on the Internet. It has been carefully designed to facilitate a learning experience for students and their teachers who wish to understand the community they live in and the role they play within the community. The fundamental goal is for students to develop an intrinsic appreciation for and an understanding of the history of their community. Community Quest examines local history resources as pathways to learning and emphasizes the need for both cultural awareness and historical preservation within the community. Students who use the program and its resources will not only gain an understanding of the historic continuum that exists in their own backyards, but strengthen their ability to relate their own lives to their community’s past, present and future. As a result, they will form a bond with their community and, in turn, sustain a sense of responsibility to the community.

Community Quest can be used in conjunction with the study of state history. While the history of Stearns County, Minnesota is the base of this program, Community Quest can be adapted to any study of local history. The first unit introduces the concept of community definition and features the environment, people, and places. The second unit demonstrates how neighborhoods form a community, identifying the cultural diversity of residents, how they settle into a community, and the factors that influence those decisions. The final unit will look at how a community responds to change and crisis.

Community Connections are hands-on activities that provide you with the tools to study your own community. When you find this symbol, click to link with the activity.

Educators using the Community Quest are encouraged to have fun with the units and to use their own creative, school, and community resources to make the learning experience more personal for their students.

Teachers: Please take the time to evaluate the Community Quest.