The story of Renton is masterfully captured on the storefront of 306 Williams Ave. S. in Downtown Renton. Large, colorful posters hang on the storefront, depicting the city’s ever-changing personality through pictures, interviews and research.

This exhibit, “Renton’s Changing Identity: How the Past and Present Come Together to Make our City Home” is the brainchild of RenTeens, Renton History Museum’s youth advisory council. Mark Mulder, Public Engagement Coordinator of the museum, describes the council as “an opportunity for us to get young people’s ideas and input on how we do things here.”

The current group of four, ranging from ages 13 to 18, spend time at the museum learning various tricks of the trade, including volunteering as greeters, helping with current and upcoming exhibits and, if they choose to, work on a project of their own.

“They are getting a lot of research and writing skills,” said Mulder. “They have unprecedented access to our collections and artifacts, to the museum itself. They’re getting a lot of volunteer hours for school. Their resumes is going to have really cool, interesting things. Their going to have exhibits they can point to and say I made this.”

And while students are able to gain invaluable professional experience, it is also shaping their characters and curiosities. That has certainly been the case for Oscar Locke. Locke, junior at Hazen High School, has been involved with the RenTeen since 2014.

“Before I started to volunteer there, I had absolutely no interest in history, the city of Renton or museums in general,” Locke said in an email. “The only reason I signed up to volunteer was because I needed 10 volunteer hours and I just happened to stumble across the museum online. The best part of working at the museum is getting to know everybody who works there from the employees to the many greeters and volunteers. The most challenging thing about working there is definitely having to learn how to break out of my bubble and become more outgoing which I needed to do in order to be successful. ”

Last year the group decided to create their own project, an exhibit that juxtaposes the charm of Renton from past decades to the dynamic, ever-lively nature of the city today.

Once they narrowed in on their scope, the group set off to research, find historic photos, recapture the photos, pen down observations, and interview life-long residents and students.

The result is an impressive exhibit that explores the Downtown and Landing of the past and present.

For Mulder, the project is a testament to the students’ character and ability.

“They are all good students,” said Mulder. “They just want to learn. They’re curious. They are very diverse in their backgrounds and diverse in their interests. Watching them start and slowly come together, without much prompting from me…I’m really impressed in how they work together.”

Currently, the team is working on their next exhibit, one focusing on Renton during the Cold War. The exhibit is projected to be completed later this year.