The Center for Historic Preservation at Ball State received an award of merit from the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH) for its work on the Muncie Heritage Education Handbook titled, "Muncie History: A Handbook for Fourth Grade Teachers About Muncie History."

Established in 1904, AASLH is the only comprehensive national organization dedicated to the field of state and local history at large. The AASLH Awards Program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout North America. The AASLH Award of Merit is presented to recognize excellence for projects (including special projects, educational programs, exhibits, publications, restoration projects, etc.), individual achievement, and organizational excellence.

The handbook, which was created with support from the Muncie Public Library, was printed and distributed to teachers of the school district following a local history workshop in early January 2006. The text was also made available to educators across the state online via the Indiana Humanities Council Smart Desktop website.

The handbook provides teachers the opportunity to integrate local history into their curriculum, and suggests classroom and field trip activities that meet the Indiana State Education Standards for Social Studies, English, and Math. The project was well received, and was expanded to include additional activities and materials for teaching eighth and eleventh grade students.