Museum & Research Library Hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 11am-5pm.

Education


Register NOW for the Eight Square Schoolhouse!
April 19 - June 19, 2004
Contact Eight Square Program Coordinator Carole West
607-273-8284 ext. 3 or eightsquare@TheHistoryCenter.net

Our educational programs use the resources of the past to illuminate the present. Examine national history through a local lens with diaries, photographs, and objects from Tompkins County's past. Search for clues to explain how a plate, a candle mold and a cannon ball could share something in common. Discover the excitement of exploring the past with The History Center in Tompkins County.

To schedule a visit or for more information contact the Education Department at 607-273-8284 x3.


Eight Square Schoolhouse Living History Program

This Day-long Living History program gives fourth graders from public and private schools, and home school groups an opportunity to experience a day at school in 1892. The Eight Square Schoolhouse is the site of program, led by trained schoolteachers using an authentic 1890s curriculum. Students engage in such activities as pen-and-ink penmanship lessons, reading aloud from primers of the day, and outdoor recess with period games. Students are encouraged to dress the part and bring lunches that replicate what their great-great grandparents might have taken to school. In 2001, over 600 children participated in the program. For further information regarding the Eight Square living history program, contact Program Coordinator Carole West at eightsquare@TheHistoryCenter.net or 607-273-8284 ext.3.


Museum Workshops

Journey to the Past in MY COMMUNITY (1 hour, grades K-2). This program uses photographs, paintings and a behind the scenes tour of the museum to encourage young minds to explore such questions as "Why are old things important? "How old is old?" "What did my community look like when my grandma was a child?" and "How do neighborhoods change over time?" Second grade lesson includes photographic inquiry into the "Urban, Suburban, Rural" theme as outlined in the NYState Learning Standards.

"Every Object Has a Story" (1hour, grades 2-4) After an introduction to the role of history museums and the basics of collections care, this program gives students an opportunity to don white gloves and examine eighteenth and nineteenth century objects from the collection for an up close and personal encounter with the past. Students are challenged to find the theme that unites the objects. This is an excellent workshop for afterschool and scout programs!

Geography & Early Settlement (1 hour, grades 3 & 5) Through examination of maps and paintings from The History Center collections, the students will discover the answers to questions about why people choose to live in a given area and how they use the land.

Their Story is Our Story (1-2 hours, grades 6-12)
What can we learn from the people who have come before us? How did national events shape the lives of local people? Use the resources of our Reference Room and Archives to examine the people and events of local history. Prepare for DBQs with original documents from our collections. Our reference assistants will work closely with you and your students to help you discover the treasures of our past.

All museum workshops are designed to meet NYS curriculum standards. More Info? Contact the Education Department.


NEW for use in YOUR classroom!

History Links: Examining National History through a Local Lens (classroom loan, grades 7-12)

Designed by The History Center's Education Department in partnership with Ithaca College, Project Look Sharp, and Teachers from the Ithaca City School District, each History Links kit contains photographs, newspaper articles, and other primary source materials that bring local history right to the student's fingertips. Complete lesson plans, student worksheets, and extension activities, are designed for use in middle and high school classrooms. History Links kits put the tremendous resources of the DeWitt's collections into the hands of area educators, and help students discover that national events have an effect on daily life at home.

Three kits are currently available:

  • "The Great Depression Hits Home" - FDR's work projects and their impact in Tompkins County is explored through photographs and oral history transcripts.
  • "Ithaca Responds to the National Recovery Act" - How did the Federal government gain local support for the guidelines of the NRA? Newspaper articles, letters and logos tell the story.
  • "Passing it On...Ithaca's Southside Community". The award-winning Ithaca College documentary is the basis for this study of how a local community is formed and how it responds to change across time. An excellent introduction for the study of community, neighborhoods, and citizen action.

For information on how to borrow a kit, or to suggest a future topic, contact the Education Department.


Student Historians: Training, Research & Journalism Initiative

The Student Historians: Training Research & Journalism Initiative invites high school students to use the resources of the past to illuminate the present. Each student researches an object from the museum's collection using the various resources of the archives. Then they write a journalistic article that is published in the Ithaca Journal. Students emerge from the program with a new appreciation for local history and the ability to unearth the hidden story of an historic object. Funding from New York State Council on the Arts supported the development of the program, but its continuing success relies on private donations. Interested in becoming a Student Historian or sponsoring the Student Historian Initiative? Contact the Education Department