Education

Rocking Another Boat at the Adirondack Museum

admin

There is a new boat on the small pond at the Adirondack Museum, Blue Mountain Lake, New York. It is a Bisby Scow and will be used to provide a genuine &#8220on the water&#8221 experience for thousands of museum visitors this summer.

The new boat is a reproduction of one in the museum’s extensive collection. Although &#8220Adirondack&#8221 in design and history, this Bisby scow started life far from the North Country. The hand-made boat is the work of young boat builders from the Bronx, participants in Rocking the Boat, a non-profit youth development organization.

On Saturday, May 22, 2010, the boat building crew, accompanied by adult builders and faculty, delivered, christened, and launched the Bisby Scow on the museum pond. This is the second boat created by Rocking the Boat expressly for the Adirondack Museum. The first, a replica of an Adirondack logging bateau, was launched in 2007.

Rocking the Boat is a traditional wooden boat building and environmental education program based in the southwest Bronx, New York City. Through an alternative multi-faceted hands-on approach to education and youth development, Rocking the Boat addresses the need for inner city youth to achieve practical and tangible goals, relevant to both everyday life and future aspirations. The program was founded in 1995.

Young people enrolled in the program have built well more than twenty boats over the time, and Rocking the Boat is recognized as one of the most dynamic after school and summer programs in New York City. For more information, visit www.rockingtheboat.org.

Museum Curator Hallie Bond, who coordinated the project, says that a member of the Bisby Club designed the original Bisby Scow in 1888. The craft was intended for all-purpose every day use and few exist today. The Bisby Scow in the collection of the Adirondack Museum &#8211 a rare survivor &#8212- dates from the 1920s: the name of the builder is unknown.

The Adirondack Museum has the second largest collection of inland wooden watercraft in the United States. Many extraordinary examples are on display in the popular exhibit &#8220Boats and Boating in the Adirondacks, 1850 &#8211 1950.&#8221

Photo: Young boat builders from the Rocking the Boat project with their new boat, christened Naomi II.

The Art of History High School Art Competition

admin

The public is invited to the opening of the 2010 “Art of History” exhibition and competition awards ceremony at the Rensselaer County Historical Society on Saturday, April 24, 2010 from 3-5pm. Light refreshments will be served.

For the “Art of History” competition, students from Rensselaer County high schools were invited to create original artwork inspired by documents from the Rensselaer County Historical Society collection. The documents focused on early African-American history in Rensselaer County and included an 1824 estate inventory listing enslaved persons as property, a newspaper account of the rescue of fugitive slave Charles Nalle in 1860, and a powerful letter from an African-American man threatened in Troy’s 1863 draft riots.

The exhibition of student work will be on display through June 19, 2010.

The Art of History competition is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and generous support from Alane and Paul Hohenberg and the United Group.

Young Interpreters Sought at The Farmers’ Museum

admin

The Farmers’ Museum is seeking applicants for its Young Interpreter Program. By pairing young people with museum staff, this popular summer program teaches students about America’s past, helps them develop new skills, and allows them to share their newfound knowledge with museum visitors. Boys and girls between the ages of 12 to 14 as of May 1, 2010, are invited to apply. A limited number of students will be accepted for the program.

The Young Interpreter Program began in 1993. The program takes place at The Farmers’ Museum, a premier rural history museum established in 1943. The museum presents the trades and crafts common to ordinary people of rural 19th-century New York State in its historic village and farmstead. Young interpreters will have the opportunity to work in various selected sites throughout the museum including: Peleg Field Blacksmith Shop, Bump Tavern, Lippitt Farmhouse, Dr. Thrall’s Pharmacy, The Middlefield Printing Office, Todd’s General Store, the Children’s Barnyard, or developing spinning and weaving skills.

Young interpreters are expected to work one day a week for a period of eight weeks, beginning the last week in June and ending the last week in August. Students who would like to participate should submit a one or two-page letter expressing their interest and reasons for wanting to be a Young Interpreter, as well as an explanation of where they would like to work and why, to: Young Interpreter Program, The Farmers’ Museum, P.O. Box 30, Cooperstown, NY 13326. Letters of application must be received by May 15, 2010. Letters of reference are not necessary. A committee of museum staff will review the applications. Candidates may be asked for an interview. Applicants will be chosen based on their commitment and interest, maturity, willingness to learn, and ease with the public. Students applying for the Young Interpreter Program must have parental permission and transportation to the museum during the course of the program.

For more information, please contact Deborah Brundage at 607-547-1484.

NYS Archives Student Research Award Contest

admin

The State Archives has announced its twentieth annual Student Research Award contest which encourages grade 4-12 students to explore the wealth of historical records found in archives, libraries, and other historical community organizations throughout New York State. A total of three awards will be given, one each for students in grades 4-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-12. Each award consists of a certificate and cash prize. Certificates of Merit will be awarded to those entries, other than the winners, that show a heavy reliance on historical records to support their research.

Recipients will be selected by September 15, and winners will be announced during Archives Month in October, 2010. Entries submitted for competition must be researched and developed during the July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010 school year. Entries are due July 1, 2010- details can be found at the NYS Archives website.

Photo: October 7, 1921 &#8211 School in Session, Sunset School, Marey, WV, Lewis Hine

Farmers Museum Offers Spring Craft Workshops

admin

Beginning April 3, The Farmers’ Museum will offer a series of workshops based on 19th-century trades and crafts with topics ranging from blacksmithing to beekeeping. All workshops are held at The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown. Registration is required. For more information and reservations, call Karen Wyckoff at (607) 547-1410. Information on future workshops can be found on their website at www.farmersmuseum.org.

Farm Family Meal (parent/child)
April 3, 10 am – 2 pm / Fee: $50
Learn what it took to create a meal during the 19th-century. Participants will cook a simple meal over the fire while learning about daily chores of parents and children during the 1840s.

Heritage Vegetable Gardens
April 10, 10 am – 2 pm / Fee: $40 per family
Spend the day learning about historic and current practices for planting and maintaining heritage vegetable gardens. Participants will discuss layout of gardens, cultivation and pest control, and storage of vegetables. They will also have the opportunity to build a hot frame and plant seeds and will leave with packets of heritage seeds.

Farm Chores
April 12, 19, and May 3, 8 – 11 am / Fee: $50 per family or $20 per person
Spend the morning with the farmers preparing the farm for a day’s work: open the barns, clean stalls, feed the animals, thresh wheat, etc. Each day will bring different tasks, just as it does on any farm. A perfect &#8220morning out&#8221 for a family or adults.

Growing a Taste of Yesterday: an Heirloom Gardening Workshop
April 17, 10 am – 2 pm / Fee: $40
This hands-on workshop will focus on starting and maintaining your own supply of heirloom vegetables. Participants will have the opportunity to plant a selection of vegetable varieties for their home gardens. In addition the process for starting a hot frame and composting for your garden will also be discussed. There will also be a discussion and demonstration of propagation methods for saving your favorite vegetable varieties.

Happy Healthy Hen House
April 24, 9 am – 1 pm / Fee: $40
This half-day workshop will introduce participants to techniques and information about the care and housing of chickens. Learn both about historic and contemporary methods of breed selection, nutrition, housing, management and general care for raising your own backyard flock. Come prepared to work in The Farmers’ Museum’s barnyard.

Spring Beekeeping
May 15, 9 am – 1 pm / Fee: $40
Are you interested in learning about the ancient art and science of beekeeping? This hands-on workshop will introduce you to the fundamentals of keeping bees. We will discuss the different ways to get started as a beekeeper and prepare you for the tasks involved. You will also learn some of the history and folklore of beekeeping.

In the Medicine Cabinet
May 15, 10 am – 1 pm / Fee: $40
This workshop will cover growing, harvesting, and wild crafting of about fifteen herbs. In addition, instruction will be given for producing medical preparations from the various herbs. Preparations will include oils (hot and cold infused), ointments, compresses, tinctures, infusions, and decoctions.

Udder to Butter
June 12, 8 am – 12 pm / Fee: $40
Join the farm staff in a unique opportunity to participate in the process of transforming milk into butter. We will start in the barn where you will try your hand at milking the cow and end in the kitchen enjoying our freshly made butter on toast. Participants will separate cream and churn butter using historic and contemporary methods.

Blacksmithing 1
June 12 and 13, 9 am – 4 pm / Fee: $150
This class covers the core skills of blacksmithing. Try out blacksmithing for the first time, or expand your existing skills under the supervision of our master blacksmith. Practice managing a coal fire and forging skills such as drawing out, bending, twisting, and punching. Projects include making decorative hooks, fireplace tools, nails, and hanging brackets. No previous experience is necessary. (Fee includes materials and information packet.)

Blacksmithing 2
June 26 and 27, 9 am – 4 pm / Fee: $150
This class requires students who already have core blacksmithing skills. Work with more complex forging projects. Skills practiced include hot punching, mortise and tennon joints, forge welding, and reproduction of historic ironwork. Students should have taken Blacksmithing 1 or have prior permission of the instructor. (Fee includes materials and information packet.)

Maritime History Focus of Summer NEH Institute

admin

&#8220The American Maritime People&#8221 will be a six-week college and university teacher institute for 25 participants on American maritime history from the colonial era to the present June 21st to July 30, 2010 at The Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime Studies, Mystic Seaport, CT.

The purpose of the &#8220American Maritime People&#8221 NEH Institute at Mystic Seaport is &#8220to provide college teachers&#8230- with the opportunity to enhance course offerings by studying the influence of maritime activities on U.S. history and culture.&#8221 This, the third such NEH Institute, will build on the latest research in studies of the sea, which has recently been the focus of increasing scholarly interest. In a series of seminars, &#8220The American Maritime People&#8221 will employ interdisciplinary perspectives on American maritime studies, with an emphasis on the most recent social, cultural and ecological approaches.

The campus for the six weeks of study will be Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea. As the largest maritime museum in the nation, Mystic Seaport includes 17 acres of riverfront property, 60 historic buildings, 500 traditional watercraft, 1,000,000 manuscript pieces, and over 1,000,000 artifacts. While the seminar hall will be the focus of the institute, Mystic Seaport, and the maritime region of which it is a
part, will be used to inform further study through tours and exploration.

Mystic, Connecticut is located in the southeastern corner of the state where the waters of Long Island Sound meet the North Atlantic. As such, the greater Mystic area has a long history of maritime activity, from colonial shipbuilding, fishing, whaling, and merchant trade to the current presence of nuclear submarine construction and operations. The University of Connecticut’s maritime campus and the US Coast Guard
Academy are a short drive away.

The stipend for NEH Fellows is $4,500, for the six-week institute. These funds should comfortably cover travel expenses, housing and food for the summer session. Books and other resources are also to be purchased with stipend monies.

Faculty will include: Co-Directors Glenn S. Gordinier and Eric Paul Roorda as well as James T. Carlton, Mary K. Bercaw Edwards, John B. Hattendorf, John Odin Jensen, I. Roderick Mather, Matthew McKenzie, Lisa Norling, Marcus Rediker, Helen Rozwadowski, Daniel Vickers, James O. Horton and W. Jeffrey Bolster.

Eligibility: These projects are designed primarily for teachers of American undergraduate students, but other qualified scholars and graduate students may apply.

Completed applications should be submitted to the address below and should be postmarked no later than March 2, 2010.

Dr. Glenn S. Gordinier
Attn: The American Maritime People
Munson Institute
Mystic Seaport
75 Greenmanville Ave.
Mystic, CT 06355-0990
[email protected]

The Lost World of Early America with John Demos

admin

This summer, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Summer Seminars will offer The Lost World of Early America, a two-week NEH Summer Institute led by historian John Demos at Yale University. Teachers invited to participate will travel back to the Colonial Era in order to explore the lives of early Americans—and, in turn, gain a richer understanding of the changes that resulted from both the American Revolution and the Industrial Revolution in the American experience.

All K-12 history, social studies, and English teachers, including those who attended a Gilder Lehrman Summer Seminar in 2009, are now eligible to apply to this NEH Summer Institute.

John Demos is the Samuel Knight Professor of History at Yale University, where he has specialized in teaching early American history since 1986. His most recent work, The The Enemy Within: 2,000 Years of Witch-hunting in the Western World (Viking, 2008), culminates a half-century of intense study of witch-hunting incidents in Europe and America.

This is a unique opportunity for Summer Seminar alumni who typically have to alternate years for their application.

Selected participants will receive fellowships to offset travel costs to the Institute, July 18-31, 2010—and be eligible to apply to and attend the full-range of Gilder Lehrman Summer Seminars in 2010 and the future.

Application deadline: March 2, 2010- seminar space is limited.

For further details about this NEH Summer Institute visit:
www.gilderlehrman.org/education/seminar_NEH.php, email [email protected] or call 646-366-9666.

Farmers Museum Event to Help Fund Local Schools

admin

The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown will host an evening of music, food, and activities that is sure to keep your feet stomping and your heart pumping – all while supporting local school children. The event, “Heat Up The Night,” will take place on Saturday, February 27th from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. in the museum’s Louis C. Jones Center. The benefit will raise funds needed to provide museum programming for area schools.

The highlight of the evening will be live music by local favorites “The Gypsy Pioneers” and the band “Cheese of the Misty Ceremony.” The event will also include other diversions such as fire juggling, an abundance of food and drink, a raffle by Ommegang Brewery, and interesting activities for the kids.

Adult tickets are $10.00 in advance and $12.00 at the door. Tickets for kids ages 13-18 are $5.00 and kids 12 and under are free. Facebook fans and museum members will receive an extra $1.00 off the regular ticket price. For more information or to order tickets by phone, please call Karen Wyckoff at (607) 547-1410.

Since 2008, NYSHA has seen a sharp increase in requests from local schools for assistance with field trip funding. Responding to this need, NYSHA has written grants and allocated resources that have allowed 29 schools and community groups to visit the Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmers’ Museum during the 2008-2009 school year. Both museums see an annual visitation of approximately 10,000 students, and of that number over 1,100 students were able to visit utilizing these funds.

Since support is still needed, NYSHA is currently developing a fund that will be available to all New York State Schools for museum programming. The monies will go primarily to transportation costs, but all types of needs will be considered. Funds will be made available immediately after the event and interested schools should contact Karen Wyckoff at (607) 547-1410 for details.

Schools and community groups that received support from NYSHA in 2008-2009 include Cooperstown Schools, Benton Hall Academy, Sydney Central Schools, Hancock Central Schools, Roxbury Central Schools, Franklin Central Schools, Stamford Central Schools, South Kortright Central Schools, Sydney Center Central Schools,Townsend Central Schools, Jefferson, Downsville, Delaware Big Buddy Programs, and Otsego Head Start Schools.

NYS Archives: Rights of Women in Early New York

admin

The New York State Archives is providing teachers and students with online access to historical records that illuminate the history of women’s rights in New York State from its earliest days as New Netherland through the mid 19th century through it’s quarterly online Document Showcase program which highlights a topic from state history using records from the Archives.

Each Showcase includes sample documents, an historical sketch and links to educational activities for classroom use. The topics are based upon the State Education Department’s core curriculum for 7th and 8th grade social studies as well as special events of that quarter. The educational activities are created by a teacher and correlate to New York State learning standards. Each Showcase also provides links within the State Archives’ website for further information on the topic.

In addition, because many early documents are difficult to read, translations and transcriptions are provided where necessary. This quarter’s Document Showcase on women’s rights can be found on the Archives website at www.archives.nysed.gov, and includes an excerpt of a marriage contract from 1643, a petition by a widow’s sons that she be granted a letter of administration from 1670, a law excerpt from 1710 classifying women as equals of minors and those “not of Sound mind,” and a law excerpt from 1848 protecting the property of married women.

Photo: Excerpt from the Laws of New York from 1848, Chapter 200, allowing women to own and manage real property separate from their husbands. Courtesy the New York State Archives.

Virtual Vacations For Youth at Fenimore Art Museum

admin

Young people will take a walk on the wild side this February as the Fenimore Art Museum presents &#8220Virtual Vacations.&#8221 Each day, children (ages 5 to 8) will be transported to faraway places using the Museum’s advanced video conferencing technology. The Museum will connect “live” with professionals from the Life Science Education Center at Marian College and The Toledo Zoo for entertaining and educational programs focusing on various types of animals. After each lesson, children will participate in a hands-on activity based on the theme of the virtual visit. Each “Virtual Vacation” will feature two live animals via video conferencing.

“Virtual Vacations” programs are designed for children ages 5-8 and take place from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day (February 16, 17, and 18) at the Fenimore Art Museum. The cost per program is $15 for NYSHA members and $20 for non-members. Or attend all three &#8211 $40 for NYSHA members and $50 for non-members. Pre-registration is strongly recommended. To register, please call Karen Wyckoff at 607-547-1410.

Schedule:

Tuesday, February 16 &#8211 Catch Me If You Can: Why do some animals have scales, stripes, stingers, or spines? Join the Life Science Education Center at Marian College to explore how some of nature’s most amazing creatures protect themselves. We’ll even see some of the animals!

Wednesday, February 17 &#8211 Desert Dwellers: The Toledo Zoo takes participants to the desert! We’ll learn what a desert is and explore some of the fascinating animals that live there. Discover how living things have adapted to the arid conditions and temperature swings.

Thursday, February 18 &#8211 Animal Coverings: Join the Toledo Zoo and play a game to discover how animal groups are formed using similarities and differences. Live animals will help us learn the differences between the 5 classes of vertebrates: fish, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.