Mission San Luis [FL]

Description

The Mission San Luis recreates life at the time of Spanish settlement. The site depicts the ways of life of 17th-century Spanish settlers and the Apalachee people. Sights include the visitor's center, Apalachee council house, the Spanish Deputy Governor's home, and a Franciscan church and friary. Costumed living history interpreters show how the people interacted with each other, their material cultures, and the land.

The mission offers an introductory film, audio tours, exhibits, demonstrations, costumed living history interpreters, one- through three-hour interactive curriculum-based school tours, four curriculum-based school outreach programs, day camps, and workshops for adults. The film is captioned, audio tours are t-coil compatible, and arrangements can be made for a descriptive orientation for visually impaired visitors. Publications are available in Braille, and one exhibit was designed with the assistance of the Florida Division of Blind Services. Wheelchairs are available on request. The website offers pre- and post-visit lessons, vocabulary, and a teacher's guide

State Indian Museum State Historic Park [CA]

Description

The California State Indian Museum displays exhibits and artifacts illustrating the cultures of the state's first inhabitants. California's prehistoric population, one of the largest and most diverse in the Western hemisphere, was made up of over 150 distinct tribal groups who spoke at least 64 different languages. California Indian population estimates, before the arrival of the first Europeans, were at least 500,000 people. California Indian cultural artifacts in the museum include basketry, beadwork, clothing, and exhibits about the ongoing traditions of various California Indian tribes. Descendents of the first Californians, tens of thousands of them, still live in California and still cherish and carry on their unique cultural heritage. Indigenous people have donated many photographs of family, friends, and memorable times for use in the museum. A section of the museum features a hands-on area, where visitors can try their hand at using Indian tools, such as the pump drill, used for making holes in shell beads and other materials and the mortar and pestle and soap root brush, made from the soap root plant, all used for grinding acorns.

The museum offers exhibits and tours.

Allamuchy Mountain State Park and Waterloo Village [NJ]

Description

Waterloo Village takes the visitor through time from a 400-year old Lenape (Delaware) Indian village to a bustling port along the once prosperous Morris Canal. This early 19th-century restored village contains a working mill complex with gristmills and sawmills, a general store, blacksmith shop, and several historic houses.

The site offers exhibits, tours, and occasional recreational and educational events.

North Lake Tahoe Historical Society and Museums [CA]

Description

The North Lake Tahoe Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of the Lake Tahoe area, California. To this end, the society operates the Gatekeeper's Museum, Marion Steinbach Indian Basket Museum, and 1909 Watson Cabin. The Gatekeeper's Museums functions as a museum of local history. Highlights include historic court ledgers and oral histories. The Marion Steinbach Indian Basket Museum presents baskets, costumes, dolls, pottery and other artifacts from 85 Native American tribes. The Watson Cabin is a living history museum of local pioneer life.

The society offers exhibits, period rooms, and living history demonstrations. Please call ahead if severe weather is forecasted, as the museums may not be open.

Friends of Jefferson Patterson [MD]

Description

Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum (JPPM) is the state archeological museum of Maryland and is located on 560 scenic acres along the Patuxent River in Calvert County, Maryland. JPPM is home to the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory, which houses over 8 million artifacts which are available for research, education, and exhibit purposes to students, scholars, museum curators, and educators. JPPM is also a vibrant center for education.

School groups learn about Native American and Colonial history and archaeology. Visitors enjoy workshops on pottery, basketry, carving or sewing, talks about the history of the Chesapeake Bay region, or exhibits “FAQ Archaeology” and "The War of 1812." Behind the scenes tours of the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory show how artifacts are treated and studied. Maryland educators can rent a 4th-grade travelling trunk on Eastern Woodland Indian Cultures. Downloadable teacher resources, including pre- and post-visit activities, are available on the museum's website.

Grand Village of Natchez Indians [MS]

Description

The 128-acre Grand Village of Natchez Indians was the key ceremonial site of the Natchez people between 1682 and 1729. At the end of this period, the Natchez attacked the French who had settled in their homeland, southwest Mississippi. The French secured such a decisive victory that the Natchez were permanently dispersed in 1729. The Natchez people had called southwest Mississippi their home from as early as approximately 700. The Natchez were farmers, hunters, and gatherers; and their society was organized into two moieties, with membership determined by matrilineal inheritance. The site includes a museum, a reconstructed Natchez dwelling, and three earthen mounds—the Great Sun's Mound, the Temple Mound, and the Abandoned Mound. The Temple Mound once supported a temple which housed the remains of Natchez leaders.

The village site offers exhibits, a reconstructed period dwelling, a nature trail, a children's hands-on area, group tours, and student educational programs. Reservations are required for group tours and educational programs.

Columbia Gorge Discovery Center [OR]

Description

The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center presents the natural and social history of the Columbia River Gorge and Wasco County, Oregon. Topics addressed include the history of the land, settlement history and daily life in the area, the material goods carried by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their exploratory voyage across the country (1803-1806), and the Ice Age. The collections include more than 26,000 artifacts with particular strong showings of Native American baskets, padlocks, furniture, and farming equipment. The center is located on 50 acres of land.

The center offers exhibits, films, a children's discovery area, an interpretive trail, collections and research library access, an educator's resource center, an educational program on birds of prey, guided student tours ranging between 45 minutes and one hour in length, self-guided student tours, and traveling trunks. Reservations are required for class programs and tours. The website offers interactive activities and electronic field trips.

Museum of The Cherokee Indian [NC]

Description

The Museum of The Cherokee Indian presents the culture and history of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee people. Permanent exhibits address the Paleo (11,000 BC-8,000 BC), Archaic (8,000 BC-1,000 BC), and Mississippian (900-1500) Periods.

The museum offers exhibits; hands-on workshops; educational presentations; lectures; a nature walk; self-guided tours; a Cherokee dance and cultural demonstration group; a teacher's institute on Cherokee culture; and Cherokee language classes. The website offers a Cherokee information packet with activities.

Berkeley Plantation [VA]

Description

Berkeley Plantation is the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison V (1726-1791), Governor of Virginia and signer of the Declaration of Independence, and William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) or "Old Tippecanoe", ninth President of the United States. The plantation lands were also the site of the first official Thanksgiving in 1619 and of the composition of "Taps" in 1862. The structure itself is Georgian in style and dates to 1726. Collections include 18th-century decorative arts, Civil War artifacts, and paintings by Sydney King.

The plantation offers house tours led by guides in period dress, period rooms, exhibits, an audio-visual program, self-guided tours of the grounds, and guided student tours. Student tour topic options include the life of children in the 18th century, William Henry Harrison, and Civil War Major General George McClellan (1826-1885) and Harrison's Landing circa 1862.