The Fort at No.4 Living History Museum [NH]

Description

The Fort at No.4 Living History Museum presents the experience of life as a settler in the 1740s, the time during which the original fort was settled. Daily demonstrations include hearth cooking, musket firing, and military drills. The site includes 12 reconstructed homes; a reconstructed great chamber and watch tower; and exhibits on the Abenaki, members of the Algonquin. Smaller divisions of the Abenaki include the Sokoki, Panacook, and Cowasck.

The museum offers tours by guides in period dress, exhibits, hands-on activities, demonstrations, docents depicting actual period figures, and period rooms. The website offers printable student activities, lesson plans, curriculum resources, and a post–visit activity.

Musuem of Florida History [FL]

Description

The Museum of Florida History is located in the Old Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida. The museum chronicles the history of the Florida peninsula from ancient times through the Spanish occupation up to the present day. The museum also is home to several collections of artifacts and documents pertaining to Florida history.

The museum offers workshops, tours, exhibits, traveling trunk exhibits, field trip programs, and outreach programs where museum employees give presentations at local schools. The website offers online exhibits, visitor information, access to museum collections, and online resources for teachers such as downloadable worksheets.

Makah Cultural & Research Center [WA]

Description

The Makah Cultural and Research Center is located along Neah Bay in Washington, and is one of the nation's finest tribal museums. The museum gives visitors a glimpse of the pre-contact life of the Makah people, while the cultural and research center houses the Makah language program, which works towards the preservation and teaching on the Makah language. The cultural and research center also houses over 60,000 Makah artifacts.

The museum offers guided tours for groups and individuals along with hands on activities and demonstrations of traditional Makah activities such as basketry, carving, and storytelling.

The Chatham Historical Society [MA]

Description

The Chatham Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Chatham, Massachusetts. To that end, the society operates a museum located within the 1752 Atwood House. The site includes nine exhibit galleries, period rooms, the mid-20th-century Nickerson North Beach Camp, bells from the Chatham school, and a Wampanoag canoe. Collections include more than 3,000 artifacts, 2,500 photographs, and 800 books.

The society offers guided tours of the Atwood House. The website offers images of collection highlights.

The Museum at Prophetstown [IN]

Description

The Museum at Prophetstown presents the history of Indiana's Wabash River Valley through the stories of a 1920s farmstead, a Native American settlement, and the prairie itself. The working farmstead includes a replica Sears Roebuck and Company Catalog farmhouse. The Shawnee brothers Tenskwautawaw and Tecumseh founded the 1808 Native American settlement in Prophetstown as capital of a new Native American Confederation. The settlement was attacked in 1811 by U.S. forces; and today displays replicas of the Council House, medicine lodge, "chief's" cabin, and granary.

The museum offers workshops; guided tours of the farmstead; period rooms; summer camps; and a program for boys from Cary County, allowing them to work with draft horses. The website offers listings of relevant state educational standards.

Historical and Genealogical Society of Indiana County [PA]

Description

The Historical and Genealogical Society of Indiana County seeks to preserve and share the history of Indiana County, Pennsylvania. To this end, the society operates a museum and a research library. Exhibit topics include Native American life, farm life, historical medicine, and coal mining.

The society offers exhibits and library access. There is a nominal fee for library use by individuals who are not society members.

Traverse des Sioux Historic Site [MN]

Description

The Traverse des Sioux location was a meeting place and crossroads for centuries, and was frequented by American Indians and European fur traders and farmers. In 1850, with the passing of a treaty in 1851 the land at Traverse des Sioux became open to the public. Within a year, a booming town was located on the site, with a population of over 300. Less than two decades later, another town was chosen as the county seat, and nothing was left of Traverse des Sioux.

The Historic Site offers self guided tours and hiking. The website offers a brief history of the location and visitor information.

Bear Butte Education Center [SD]

Description

Bear Butte has a human history of more than 10,000 years. The site has long been considered sacred by select Native American groups, and the Lakota and Cheyenne still visit the site to worship. Aside from the mountain's significance to the Native American population, the landmark served as a guide for prospectors entering the Black Hills after Lt. Colonel George A. Custer's discovery of area gold deposits in 1874.

The center offers exhibits on the geology and history of the mountain, as well as the beliefs of the Northern Plains peoples—particularly the Cheyenne and Lakota. Note that a buffalo herd lives near the butte. Visitors are asked to keep their distance from the buffalo for their personal safety.