Fall School Fair at Historic Arkansas Museum

Description

From the Historic Arkansas Museum website:

"Join us at Historic Arkansas, the museum doing great things with history, for our annual Fall School Fair. Everyone loves it—kids and teachers alike.

Teachers say they like:
*That up to 110 students can come at one time.
*That they can meet so many frameworks in 2.5 hours.

Kids like:
*How easy it is to learn when they're having fun!

Everyone likes:
*Seeing the blacksmith at his forge, the spinner at her wheel and the woodworker using his tools.
*Hearing fiddlers fiddle and storytellers tell their tales.
*Meeting Living History characters and stepping into the oldest house in Little Rock.
*Viewing our newest gallery about Arkansas's first people: the Caddo, Osage and Quapaw.
*Hands-on, participatory fun: the kind we're known for!

Come enjoy the most talent the museum can assemble in one day."

For more on the Historic Arkansas Museum, refer to NHEC's Museums and Historic Sites entry.

Sponsoring Organization
Historic Arkansas Museum
Phone number
501-324-9351
Target Audience
3-6
Start Date
Cost
$6 per student; 1 adult free for every 10 students
Duration
Two hours and 15 minutes

Past and Present-Day Warriors: American Indian Military Service

Description

From the National Museum of the American Indian website:

"Warriors have always held an honored place in American Indian societies. Responsible for protecting their communities, homelands, and rights, Native soldiers have served with distinction alongside (and sometimes against) the United States military in every major American conflict, including the Revolution, Civil War, and World War II. Discover why Native Americans serve in the military and explore the intersection of warrior culture in the lives of today's veterans."

For more on the National Museum of the American Indian, refer to NHEC's Museums and Historic Sites entry.

Sponsoring Organization
National Museum of the American Indian
Start Date
Cost
$20
Duration
Four hours

Using Archaeology to Teach Native American History

Description

From the New York State Museum website:

"The New York State Museum announces a professional development workshop designed by museum scientists and researchers for social studies teachers in grades 3-7. It is a unique professional development experience that creates a learning community of classroom teachers who work side-by-side with museum scientists and researchers in an archaeological investigation of Native American and early Euro-American primary source material. It invites teachers to actively participate in the process of archaeology and learn about regional history through classroom lectures, fieldwork and analysis of material objects in Museum collection areas.

Through teamwork exercises, participants will learn how to collect and organize specimens, record data, generate questions, formulate hypotheses, develop and defend explanations, and present findings in Native American and early Euro-American history. They will also update and expand their understanding of local and regional history and foster close working relationships with museum scientists and researchers. Participants will be expected to perform some physical labor and to work outdoors in variable weather conditions. Current research information and resources will address the advantages of object-based learning, using a museum as an educational resource, and applications to the State Learning Standards for social studies #1.4, #3.1, #4.1; math #3.4, #3.5; science, #4.7; and English language arts #1, #3, and #4."

Contact name
Christina Rieth
Contact email
Sponsoring Organization
New York State Museum
Phone number
518-402-5975
Target Audience
"Social studies teachers in grades 3-7"
Start Date
Cost
$56 for Greater Capital Region Teacher Center constituents; $112 for non-GCRTC constituents
Course Credit
"35 contact hours."
Contact Title
State Archaeologist and Director of the Cultural Resource Survey Program
Duration
Five days
End Date

Cultural Encounters in 17th-century New Netherland

Description

From the New York State Museum website:

"The New York State Museum offers an interdisciplinary workshop for teachers of elementary and junior high school social studies. The cultural and historical legacy of 17th century Dutch settlements and interactions with Native Americans will be featured. Included will be the areas of ethnography, geology, historical archaeology, and classroom applications for teaching with historical documents and objects. We will compare symbols of community, economic and social decision-making in Algonquian-speaking and New Netherland societies, adaptations to change over time, and lasting cultural influences.

Teachers will have access to collections of original source materials now held by the New York State Museum, the New York State Library, and the New York State Archives, all programs of the Office of Cultural Education, under the New York State Education Department. The New York State Learning Standards addressed in the workshop are: Social Studies #1.1, #1.3 & #1.4 (NY State History); #3.2 (Geography); #4.1 (Economics); English Language Arts #1, #3, & #4; Math #3.4; Science #4.7; and Technology #5.5. "

Contact name
Valerie Fish
Contact email
Sponsoring Organization
New York State Museum
Phone number
518-474-5817
Target Audience
"Teachers of elementary and junior high school social studies"
Start Date
Cost
$45 for Greater Capital Region Teacher Center constituents; $90 for non-GCRTC constituents
Course Credit
"21 contact hours."
Duration
Three days
End Date

Nunda Historical Society [NY]

Description

The Nunda Historical Society records and teaches the history of Nunda, NY, founded in 1808 in New York's Allegany County. The name comes from the Seneca Indian tribe who lived in the area and means roughly "Where the valley meets the hills".

While the society has no museum or historic site to visit, their website offers lesson plans on local history as well as a wealth of online resources for teachers.

The society does not offer a physical site for visitation. The above entry was pre-existing.

National Museum of the American Indian: Educator's Open House

Description

From the National Museum of the American Indian website:

"This event provides educators the opportunity to learn about the rich experiences available at the NMAI. The day's activities include tours of exhibitions, the Haudenosaunee Discovery Room, and the Resource Center; there will also be hands-on activities. Educators who pre-register will receive a package of resources."

For more on the National Museum of the American Indian, refer to NHEC's Museums and Historic Sites entry. Please note that this event is at the museum's New York City branch.

Sponsoring Organization
National Museum of the American Indian
Phone number
212-514-3716
Target Audience
PreK-12
Start Date
Duration
Five hours

Penn Museum Online Collections

Image
Annotation

Representing the collections of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, this archive features records for more than 660,000 artifacts, ranging from sources worldwide.

Visitors may browse objects by featured collection or theme (themes include California/Nevada baskets, animals, faces, feathers, hair and makeup, and more) or by collection highlights (featuring notable artifacts divided into sections by geography). Under "Highlights by Section," visitors may also choose "Physical Anthropology" to explore the museum's collection of human and primate remains. A downloadable PDF (30 pages) introduces this section. (Note: access to the searchable database for the physical anthropology collection was not available at the time of this review.)

Visitors may search the collections by keyword, object name/description, museum object number, period, place name, culture, maker, donor, and material/technique. Individual object records may include culture, country of origin, date created, media and techniques used, a two- to three-sentence description, and enlargeable images (if available).

Click "Add to My Finds" on an object's record page to add an object to a customizable list of bookmarked items, accessed by clicking the "My Finds" tab at the top right of the page. Collections of "finds" may be rearranged by dragging and dropping; click "Save/Share My Finds" to store a collection at a unique URL that may be revisited later and shared with others.

This is a useful site for exploring material culture. U.S. history teachers will find the Native American artifacts recovered on archaeological and ethnographic collecting expeditions particularly relevant. The lack of substantial annotations may make some artifacts difficult to contextualize. (Note that the museum specifically allows teachers to use images from the collection in their classrooms or on nonprofit educational websites.)