Pioneer Living History Village [AZ]

Description

The Pioneer Living History Village is a 90-acre living history 1800s town. Structures are either period or reproductions based on historical research. Sights include an opera house in which Lilly Langtry (1853-1929), famed English actress and beauty, once sang; the childhood home of Henry Fountain Ashurst (1874-1962), one of the first Senators of Arizona; and a circa 1880 cabin which survived an Apache raid.

The museum offers period rooms, demonstrations, living history interpreters, and re-enactments. The museum is closed on rainy days.

Moraga Historical Society and History Center [CA]

Description

The Moraga Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados—now Moraga, Orinda, and Lafayette, CA. The rancho, created in 1841, was a 13,316-acre land grant awarded to Joaquin Moraga and Juan Bernal by the Mexican government. To achieve their goal, the society operates a history center with artifacts and archival materials.

The society offers exhibits and archival access.

Catonsville Historical Society and Pullen Museum [MD]

Description

The Catonsville Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Catonsville, Maryland. To this end, the society operates the Townsend House and Pullen Museum, which present exhibits of local historical interest. The rooms of the Townsend House are set up as period rooms, containing pieces from throughout U.S. history. Collection highlights include architectural and train models, prints, paintings, and local arrowheads. The society also maintains a knot garden, perhaps the oldest form of formal garden design in the U.S.

The society offers exhibits, period rooms, and a knot garden. The Townsend House and Pullen Museum are open by appointment.

Forest History Center [MN]

Description

The Forest History Center is a recreated circa 1900 logging camp, containing the camp itself, an exhibit area, a 1901 floating shack or "wanigan" used to transport logs and men to the mills, forest trails, and a 1930s Minnesota Forest Service patrolman's cabin and lookout tower. The time period portrayed at the site was the peak of white pine logging in the state of Minnesota. Exhibit highlights include a life-sized hollow "log" through which visitors can crawl, a children's corner, items made from local wood, and displays on forest conservation.

The center offers interactive exhibits on both the human and natural history of Minnesotan forests, films on forest fires and oral histories, living history interpreters, one-hour guided tours, self-guided tours, curriculum-based school tours, a picnic site, and vending machines. Wheelchairs are available for use on site, and reservations can be made for sign language interpreters. The center suggests using or bringing insect repellent. The website offers historical photographs.

Elizabeth Township Historical Society and Coates House [PA]

Description

The Elizabeth Township Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of the communities within a 35-mile radius of Elizabeth Township, PA. The society operates and maintains two cemeteries and the Coates House, which contains the society's administrative offices, a museum, and the Golda B. Abraham Memorial Library.

The society offers exhibits and research assistance. Research assistance requires payment.

Newbold-White House [NC]

Description

The Newbold-White House is a 1730 Quaker Colonial residence used to present the history of Northeastern North Carolina. In addition to the home, the 143-acre grounds hold a walking trail, a 17th-century Quaker cemetery, a kitchen garden, and a reconstructed smokehouse. The Periauger, an 18th-century work boat replica, is also available for specific programs.

The house offers 45-minute guided tours, a video about the Periauger, folk and decorative arts exhibits, customizable school tours, and a children's summer sailing program. Please note that the site is only partially handicapped accessible.

Minnesota Historical Society

Description

The Minnesota Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Minnesota. To this end, the society operates a history center and 26 historical sites located throughout the state. The Minnesota History Center collections include more than 230,000 artifacts, including a collection of Ojibwa pieces; 6,000 works of art; and 53,000 cubic feet of government records, among other items.

The Minnesota History Center offers a 30-minute introductory film, exhibits, interactive field trip programs, library access, and two lunch sites—one indoor and one outdoor. Reservations must be made at least two weeks in advance for field trip programs and/or use of the indoor dining area. Lunches can be ordered ahead from the museum restaurant. The center can arrange for sign language interpreters and wheelchair availability. The society also offers outreach presentations given by costumed interpreters and continuing education workshops for teachers.

The website offers blogs on selected artifacts, local historical organizations, and the archives; a forum for historical researchers; video podcasts; historical images; lesson plans on Minnesota and the Holocaust; and a Minnesota history curriculum available for purchase.

Institute of History, Archaeology and Education [NY]

Description

The Institute of History, Archaeology and Education presents world cultural history, with a particular focus on the development of kindergarten through twelfth grade history and archaeology curriculum. Subjects include ancient civilizations, Biblical archaeology, and U.S. history.

The institute offers professional development hostels for educators, as well as a wide variety of public lectures.

Lower East Side Tenement Museum

Description

The Museum tells the stories of 97 Orchard Street. Built on Manhattan's Lower East Side in 1863, this tenement apartment building was home to nearly 7,000 working class immigrants. They faced challenges people understand today: making a new life, working for a better future, starting a family with limited means. In recognizing the importance of this seemingly ordinary building, the Tenement Museum has reimagined the role that museums can play in modern lives.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and educational and recreational events.