Timucuan Historical and Ecological Preserve and Fort Caroline National Memorial [FL]

Description

The Timucuan Historical and Ecological Preserve and Fort Caroline National Memorial is a 46,000-acre National Park Site consisting of several historical sites. The 1564 Fort Caroline Memorial recalls a brief period of French occupation during the 16th-century; and includes the Timucuan Preserve Visitor Center, which recounts area environmental history and human interaction with the environment. Visitors to the memorial can compare French fort and traditional Timucuan life. Other sites include the Theodore Roosevelt Area shell middens and nature trails; the 1814 through 1837 Kingsley Plantation; the 1935 American Beach, founded to provide African Americans access to the beach despite segregation; the Cedar Point nature area; and the 1928 Ribauldt Club, once a wintertime resort.

The memorial offers exhibits, activities to complete while viewing the exhibits, Junior Ranger activities, interpretive programs, and ranger-led student programs. Other sites offers opportunities for hiking, nature watching, water activities, and camping; other Junior Ranger activities; interpretive programs; exhibits; and ranger-led student programs at the Kingsley Plantations. The website offers site specific activity pages, mp3 tours, videos on kayaking and making tabby, slide shows, and curriculum materials for the Kingsley Plantation and Fort Caroline.

The Ceder Point boat ramp and Kingsley Plantation residence are currently closed for renovation. Other park and plantation structures remain accessible to the public.

Keweenaw National Historical Park [MI]

Description

Keweenaw National Historical Park presents the history of mining Keweenaw copper reserves between 7,000 years ago and the 1900s. Long used by the Native American populations such as the Ojibwa to create tools and beads, the copper mines were targeted by immigrants in the mineral rushes of the 1800s.

The park offers an information desk, outdoor activities, 90-minute guided Junior Ranger programs, 90-minute guided Calumet walking tours, 90-minute guided walking tours of the Quincy Copper Mining Company surface ruins, self-guided tours, monthly history presentations, and archival access. Appointments are required for archival access, and the historic building housing the archives is not wheelchair accessible. The website offers a mining timeline and a 45-minute PowerPoint park overview, available to educators upon request.

The park includes 19 sub-sites managed by partner organizations. Most activities are offered by these organizations, rather than by the National Park Service. The sub-sites are the Adventure Mining Company, A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum, Calumet Theatre, Chassell Heritage Center, Copper Range Historical Museum, Coppertown Mining Museum, Delaware Copper Mine, Finnish American Heritage Center and Historical Archive, Fort Wilkins Historic State Park, Hanka Homestead Museum, Houghton County Historical Museum, Keweenaw County Historical Society, Keweenaw Heritage Center at St. Anne's, Laurium Manor Mansion Tours, Old Victoria, Ontonagon County Historical Society, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Quincy Mine and Hoist, and Upper Peninsula Fire Fighters Memorial Museum.

Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site [AL]

Description

The Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site is located on Tuskegee University. Sights include the George W. Carver (circa 1864-1943) Museum and The Oaks, Booker T. Washington's (1856-1915) home. Other figures honored include Dr. Frederick W. Patterson (1901-1988), founder of the United Negro College Fund, and Dr. Robert Moton, who stressed the need for health care for African American veterans. Carver is known for his support of the peanut as an alternative to the southern cotton crop, which had been ravaged by the boll weevil. Washington founded the Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers, later the Tuskegee Institute, to provide education to African American students. Due to the strength of the aeronautical engineering program at the institute, the site was selected by the military to train African American pilots for World War II.

The site offers exhibits, interpretive programs, 30-minute introductory films on George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington, guided tours of The Oaks, period rooms, tours of the historic Tuskegee University, and 2-hour curriculum-based programs. Reservations are required for curriculum-based programs. The Oaks is not fully wheelchair accessible. Films can be played with captions.

George Washington Birthplace National Monument [VA]

Description

Visit the house where George Washington, first President of the US and commander of the Continental Army, was born and spent his early years. The house burned in 1779 although its foundation survived. The home was rebuilt in the 1930's and now contains pieces from the Colonial era.

The site offers tours for school group as well as Virginia SOL-based educational programs (grades K-7). In addition to history education programs the site also offers environmental education programs on grounds. Outreach programs can be arranged during the winter months. Curriculum materials can be downloaded free of charge for teachers to use both before and after their visit.

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park [WV]

Description

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park presents living history interpretations of past area events and daily life. Harpers Ferry events include the 1859 John Brown's Raid, constant Civil War action, the Niagara Movement's second conference, military industrialization, and the convergence of two railroads and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal circa 1835.

The park offers exhibits, trails, guided tours, self-guided tours, self-guided educational hikes and scavenger hunts, guided educational programs which meet state educational standards, educator workshops, Junior Ranger activities, and picnic areas. The website offers historic photographs, curricula, and a lesson plan.

De Soto National Memorial [FL]

Description

The De Soto National Memorial commemorates Spaniard Hernando de Soto's (circa 1496-1542) 1539 arrival at Tampa Bay. Following the landing, de Soto and his men encountered, and in some cases fought, local Native American groups over the course of four years. Collections include historic arms and armor. Between December and April, the site offers re-enactments and demonstrations at Camp Uzita.

The park offers a 22-minute introductory film, exhibits, helmets and armor for guests to try on, guided walking tours, nature trails with interpretive signage and wayside exhibits, 40-minute outreach presentations, Junior Ranger activities, Junior Ranger camps, and a picnic area. The website offers a suggested reading list.

Hovenweep National Monument [CO]

Description

The Hovenweep National Monument consists of six prehistoric ancestral Puebloan villages on an expanse of 26 miles of land. The site was first inhabited more than 10,000 years ago by a farming people. The eventual abandonment of the villages is believed to have been instigated by a lengthy drought.

The monument offers talks, guided walks, interpretive programming, and Junior Ranger activities. Guided walks and interpretive programs are only available for groups and with advance notice. The website offers field trip plans.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park [NM]

Description

"Chaco Culture National Historical Park preserves one of America's most significant and fascinating cultural and historic areas. Chaco Canyon was a major center of ancestral Puebloan culture between AD 850 and 1250. It was a hub of ceremony, trade, and administration for the prehistoric Four Corners area - unlike anything before or since."

Self-guided hikes and bus/car tours are available. Group camping is also an option for school groups. Curriculum materials can be downloaded and are suggested for use before your visit.

Bandelier National Monument [NM]

Description

The Bandelier National Monument site contains dwellings and petroglyphs from the Ancestral Pueblo who lived in the area between 1150 and 1550. Spanish colonists inhabited the site beginning circa 1750. The 1.2-mile main trail winds through excavated archaeological sites. Visitor Center exhibits address Ancestral Pueblo life and compare it to the life of the modern Pueblo.

The monument offers a 10-minute introductory film, exhibits, guided walks, demonstrations, summer camps, a traveling trunk, books and videos for loan to educators, educational kits for use on site by fifth grade students, Junior Ranger activities, more than 70 miles of trails, outdoor activities, and a picnic area. Demonstrations occur on weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Written guides to the main trail are available in Japanese, German, Spanish, French, Russian, Braille, and large print. Wheelchair accessibility is limited. The website offers lesson plans, animal fact sheets, and PowerPoint presentations.

Scotts Bluff National Monument [NE]

Description

Scotts Bluff National Monument encompasses 3,000 acres of natural bluff formations that once served as landmarks for pioneers on the Oregon, California, Mormon, and Pony Express Trails. The park's four-room Oregon Trail Museum and Visitor Center houses displays on natural history, westward expansion, and the artwork of William Henry Jackson (1843-1942).

The site offers a slide presentation, exhibits, historic and nature trails (including remnants of the Oregon Trail), living history demonstrations (in the summer months), guided hikes, and other recreational and educational events.