Historic Bethlehem [PA]

Description

Historic Bethlehem presents and interprets three centuries of life within Bethlehem, PA. The site consists of a visitor center, the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, Moravian Museum of Bethlehem, Burnside Plantation, Colonial Industrial Quarter, and Goundie House. The Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts discusses the history of the Lehigh Valley in the 18th through 20th centuries via a collection of decorative arts. The museum also hosts toys from the 1830s to 1930s. The Moravian Museum of Bethlehem, housed within a 1741 structure, presents the lives of Bethlehem, PA's Moravian founders. The Burnside Plantation consists of a barn and farmhouse dating to the 18th and 19th centuries. The site was once home to a Moravian missionary active in local politics. The Colonial Industrial Quarter consists of the 1869 Luckenbach Mill; Miller's House; 1762 Tannery; 1762 Waterworks, the first pumped town water system in the U.S.; and the restored working Blacksmith's Shop. The 1810 Federal Goundie House presents exhibits of local history.

The site offers exhibits, period rooms, group site tours, educational programs for students, a student outreach presentation, a traveling trunk, walking tours, Segway tours, lectures, and step on guides. Note that participants must weigh between 100 and 250 pounds for the Segway tours.

Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village [MI]

Description

The Henry Ford Museum presents U.S. ideas and inventions. Exhibit topics include agriculture; clockwork; automobiles; Presidential limousines; furnishings; manufacturing; jewelry; home appliances; R. Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion House, a 1940s house of the future; aviation; human rights within the United States; silver; pewter; transportation; and 20th-century generations. Collection highlights include Abraham Lincoln's chair from Ford's Theatre, one of George Washington's camp beds, a replica of the Wright brothers' Flyer, the limousine in which John F. Kennedy was assassinated, a Gothic steam engine, and the Goldenrod. The Goldenrod broke world land speed records in 1965. The 80-acre Greenfield Village incorporates 83 historic structures. District themes include the railway, an 1880s working farm, Thomas Alva Edison, home life between the 17th and 20th centuries, historic skills, and the Model T Ford.

The museum offers exhibits, three curriculum-based guided activity programs, one curriculum-based dramatic presentation, and cafes. The village offers exhibits, interactive activities, the opportunity to ride historic vehicles, eight curriculum-based dramatic presentations, a self-guided activity for students, restaurants, and a food stall. The site also offers teacher workshops, a teacher fellow program, summer camps, Scout programs, and a youth mentorship program. Wheelchairs and electric scooters are available for use on site. The village is closed between January and mid-April. The website offers virtual exhibits, teacher's guides, student exploration guides, suggested pre- and post-visit activities, a club for teachers, and audio tour downloads.

Museum of Colquitt County History [GA]

Description

The Museum of Colquitt County History presents the history of Colquitt County, Georgia. Exhibit topics and displays include Native American artifacts, face jugs, a small scale Chickee dwelling, a Confederate memorial and artifacts, vernacular and home artifacts, 20th-century life, tobacco, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and education.

The museum offers exhibits and a high school self study course on the Confederacy. Tours are available outside of normal museum hours with advance notice.

Bostonian Society and Old State House Museum [MA]

Description

The Bostonian Society seeks to preserve and share the history of Boston, Massachusetts. To this end, the society operates the Old State House Museum. The museum presents information on the Old State House itself, the Boston Massacre, Boston and the Revolutionary War, staff favorite artifacts, and architectural conservation and preservation, among other topics. The Old State House itself was built in 1713 to house local government offices.

The society offers interactive and traditional exhibits, a multimedia presentation, guided student tours, self-guided student tours, an educational program for students, self-guided group tours, guided group tours, wayside historical markers, research library access, research assistance, and teacher workshops. Groups of 10 or more are required to make reservations at least three weeks in advance. The library is open by appointment only. Non-member library use requires payment of a fee, and is limited to two-hour sessions. The museum is not wheelchair accessible. The website offers virtual exhibits, lesson plans, primary documents, pre- and post-visit activities, a scavenger hunt and self-guided tour for use on site, and an online Boston Massacre game.

National World War One Museum [MO]

Description

The National World War One Museum presents World War I both prior to and during U.S. involvement. Exhibits include general chronology, large-scale settings, thematic displays, and study centers. Highlights include a Renault FT17 World War I tank, displaying the damage that it took in battle, and examples of shell art. A memorial is also located on site. The museum seeks to inspire reflection on values, ethics, responsible decisions, and resolution of conflict, as relevant throughout time.

The site offers a 12-minute introductory video, environmental audio, traditional and interactive exhibits, an open-air observation deck, a cafe, and research center access. Reservations must be made at least two weeks in advance for school groups. Students may eat bag lunches on the lawn or order box lunches at least one week in advance. Appointments are necessary to use the research center.

Old City Cemetery and Museums [VA]

Description

The Old City Cemetery is the oldest public cemetery in Virginia, in continuous operation since 1806. The site includes the Mourning Museum, Pest House Medical Museum, Hearse House and Cemetery Caretaker's Museum, Station House, and Chapel and Columbarium. The Station House is furnished in a circa World War I style. The Hearse House contains a circa 1900 hearse and a variety of cemetery caretaker tools. The Mourning Museum presents 19th- and 20th-century mourning attire, jewelry, and etiquette, as well as the history of coffins and embalming. Topics relevant to the site include horticulture, symbolism, ironwork, Civil War medicine, mourning practices of the Victorian era, railways, African American history, the founding of Lynchburg, women, archaeology, and local disasters. The cemetery has been in use since 1806.

The cemetery offers self-guided tours; period rooms; exhibits; Mourning Museum tours; interior tours of the Pest House, Hearse House, Station House, and Chapel; audio tours; customizable guided cemetery tours; and wayside signs. Appointments are required for interior tours of the Pest House, Hearse House, Station House, and Chapel, as well as for guided cemetery tours. The website offers lesson plans, brief descriptions of notable figures interred on site, a virtual African American history tour, and brief informative articles.

Atlanta History Center [GA]

Description

The Atlanta History Center consists of the Atlanta History Museum, Swan House, Tullie Smith Farm, Centennial Olympic Games Museum, historic gardens, Kenan Research Center, and the Margaret Mitchell House. The Atlanta History Museum depicts the story of Atlanta, GA, from early settlement to modern day. Permanent exhibits address historical development, the Civil War, folk arts, and golfer Bobby Jones. The Olympic museum presents the history of the Olympic Games and the sports which take place at the games via a collection of artifacts and photographs. Topics addressed include financing the event, community involvement, global travel to the Olympics, the bid process, and building game venues. The six historic gardens represent groups of people who influenced the development of Atlanta. The Kenan Research Center provides resources for the study of the history and culture of Atlanta and the South. Particular emphasis is given to gardens, military history, decorative arts, and genealogy. The 1928 Swan House portrays life in the 1920s-1930s; while the 1840s Tullie Smith Farm home is representative of area rural life, and is surrounded by outbuildings, such as a blacksmith shop. The Margaret Mitchell House is listed separately within this database.

The center offers guided student tours, self-guided student tours, traveling trunks, interactive outreach programs for students, homeschool days, educator workshops, lectures, toddler programs, summer camps, musical performances, gardens, and living history presentations. The Atlanta History Museum offers exhibits, summer camps, and a cafe. The Centennial Olympic Games Museum offers interactive and traditional exhibits, a sports lab, and multimedia presentations. The Kenan Research Center offers research library access. The Swan House offers an exhibit of decorative arts, audio tours, guided tours, and period rooms. The Tullie Smith Farm offers period rooms, guided tours, and demonstrations. The website offers lesson plans, a virtual tour, and a game based on the P.O.W. experience.

Old Dutch Parsonage and Wallace House [NJ]

Description

The parsonage was built in 1751 and first occupied by Reverend John Frelinghuysen, who came from Amsterdam to serve three congregations of the Dutch Reform church in the upper Raritan Valley. The second occupant of the Parsonage, the Reverend Jacob Hardenbergh, founded Queens College in 1766 while residing in the house. While living at the Dutch Parsonage, Hardenbergh sold 95 acres of land and a small farmhouse to John Wallace, a Philadelphia fabric importer and merchant. Between 1775 and 1776, Wallace purchased an additional 12 acres of land and built an eight-room Georgian style mansion adjoining part of the existing farmhouse. It was the largest house built in New Jersey during the Revolutionary War. Naming his estate "Hope Farm," Wallace intended the property to be his country seat and place of retirement.

The site offers tours.

Peabody Essex Museum [MA]

Description

The Peabody Essex Museum is an art museum, which seeks to engage visitors' interest in the cultural, historical, and human aspects which the works convey through their context of creation. Museum galleries include American decorative arts, Native American contemporary and traditional art, Korean art, Chinese art for use in China and for export, Japanese art for use in Japan and for export, Asian arts on paper, Indian art for use in India and for export, Oceanic art, maritime art, and photography. The museum also operates Yin Yu Tang, a Qing dynasty (1644-1911) home from Anhui Province, China.

The museum offers traditional and interactive exhibits, hands-on art activities, themed guided tours, self-guided tours, 14 curriculum-based programs for students, programs for educators, family programs, a restaurant, and a cafe. Student programs are available with focuses on American art and culture, Asian art and culture, and the visual arts. The website offers Asia, Chinese aesthetics, and Salem witch trials curricula; a teacher's guide to the American collections; slide shows of select current exhibits; images of collection highlights; and a virtual tour of Yin Yu Tang.

The Art and Nature Center will be closed until June 20, 2009 for the installation of a new exhibit. The galleries housing Intersections, Native American Art in a New Light are closed until August 2009.