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.

Historic Cherry Hill [NY]

Description

Historic Cherry Hill is a 1787 residence, occupied by the Van Rensselaer family until 1963. The site presents the changing culture, decorative arts, economic climate, and social classes of the 176 years in which the home was in use. The structure exists in its 1963 state in order to render social and architectural evolution visible to visitors. The Van Rensselaers were originally considered Hudson River manor lords, members of a group of wealthy local Dutch settlers. However, as early as the 1820s, the family began to face economic pressure which would increase with the formation of the millionaire class and the large numbers of immigrants entering the U.S. Collections include more than 20,000 artifacts—from the most mundane household items to rare examples of decorative arts styles—and 30,000 archival documents.

Cherry Hill offers period rooms; tours; interactive educational programs for students; and educational outreach programs for students. Reservations are required for groups of 10 or more. Listening assistance devices are available. The website offers two teaching units for purchase. Both won awards from the American Association for State and Local History.

Tours and on site educational programs are currently unavailable, as the site undergoes restoration. Outreach programming is still available.

Gunston Hall Plantation [VA]

Description

Visit the home of George Mason, the author of the Virginia Bill of Rights (the basis of the Constitution's Bill of Rights). Completed in 1759, Gunston Hall is a fine example of Virginia's colonial architecture in the Georgian style. The mansion's grounds and gardens were surveyed and designed by Mason himself and are available for visiting today.

The site welcomes field trips and offers school tours based on Virginia SOLs and on-site programs for all grades. Outreach programs are also available if a visit is impossible. Teacher resources and curriculum guides are available for purchase in the museum shop. Teacher workshops and lectures are also featured as well as an on-site research library.

Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society [CT]

Description

Built circa 1748, the Noah Webster House is the restored birthplace and childhood home of the lexicographer Noah Webster (1758-1843). Today, the museum building includes the historical house, library, archives, and a modern exhibition gallery.

The house and society offer exhibits, tours, reference library access, educational programs, and recreational and educational events.