Pamplin Historical Park [VA]

Description

The 422-acre Pamplin Historical Park commemorates Civil War history. The park location is that of the April 2, 1865 "Breakthrough," the battle which caused the evacuation of the Confederate capital at Richmond. The grounds include four museums, four antebellum homes, and living history sites. Constituting the primary draw of the park is the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, which presents the story of the common soldier involved in the Civil War. The three other museums cover plantation life; slavery in the United States (The Field Quarter); and the battle of April 2, 1865 (The Battlefield Center). The antebellum structures include the 1812 Tudor Hall Plantation house, once the headquarters of Confederate General Samuel McGowan (1819-1897), and the 1700s-era Banks House, Union Lt. General Grant's (1822-1885) headquarters following the battle. The park also offers trails among some of the nation's best-preserved Civil War fortifications.

The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier offers exhibits, life-size dioramas, films, interactive learning stations, an audio tour which makes use of the words of actual soldiers, and a multi-sensory battlefield simulation. The Field Quarter offers a film, an exhibit, heritage livestock, and reconstructed dwellings. The Military Encampment offers hands-on activities. The Battlefield Center offers a multimedia presentation and exhibits. The Banks house offers period rooms. The park also offers educational programs, Civil War Adventure camps, history day camps, interpretive trails, self-guided audio tours of the Breakthrough Battlefield and Tudor Hall plantation, guided battlefield and Tudor Hall tours, tours on a variety of subjects offered on request, interpreters in period costume, artillery and civilian skill demonstrations, and vending machines. Pre- and post-visit activities are available on the website.

African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey

Description

The African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey presents the 20th century experience of the national African American community. The collection consists of over 3,000 artifacts, including artworks and decorative items, depicting African Americans.

The museum offers educational programs and a traveling museum which visits schools upon request. Call prior to visitation as the exhibit may be traveling.

Pope House Museum Foundation [NC]

Description

The Pope House Museum Foundation operates the Pope House Museum, which depicts the life of a well-to-do African American family circa 1900. The house, built in 1901, was the residence of Dr. Manassa Thomas Pope (1858-1934) and his family. Dr. Pope was a 1919 mayoral candidate, an officer in the Spanish American War, and one of the earliest graduates of Shaw University's Leonard school of Medicine. The collections consist of artifacts and documents—with the earliest dating to 1851.

The museum is currently closed for restoration.

George Washington Carver Museum [TX]

Description

The George Washington Carver Museum showcases local and national African American history with a focus on African American art.

The museum offers exhibits, guided tours, performances in the Boyd Vance Theatre, the Museum in a Basket program for local schools, special programs which focus on different aspects of African American history including photography, film, and folktales, various classes, and occasional special events. The website offers a history of the museum, visitor information, an events calendar, and information regarding all of the programs, classes, and events offered at the museum.

Dyckman House Park [NY]

Description

The Dyckman House Park consists of a circa 1784 Dutch Colonial farmhouse, surrounded by a small park, in New York City. The site focuses on the years 1815 through 1820 and 1915 through 1916, referred to by the park as the "farm" and "city" periods of the property.

The park offers period rooms, guided tours, educational programs which meet state educational standards. Reservations are required for groups of ten or more. The website offers pre- and post-visit activities.

Massie Heritage Center [GA]

Description

The Massie Heritage Center, part of the Savannah-Chatham County Public School system, presents the history of Savannah, Georgia and the surrounding area. Particular emphasis is given to architectural history. The center is housed in three Greek Revival structures—one of which was Savannah's first public school, opened to the public in 1856. In 1865, the school was designated as being for African American students only. Today, a portion of the second floor recreates a 19th-century classroom.

The center offers self-guided tours, guided tours, exhibits, 17 educational programs, and the option of creating a custom program for students. Teachers who participate in an educational program receive suggested pre- and post- visit activity listings. Reservations are required for groups of more than 10 who would like a guided tour. The website offers children's activities.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum [MO]

Description

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum presents the history of African American baseball between the late 1800s and 1960s, when leagues were largely segregated. Exhibits include league information, historic photographs, information on African American businesses and period styles, and statues. The interior entrance emulates a period baseball stadium. The museum is located in Kansas City's 18th and Vine district, historically central to the city's African American population.

The museum offers multi-media exhibits; three films, including an eight-minute oral history interview presentation; and self-guided tours. Reservations are required for groups of over 25. These groups will be offered an introduction and, if possible, a guided tour.

USS Constellation [MD]

Description

The U.S.S. Constellation serves as a museum of its own history. The vessel is the final sail-powered warship built by the Navy, and the last floating Civil War era vessel. Education program topics include African Americans in the Navy, life at sea as a powder monkey, the Constellation's efforts against the slave trade, and the construction of the sloop-of-war.

The vessel offers gun drills, exhibits, an audio tour, an overnight program, educational programs, and educational outreach presentations. The website offers downloadable curriculum.

Frontier Culture Museum [VA]

Description

The Frontier Culture Museum presents the story of the men and women who came to the United States prior to its existence as a country. The most common origin points of these people were England, Germany, Ireland, and West Africa. Reproductions and actual rural structures moved from these locations represent the various homelands, while another set of exhibits depicts their new life in North America in the 1740s, 1820s, and 1850s. Other topics discussed at the museum include food ways, woodworking, and fiber processing.

The museum offers exhibits, interpretive signage, hands-on activities, living history demonstrations, day camps, three outreach presentations, a teacher institute, a picnic area, a field trip grant application, and a non-lending library with more than 5,000 volumes. The website offers pre- and post-visit discussion topics. All educational programs meet state educational standards.

The Susan B. Anthony House [NY]

Description

The Susan B. Anthony House presents the life and impact of Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906), one of the strongest voices for women's right to vote, abolition of slavery, and temperance. Anthony was closely involved with the political programs of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass. The structure was Anthony's home between 1866 and 1906 and the site of her 1872 arrest for voting despite her sex. In addition to displaying Anthony's own possessions, the house offers an exhibit on women's suffrage.

The house offer exhibits, period rooms, lectures, tours, and an educational program on women's suffrage which meets state education standards. Groups of more than 12 require reservations.