Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea [CT]

Description

Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea, located in Mystic, CT, takes visitors back to an era when seaports were the hub of the New England economy. Today, the site presents a representation of the trades and businesses typical of a mid-to-late 19th-century seaport, including those which would have been located on the water's edge and others which would have operated further inland. Trades and skills represented within the village include medicine, general sales, chandlery sales, navigation, life saving, cooperage, blacksmithing, sail making, rigging suppliers, whaling, commercial fishery, oystering, and rope making.

The village also contains a church, seamen's friends site, residences of several periods, and other structures, the vast majority of which are period. Vessel highlights include the last wooden whaleship in the world, a Newfoundland commercial fishing schooner, and a lighthouse tender used to smuggle Jews out of Nazi-occupied Denmark.

The seaport is also home to exhibits of maritime history and art, a planetarium, carefully restored tall ships and historic vessels, and a working preservation shipyard. Demonstrations depict whale boat stations and rowing, period domestic life, life saving techniques, rope making, sail hauling and furling, and sea chanteys.

The seaport offers a planetarium, traditional and interactive exhibits, presentations, field trip programs, interpretive activities aboard the seaport's fleet of ships, outreach programs, summer camps, a playground, children's games and activities, living history demonstrations and reenactors, opportunities to sail or row, steamship and catboat rides, a water taxi, adult and college classes, guided and self-guided tours, and overnight activities.

The museum is designed to engage, educate, and entertain visitors of all ages; and also offers collections and research library access at a location near the main museum complex. The website offers visitor information, online research resources, a calendar of events, and information regarding all of the programs offered by the seaport. In order to contact the website via email, use the "contact us" link located on the left side of the webpage.

The Charles W. Morgan, the whaling barque, is currently under restoration in the Preservation Shipyard. This is an excellent opportunity to see master craftsmen at work on an outstanding vessel, and to get a sense of vessel construction.

Dothan Landmark Park [AL]

Description

The Dothan Landmark Park presents the history of southeastern Alabama. Site features include a living history farm, set in the 1890s; a one-room schoolhouse; a historic church; and a historic general store. Exhibits discuss agriculture and wildlife.

The park offers exhibits, living history interpreters, nature trails, a planetarium, and a picnic site.

Historic Cold Spring Village [NJ]

Description

Historic Cold Spring Village presents daily life in South Jersey between 1790 and 1840. The site includes gardens, heritage crops, a farm, and 26 restored buildings. These buildings include an inn, a schoolhouse, a print shop, a pottery shop, a blacksmith shop, a bookbindery, and several residences.

The village offers history exhibits, a 7-minute introductory film, period rooms, costumed living history interpreters, a children's activity area, outreach presentations, a junior trade apprenticeship program, and multiple concession and meal sites. Reservations are appreciated. Please notify the village if you feel that you or your group require handicapped accommodations. The website offers games, craft ideas, and recipes.

Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site

Description

Lincoln's New Salem preserves the site of New Salem village, where young Abraham Lincoln lived for six formative years, from 1831 to 1837. The centerpiece of Lincoln's New Salem is the imaginative recreation of the log village. Built in the 1930s and 1940s as a Civilian Conservation Corps program, the village features twenty-three historically furnished buildings, including several homes, stores, and tradesmen's shops, as well as a tavern, school, wool carding mill, and a saw- and gristmill. Scattered throughout the village are log barns and other outbuildings.

The site offers exhibits, a short film, living history interpreters, performances, lectures, and other recreational and educational events and programs.

Amherst Museum [NY]

Description

The Amherst Museum consists of roughly one dozen historic buildings which form a historic town center. The main building is the Shaw Building, which is hosts exhibits year round and is the heart of the museum. The museum works to chronicle the history of Amherst from a small settlement in the forest of Northern New York to its current state as a suburb of Buffalo.

The museum offers exhibits in the Shaw Building and tours of the Shaw Building year round, outdoor tours that feature the other historic buildings in the summer, a library of local history, and special events throughout the year including living history events and presentations. The website offers visitor information, a history of Amherst, a library catalog, and an events calendar.

Meadowcroft Museum of Rural Life [PA]

Description

Meadowcroft is the oldest site of human habitation in North America. The Museum of Rural Life is composed of three distinct attractions, the Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Meadowcroft Village, and the Prehistoric Indian Village. The Rockshelter is both an active archaeological site and museum, while the Village and Prehistoric Indian Village both are living history exhibits that give visitors a glimpse into rural life during the 19th century and the lives of the Eastern Woodland Indians during the 17th century respectively.

Meadowcroft offers guided tours, interpretive events, workshops, four field trip programs, and special events. The website offers information regarding upcoming events, visitor information, and a brief history of the site.

Living History Farms [IA]

Description

Living History Farms is composed of three working farms, the 1700 Ioway Indian Farm, the 1850 Pioneer Farm, and the 1900 Horse-Powered Farm, as well as an associated pioneer town and Indian village. In addition, Living History Farms has a new 8,000 foot visitor center, which provides exhibits and presentations.

Living History Farms offers guided tours, exhibits and presentations in the visitor center, field trip programs, school outreach programs, a summer day camp, and interpretive events and activities. The website offers visitor information, an events calendar, a history of the museum, and information regarding all programs offered by the museum.

Howell Living History Farm [NJ]

Description

The Howell Living History Farm is a fully realized farm set in the year 1900, soon before mechanized equipment began an agricultural revolution. The farm is open year round, and visitors can partake in the farm's daily activities. The farm also is home to a visitor center, which puts on exhibits and presentations regarding turn of the century farming.

The farm offers interpretive events, guided tours, exhibits, presentations, and special events. The website offers visitor information, a virtual tour, a calendar of events, and a history of the farm.

Historic Latta Plantation [NC]

Description

Historic Latta Plantation is a historic cotton plantation, dating to circa 1800, and living history farm.

The plantation offers a 15-minute introductory video, guided house tours, self-guided grounds tours, educational programs, traveling trunks, home school programs, and summer camps. The website offers a teacher resource guides, suggested reading, historic games, instructions for making historic toys, and a virtual tour.