75 Main St., RT 9, Bennington, VT 05201
Phone: 802-447-1571
Fax: 802-442-8305
Email: pchapman@benningtonmuseum.org
Website: www.bennington.com/museum

Education Department Contact: Phyllis Chapman, Director of Education

An Overview
The Bennington Museum offers living history interpretive programming in the Ada Paresky Education Center in the fall and spring. In late 18th century period vignettes, costumed museum teachers present colonial and early American life in New England: schooling, trades, and leisure activities. Programs are two hours in length, with three different presentations chosen by the classroom teacher. (Program choices listed below.) All programs are suitable for any grade level. Contact the museum for details on availability and scheduling.

NEW! Long Ago on the Farm
For the first time, the museum is presenting new fall Living History programming that explores rural life in the early 19th century. Through demonstrations, investigation of artifacts, role-playing, and hands-on activities, students gain an understanding of farm and village life long ago. The programs listed here are offered in the Paresky Education Center and on museum grounds and are appropriate for all grades. For a two-hour visit, we suggest teachers choose three programs from the list below.

The Farm Kitchen
Learn why the kitchen was the center of the household, where everyone seemed to gather! Find out what kinds of foods were prepared, and how—and help make a delicious treat to share at the end of the visit!

Cider Pressing and Candle Dipping
Getting ready for winter long ago meant preparing ahead of time- making candles for dark winter evenings and making enough cider to last until spring. Students will make each on the Museum grounds, and have a drink of cider and a candle to take home.

The Old Dairy Barn
Some of the most well-known Vermonters were cows! Learn about dairying long ago—what breeds of cows were common, the crops that were raised to feed them, and about old farm tools. Find out what other animals lived in the barn, and their importance in providing for the family.

An Old-Fashioned Quilting Bee
Long winter nights were, and still are, cold! Watch and help make a soft, warm patchwork quilt like those people snuggled under long ago. Make your own quilt block, and take back to your class instructions for you and your class to complete a quilt!

The Old Country Store
Visit our old country store, and find out what went on there. Learn about t he types of goods people would be looking for, what went on by the old pot-bellied stove, the different kinds of "money" that was ex-changed, and do some "bartering" yourself.

The Bennington Museum, with its extensive and varied collection, is a wonderful educational laboratory for a wide variety of education tours and programs. Using our collections as a resource, we utilize a lively mix of viewing, role-playing, and hands-on activities to engage students of all ages and learning styles.

The museum is fortunate to have private foundation support to facilitate accessibility through assistance in funding student admission, transportation costs, and outreach programming.

The Art of Grandma Moses (grades K–12)
An exploration of the “hows” and “whys” of Grandma’s work, adaptable for all grade levels. Younger students will be shown the storytelling aspects of her paintings, and how they tell us of life long ago, when Grandma was a girl. Older students will also learn how Grandma prepared her painting surfaces, mixed her colors, and created her intricate compositions. All students will see examples of the types of materials she used, feel the surface of a “pretend” Moses painting, and then make their own Moses pictures using felt boards. (1¹/2 hr.)

Discovery Tour (grades K–2)
Designed for young children who may be visiting a museum for the first time, this tour combines a brief explanation of what museums do, a tour of the highlights of the collections with “touchables” in various galleries, and a hands-on investigative activity of reproduction and antique toys. This tour may be preceded by a presentation of the outreach program, “For Big Eyes and Tiny Hands”, either in your classroom or at the museum. (40 min.–1 hr.)

Vermont’s First Settlers:
From a Wilderness to a Town (grades 1–5)
The settlement of Bennington in 1761 was similar to the settlement of many New England towns during the Colonial Period. Museum teachers in period costume will teach students who the original town founders were, from where they came, and why they came. Items in the collections representative of the period and portraits of early Benningtonians will be highlighted. The tour concludes with a build-your-own-village activity in the museum court. (1 hr.)

NEW! From a Village to a Mill Town (grades 3+)
During the period before the Civil War, many American villages grew into larger towns and cities as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Learn how the establishment of factories took place, and how they used (and changed!) the land. Students will learn about the effects of industrialization on the production of goods and organization of the work force. The tour concludes with a build-your-own Mill Town activity in the Education Center. (1 hr.)

General Tour (grades 3–12)
A tour through the museum becomes an adventure as students discover what a museum is for, the wide variety of objects it collects, and the stories they tell! A great introductory visit. (1 hr.)

The Revolutionary Soldier (grades 3–12)
Learn about Patriots and Redcoats, and what life was like for the common soldiers during the Revolution. What did they wear? What did they carry with them? What about food? After a tour of the artifacts in our Military Gallery, students will have the opportunity to try on reproduction uniforms, beat a regimental drum, and investigate the contents of a soldier’s knapsack. A re-enactment of the Battle of Bennington with model soldiers illustrates the series of events that made this battle so important for Americans. (1¹/2 hr.)

Our Flag (grades 3–12)
The Bennington Museum is privileged to have one of the oldest historic United States Flags in existence as part of our collections. In this tour, you will learn that the Bennington Flag is one of the many different styles of United States flags that have represented our nation from its earliest beginnings. See reproduction historic U.S. flags, learn the correct way to handle and display our nation’s flag, and try your hand at designing your own. (1¹/2 hr.)

Mystery Artifacts:
Search & Identify Tour (grades 4–7)
This program is designed to show students how the museum is a place for Looking and Listening, Searching and Discovering, and for Sharing Information. A brief orientation in the Education Center will explain to the students the basic function of a museum as a means of collecting and preserving objects, as well as a brief explanation of museum labeling. After an abbreviated museum tour, the students will be divided into small groups, given “clue sheets” and assigned a gallery or part of a gallery to find the “mystery artifacts.” When the search is completed, the groups will reconvene in the Education Center to share information about what they found. (1¹/2 hrs.)

Museum Tour & Walking Tour of Old Bennington (grades 4–12)
(Weather permitting: offered September - November 5) After a general tour of the museum, take a walk with us—to the area first settled by Samuel Robinson in 1761, now called “Old Bennington.” A museum guide will lead you through the Old First Church cemetery, and point out gravesites of important Vermonters (including Robert Frost). The tour then highlights sites and structures important in early Vermont history: the Old First Church, the site of the Catamount Tavern, and more. This tour is often combined with a visit to the Battle Monument—ask for details when scheduling. (1³/4 hrs.)

NEW! “Yesterday’s Closet” (grades K–8)
In this engaging new program, students will learn and try on reproduction period childrens’ clothing from the eras 1775–1900. Learn who wore "braces," dresses, and "skeleton suits." Students will also discover local historic characters in a scavenger hunt they make, in costume, to find artifacts belonging to the era they represent. Adapted to be appropriate for all grade levels. (1 hr.)

NEW! Our Local Industrial History (grades 5–12)
In a tour of pertinent artifacts in the museum’s collections, students will learn of the transition in production between hand-crafted items and mass-produced goods. Following the tour, students will engage in a hands-on activity in which they will be able to investigate examples of products produced in Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York during that era. (1¹/2 hrs.)

NEW! Bennington’s Industrial History
(grades 5–12)
A tour similar to “Our Local Industrial History,” with a special focus on Bennington industry.

The Civil War Soldier (grades 4–12)
Investigate the routines and hazards of the men and women who fought in the Union and Confederate armies in the war that tested our nation’s Constitutional union. As with “The Revolutionary Soldier,” students will engage in hands-on activities that compares the uniforms worn, and the equipment used by both armies. Learn about the daily life of soldiers in camp, and the conditions under which they lived—what do they mean about a “dog tent?” (1¹/2 hrs.)

Through our outreach programming, museum teachers bring original artifacts and reproductions relating to a variety of topics to your class. These interactive programs are complete as presented, or can be used as preparation for a museum visit.

Please allow one hour class time for each presentation.

The Art of Grandma Moses (all grades)
A presentation about the work of Grandma Moses appropriate for all grade levels. The museum teacher will read from the book The Year with Grandma Moses, which has text at two different age levels as an introduction to her subject matter, her personal history, and her painting style. Students will view full-size prints of her work and see the types of painting materials she used. The class will then create their own “Moses” compositions using felt boards.

Textiles Through The Ages:
Wool and Flax Preparation (all grades)
For ordinary people living in the early years of our nation, making clothing was a year-round activity! Both woolen and linen production will be demonstrated as a museum teacher demonstrates spinning wool, breaking flax, and weaving. Students will also have the opportunity to try on reproduction clothing of the period.

Hearth & Home (all grades)
A costumed museum teacher will visit your class to discuss food preparation in the 18th century. Learn what foods were cooked, how they were prepared, and why people ate what they did. Each class will receive their own book of “receipts” so that they can cook some authentic and tasty meals. Available after Oct. 15th.

The Story of Quilts and Quiltmakers (all grades)
The history of quilts may be a lot older than you think! Learn what knights in shining armor had to do with quilts, and how quilts eventually became a creative and useful type of home crafting. Find out how quilt blocks can tell a story, and practice making some yourselves.

For Big Eyes & Tiny Hands (grades K–2)
This program is designed to precede a first visit to the museum. Children are introduced to the idea of collecting, studying, and caring for special objects. For Big Eyes and Tiny Hands emphasizes investigative skills as students hold, examine, and describe historical artifacts and reproductions.

“Ox Cart Man” (grades pre-K–2)
Donald Hall’s book Ox-Cart Man is the focus of this program in which children will learn about the life cycles of a 19th-century New England farm family. A costumed museum teacher will bring a box of artifacts representing home and agricultural objects mentioned in the story and lead students in an imagination exercise.

Going To School (grades 3–12)
What would it be like to go to school more than 100 years ago? Explore schooling during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The program includes hands-on activities, old photographs, primers, and artifacts. Investigative skills and co-operative learning are emphasized.

Amazing Toys From Long Ago (grades K–6)
The surprising world of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century toys is revealed in this hands-on investigation of a wide variety of old toys and games. See how, with simple materials and ingenious ideas, adults (and sometimes children themselves) created optical and action toys, games, dolls and animals. Students will also have the opportunity to compare homemade toys with manufactured toys, and discuss the different lifestyles of children long ago.

Our Flag (grades 3–12)
An in-class adaptation of our flag history tour at the museum. A museum teacher will outline the fascinating history of our United States flag with a series of hand-painted flag plaques representing colonial and historic U.S. flags. Students will have the opportunity to design their own flags at the end of the presentation.

Mystery Artifacts (grades 3–12)
Students will play detective as they observe and interpret unusual artifacts and will be guided by the inquiry method to understand who would have made the objects, how they were used, and what they can tell about life long ago.

Early Health Care (grades 4–12)
A costumed museum teacher will bring medical artifacts to your classroom and lead a discussion on topics such as personal hygiene, folk medicine, herbs, and nutrition of early Americans. Also included is a discussion of medical practices employed during the Revolutionary War.

Careers: Then & Now (grades 5–12)
Examine the difference between being a part of the work force in the 1700s with careers today. A museum teacher, through the use of tools and other artifacts from the past, and in describing the types of work and training practices of 200 years ago, will show how technology and scientific advances have transformed the workplace. Students will investigate artifacts and participate in role-playing activities to demonstrate the training, practice, and expertise required for various jobs in the past.

NEW! Our Local Industrial History (grades 5–12)
A look at the coming of the Industrial Revolution to the Vermont/western Massachusetts/eastern New York areas in the 1800s. Through a combination of artifacts, photographs, and advertisements from the period, the students will find out how mass production and employment in local industries changed life for the ordinary people of the area.

Bennington’s Industrial History (grades 5–12)
A classroom presentation similar to “Our Local Industrial History,” with a special focus on Bennington industry.

NEW! From a Wilderness to a Town:
Vermont’s First Settlers (grades 3–6)
The settlement of Bennington in the 1760s was very similar to that of many small towns of our region. A museum teacher in period costume will teach students where the earliest settlers came from, and why they came. The establishment of an organized community with town charters, and maps will be discussed, followed by an activity in which the students build their own model towns.

NEW! From a Village to a Mill Town (grades 3 +)
A classroom adaptation of the museum program of the same title, this presentation will demonstrate how the use of water power and the establishment of factories changed villages into towns and cities. Students will build their own towns with model buildings in a hands-on activity.

It sometimes seems as if the men get more space in the history books than the ladies. However, women often played important roles in the history of our country, especially in the areas of social reform and humanitarian causes. This program brings five 19th century women to life: Clara Barton, Catherine Beecher, Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, and a mill worker. Any of them will be happy to visit your classroom in full costume, and relate their experiences in historical context to your students as well as involve them in interactive activities. Each presentation is one hour in length.

Last Update: 11/11/04

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