OUTREACH PROGRAMS

If you cannot come to us, our programs can come to you! These programs use reproduction objects and documents from our collection, along with hands-on activities, to bring history to life.

These participatory programs are designed for class-size groups. They are not suitable for assemblies or large groups. A maximum of three presentations can be scheduled per day.

Click here for information on scheduling a school or youth program.

• Program Length: 1 ¼ hours (allow 15 minutes between programs)
• Cost: $100 per program plus round trip mileage from the CHS at 49¢ per mile.
• MOST PROGRAMS FOR GRADES 4 AND OLDER REQUIRE STUDENT READING.

The Circus Comes to Town (Grades K - 1)

Students use props, costumes, physical activities, games, and their imaginations to create their own circus, from the parade of animals and performers to the acts in the center ring. They enjoy a circus storybook and each makes a circus poster to keep. This program requires a large open space, like a gym or multi-purpose room.

Native Americans in Early Connecticut (Grades K - 2)

This program introduces students to the life and culture of Native Americans in southern New England. Students examine reproduction artifacts made from materials such as stone, wood, bone, and animal skins and learn about Native American cultural values from a traditional story. Each student makes his/her own bear claw necklace to take home.

Colonial Kids (Grades K - 3)

Using storytelling, reproduction objects, and hands-on activities, students are introduced to daily life in colonial Connecticut. They compare their own lives to those of colonial children as they learn about both work and play. Students examine differences in clothing, learn about daily chores, try out some colonial toys, and make a reproduction “hornbook” to keep.

History Detectives: Exploring Native American Life (Grades 4 - 6)

In this hands-on program, students become the historians to investigate the pre-contact lifestyle of Native American people in Connecticut. They learn about different kinds of historical resources, discover the importance of oral tradition, and play a traditional Native American game. Using reproductions, students work in groups to examine and describe artifacts and write their own museum labels.

Characters from Colonial Connecticut (Grades 4 - 6)

After a short introduction, students work in teams of 4-5 to learn about one of five characters from colonial Connecticut. Each group explores one “identity box,” handling reproduction artifacts and completing a series of activities related to their character’s life. This program requires some math skills.

Connecticut and the Road to Independence (Grades 4 - 6)

Using a variety of student activities, this program brings to life the dramatic sequence of events that led to American independence. Students examine reproduction artifacts and documents, write with quill pens, act out Loyalist/Patriot viewpoints, and compare the Patriot militias to the British regulars. A 1763-1783 timeline provides the framework for these activities and for looking at Connecticut’s role in the American Revolution.

The Underground Railroad and Resistance to Slavery (Grades 4 - 6)

Students learn how Connecticut people and communities responded to the institution of slavery in the years before the Civil War. After a short introduction, small groups of students rotate among discovery stations and complete activities that illustrate different forms of protest and resistance and highlight how fugitive slaves were able to make their way to freedom.

Amistad: A Journey to Justice (Grades 5 - 8)

This program explores the dramatic 1839 story of 53 Africans, kidnapped from their homeland into slavery, who managed to win a legal battle in the U.S. and return home. Students re-enact parts of the story and use a range of physical activities to bring the Africans’ ordeal to life. They learn ways to communicate and work together to solve problems just as the Africans on the Amistad did. Reproduction artifacts, primary source documents, props, and illustrations are also used to dramatize the story.

The following workshops expose students to the varied “stuff” of history and teach them to interpret the past for themselves. Designed for one class period and presented by a CHS museum educator, these programs use Connecticut stories to explore larger events and themes in American history. Copies of additional primary documents from the CHS Library collection will also be provided for follow-up by the classroom teacher.

• Program Length: One class period; 35-45 minutes
• Cost: $50 per program plus roundtrip mileage from the CHS Museum at 49¢ per mile.

Early Colonial Connecticut
Cultures in Contact: Native-Dutch-British

During the 1630s, three groups of people were sharing the land along the Connecticut River where Hartford now stands: the local Native Americans, the Dutch, and the English. In this activity students work in three groups to investigate a set of historical resources–a reproduction artifact, image, and historical document–to compare the experiences of these three groups.

Connecticut in the Civil War
Newspapers as Window on the Homefront: September 19, 1862

Local newspapers offer their readers the chance to read about topics of local interest, as well as the news of the nation and world at large. In this activity students explore the contents of the Friday, September 19, 1862 edition of the Hartford Daily Courant, published just after the battle of Antietam, to consider the role the war played in the daily lives of the people of Hartford and how the news was disseminated in the North.

Connecticut in World War II
Comics as Propaganda: Spy Smasher v. The Axis

Part superhero, part crime fighter, Spy Smasher was created in 1940 by Fawcett Comics of Greenwich, CT to fight imaginary battles against America’s very real enemies of the time. In this activity students discuss propaganda and its uses in time of war. They closely examine excerpts from a 1942 Spy Smasher comic to consider how America’s enemies were portrayed during the war.