E d u ca t i o n
Learning through
Experience
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above Students love getting their feet wet as they build a scale model of a pontoon bridge.
For more information on our education programs, please visit HistoricNewEngland.org/schoolyouth-programs.
t Roseland Cottage in Woodstock, Connecticut, a seventh-grade class studying the Civil War gathers outside to construct a scale model of a pontoon bridge. Under the guidance of a Historic New England museum teacher, students make a “river,” filling a plastic-lined rectangular form with water. In bare feet with their pants rolled up, they step into the river, float the two pontoons, assemble the bridge with “beams” and “planks,” and finally, walk across it. The experience is challenging and fun and one the students will never forget. “The whole shebang was awesome,” one boy commented. “Thank you for giving us this amazing experience. I wish we could do it all over tomorrow. The bridge and the history are just too cool!” Historic New England’s award-winning education programs, which range from half-day field trips to week-long summer camps, are varied but always creative. Tailored to state curriculum standards, the programs relate to subjects like Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and Mathematics. Last year, we served 42,784 young people at eleven museum properties, in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, as well as off-site at schools, libraries, and community centers. Our staff derives great satisfaction from watching children’s eyes light up as the subjects they have learned in the classroom become real through experience. In many of the communities we serve, the biggest barrier to participation is the high cost of transportation. Every year, Historic New England must raise funds through grants and donations to subsidize buses for schools with demonstrated need. The following report is typical of the feedback we receive from schoolteachers, “We do not have any money for field trips or an active Parent Council which raises money for them. Not only would it have taken too long to get back and forth, I’ve had students with health problems who have not been able to go on field trips on the subway. It’s awful leaving kids behind because of their health, so I stopped going on trips if all of them could not go, which often meant that the whole class missed out on trips. Thank you for providing a bus.” —Carolin Collins Education Program Manager
Winter/Spring 2013 Historic New England
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