Outreach Programs

Let us come to you!

Our Outreach Programs provide students with interactive experiences right in the classroom. Each presentation or “session” is delivered by one of our museum teachers and is designed for up to 30 students. Fees: For the first session, within a 20-mile radius $110, 40-mile radius $135, 60-mile radius $160. $60 for each additional session. Roundtrip mileage charged for each museum teacher sent.

Native American Life

Who lived here before the colonists? Through object exploration and sensory experiences, students actively learn about the native peoples of Connecticut, including their housing, clothing, tools, food and games. For grades Pre-K-3. Session length: 1 hour.

Colonial Amusements

How did colonists make their work more enjoyable and find time for fun? Children learn about colonial life by playing colonial games such as Morrice and Lucy Lockett and with toys such as a Jacob's Ladder, ball and cup, button buzzer, and top. For grade 1 and up. Session length: 1 hour.

Reading Artifacts

What can objects tell us about 18th-century life? By seeing and touching reproduction 18th-Century items related to food, school, clothing, and amusements, students will discover how colonists met their basic needs and also had fun. For grade 1 and up. Session length: 1 hour.

Meet Mr. Webster

Why is Noah Webster so important? Let him tell you - in his own words! Students have a dialogue with Noah when our brand new costumed character visits your classroom to share his accomplishments and to field students' questions about his life. For grade 3 and up. Session length: 45 minutes.

Reading, Writing and Ciphering

What were colonial schools like? Our costumed museum teacher uses colonial educational methods such as spelling bees, copies of colonial primers, slates and quill pens to teach your students what colonial school was like. For grade 3 and up. Session length: 1 hour.

Colonial Dance

What was a colonial dance class like? 18th-century dance masters traveled throughout Connecticut teaching new dance steps and deportment. Today's students learn the basic dance steps, manners, attitudes and culture surrounding dance from one of our own "dance mistresses." For grade 3 and up. Session length: 1 hour.

Primary Resources

What are primary sources and how do historians use them? In this participatory workshop, students learn about the past by examining reproduction 18th-century primary sources including wills, inventories, letters and newspaper ads. For grade 4 and up. Session length: 1 hour.

African-American Primary Resources

What do we know about the lives of African-Americans in 18th-century Connecticut? Using Bristow as an example (Bristow is the only African-American with a gravestone in West Hartford's Old Center Burying Yard), students investigate primary sources to explore what life might have been like for African-Americans in colonial Connecticut. For grade 4 and up. Session length: 1 hour.