Program Title: Creating Our Commonwealth
All Ages: K-12th
Time: 60 minutes
Maximum Group Size: 25-30
Description: Help us create our tour of VMHC's newest exhibit Our Commonwealth, which focuses on a regional approach to Virginia's history and culture. Participants will be asked to give input on what stories and activities shown in the exhibit they are most drawn towards in order to help our education team create future programming. Larger groups can pair this tour with time in other galleries. Learn more about this exhibit here.
Program Title: American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith
All Ages: 3rd-12th
Time: 60 minutes
Maximum Group Size: 50-60
Description: This traveling Smithsonian exhibit examines our government’s founding and the continuing story of America’s bold experiment in five major themes (see below). Learn more about this exhibit here.
- the first bold leap to democracy as “A Great Leap of Faith”
- a nation for and by the people in "A Vote, A Voice"
- political campaigning with “The Machinery of Democracy”
- the power of the American people to go "Beyond the Ballot"
- sustaining our nation with “Creating Citizens”
Program Title: Virginia History Day 2023 Theme Workshop - Frontiers in History
All Ages: 4th - 12th
Time: 60 - 90 minutes
Maximum Group Size: 50-60
Description: Recommended for the fall semester, as students are being introduced to Virginia History Day, this workshop will spend time in our galleries and classroom spaces. Students will learn tips and tricks for thinking about the yearly theme, preparing their Virginia History Day project, and conducting primary source research. Students do not need to have their topics chosen for this workshop! We can also host smaller, more customized library research workshops in the spring semester for students actively researching a chosen topic. Please contact our Manager of Museum Programs, Maggie Creech, at mcreech@virginiahistory.org if you are interested in a customized research workshop. Learn more about Virginia History Day here.
Not interested in the above program? No problem! Feel free to browse our regular program offerings below, or book a tour of a current exhibit.
K-1st Grade | 2nd Grade | 3rd Grade | 4th - 5th Grade | Secondary | Custom
Program Title: Dressing the Past (PreK // K.1-K.3, K.7, K.8 // 1.1-1.3b)
Time: 75 minutes
Maximum Group Size: 100 students
Description: Using clothes and replica artifacts, students will take a journey through time to look at items of clothing from famous Virginians and important periods in Virginia’s history. Participants will be able to draw conclusions about life in the past vs. present, and talk about why individuals and communities lived, worked, and dressed differently. Take a sneak peek with our paired resource packet: Dressing the Past
Program Title: Famous Faces & Community Spaces (1.1a, 1.1e, 1.2a-b, 1.3, 1.4)
Time: 75 minutes
Maximum Group Size: 100 students
Description: Using primary sources and time in our galleries, students will be introduced to famous Virginians as well as everyday community helpers. Participants will be able to discuss the contributions of certain individuals to life in Virginia today, as well as think about what qualities create a community. Take a sneak peek with our paired resource packet: Famous Faces
Program Title: Marvelous Maps (K.1, K.3 - K.7 // 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.6)
Time: 75 minutes
Maximum group size: 100 students
Description: Students will develop map skills and view primary and secondary sources by investigating a variety of maps to learn about basic map symbols, cardinal directions, and land and water features. Participants will also compare globes to flat maps, historic maps to modern maps, and local maps to national maps. Take a sneak peek with our paired resource packet: Marvelous Maps
Program Title: Powhatan’s People (2.1a, 2.1b, 2.1d, 2.1e, 2.3, 2.7)
Time: 90 minutes
Maximum Group Size: 100 students
Description: Educators will take students through the museum, complete a craft and talk about archaeology with replica artifacts as they discuss the lifestyles of the Powhatan in comparison with the Lakota and Pueblo tribes. Take a sneak peek at our paired resource worksheet: Powhatan's People
Program Title: The Voice, The Pen, The Sword (3.11 – 3.13)
Time: 90 minutes
Maximum Group Size: 50-60 students
Description: Students will spend time in our exhibits learning about the diversity of population and perspective throughout Virginia history. We will analyze our system of government, and what happens when people don’t agree on the laws! In the classroom, participants will work together on an interactive activity that illustrates the process of creating and voting for different laws.
Program Title: 90 Minute Virginia Studies Visit (SOLS vary depending on topic of program)
Time: 90 Minutes
Maximum Group Size: 100 students
Description: Teachers have the option of a variety of experiences, including an introductory film, hands on artifacts, primary source workshops, and gallery tours for their hour and a half visit. The Manager of Museum programs will reach out to confirm your schedule after receiving the booking request.
Program Title: 120 Minute Virginia Studies Visit (SOLS vary depending on topic of program)
Time: 120 minutes
Maximum Group Size: 100 students
Description: Teachers have the option of a variety of experiences, including an introductory film, hands on artifacts, primary source workshops, and gallery tours for their hour and a half visit. The Manager of Museum programs will reach out to confirm your schedule after receiving the booking request.
Secondary
Please Note: All below workshops can be paired with a gallery tour for larger groups or longer visits.
Program Title: Connecting the Docs...Primary Source Investigations (SOLs vary depending on grade and topic of program)
Time: 45-60 minutes
Maximum Group Size: 50-60 students
Description: Using manuscripts, images, and replica artifacts, students will explore a topic from Virginia’s past. Students will interact with a variety of perspectives surrounding a specific issue, as well as analyze the impact of changing types of media. Please explore our Collections in the Classroom for more ideas and primary source kits. The Manager of Museum programs will reach out to confirm your topic after receiving the booking request. Please note - this is primarily a classroom workshop, though you are welcome to to extend your visit and pair with time in our galleries.
Program Title: Junior Curators (SOLs vary depending on grade and topic of program )
Time: 45-60 minutes
Maximum Group Size: 50-60 students
Description: Students will “curate” their own pop-up exhibit for presentation to the class. Please explore our online Junior Curator example instruction packet and objects to learn more about the activity. The Manager of Museum programs will reach out to confirm your topic after receiving the booking request. Please note - this is primarily a classroom workshop, though you are welcome to to extend your visit and pair with time in our galleries.
Program Title: Lessons Learned (SOLs vary depending on grade)
Time: 45-60 minutes
Maximum Group Size: 50-60 students
Description: In this interactive analysis of African-American history, students use Virginia textbooks from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries to examine the tone and content of topics ranging from the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in 1619 through Reconstruction. Please note - this is primarily a classroom workshop, though you are welcome to to extend your visit and pair with time in our galleries.
Our custom programs can be for all age-levels, whether it is from a desire to dive more deeply into a specific topic, learn more about a topic not listed above, or work more hands-on with our vast collection of primary and secondary sources. Custom programs may be reserved by contacting Maggie Creech, the Manager of Museum Programs, at mcreech@virginiahistory.org or 804.342.9652. Email is preferred.
Teachers: Check out our Educator Resources page. You and your students will be able to use these online activities, source material, and lessons in the classroom or at home.
