Virginia History Day Workshops

Historical Thinking Skills Teacher Workshops
Join educators from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and a partner museum to engage with historical thinking skills through the project-based learning program Virginia History Day and the education resources of both institutions. Programs take place across the state at places like the Virginia Holocaust Museum, George Washington's Mount Vernon, and the Military Aviation Museum! 

Participation in the workshops includes:

• Coffee and light breakfast
• $40 stipend 
• Certificate of participation for CEU points

These workshops are sponsored in part by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Eastern Region Program, coordinated by Waynesburg University.

Weinstein Properties Teachers Institute

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture presents its Weinstein Properties Story of Virginia & Our Commonwealth Teachers Institutes. Earn re-certification points while exploring the history of Virginia, project-based learning, and teaching with primary sources! 

Each of the Weinstein Properties Summer Teachers Institutes are held in-person at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. Throughout the week teachers will examine stories from Virginia's past through primary sources. Staff from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and guest speakers will provide examples for project-based learning, tips and techniques for engaging students in grades K-12, and additional context about various historical topics to help you in the classroom! All grade levels and subject matter of teachers are welcome to attend, though materials and topics will be most useful for those with a focus on Virginia Studies, US 1, US II, and Virginia-US history. 

Registration is $50.00 in order to hold the spot and will be refunded upon completion of the class. 

Scholarships and Teacher stipends!
Thanks to the generosity of a donor, the Weinstein Properties Teacher Institute included stipends for all participants in addition to a limited number of travel scholarships.

•  Stipend: $250 | Upon successful completion of class requirements, participants will receive a $250 dollar stipend in addition to reimbursement of the $50 registration fee. Each session will be limited to 20 educators. 
• Travel Scholarship: $750 | A limited number of travel scholarships are available for teachers that live more than 75 miles outside of Richmond, Virginia, and can be used to cover travel and lodging expenses. After registering to attend, please email mcreech@virginiahistory.org to apply. A total of 10 travel scholarships per session will be awarded.

These institutes and the attached stipends/travel scholarships are intended for active K-12 public and private school teachers. Materials, lunches, and parking validations are provided free of charge, and participating teachers will be eligible for CEUs and recertification points. For more information, contact Director of Education, Maggie Creech, at 804.342.9652  or mcreech@VirginiaHistory.org.

Primarily Virginia: Westrock Online Teachers Institute

Primarily Virginia is an online course designed for K-12 teachers from around Virginia to explore Virginia’s past by examining objects and primary sources. These pieces of the past will be used as a lens to examine different historical eras in Virginia history. All coursework is to be completed through the course website, and there are no required in-person class meetings. Upon completion of the course, participating teachers will receive up to 40 re-certification points.

The course consists of an introductory module and six content modules. In addition to the introduction module (worth 4 recertification points), the remaining modules can be completed individually for 6 recertification points each-- they are not all required. In each module, a series of activities will allow the participants to engage in the historical inquiry process, and provide opportunities to examine how the course content can be applied in the classroom. Each module will require teachers to write reflections about the objects & historical content and provide lesson ideas for incorporating primary source material in the classroom.

The course is offered three times a year and is free of charge to Virginia teachers, thanks to the generous support of the WestRock Foundation. 

These programs are designed to strengthen the analytical abilities of K-12 teachers. Teachers will learn historical thinking skills—sourcing, contextualization, corroboration, and close reading—by using primary sources and teaching techniques from the museum's collection and education programs. These workshops can be conducted at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, in your school, or virtually.