The Mystic Seaport Education Department hosts many different types of professional development programs for educators. Check back often as we add new events every month!
The world around us is filled with primary source material and clues about the past. It’s also filled with legends and stories that may or may not be “true.” Join Dr. Elysa Engelman to learn how to help your students navigate the art of inquiry and decipher the world around us. She’ll share how researching a historic house with a rumored Underground-Railroad connection led to a different story – a fugitive slave whose experience in New London triggered national coverage in the 1850s. She’ll also look at how you can use artwork, stories, and primary sources to help students unpack the impact of memory and myth on our popular understanding of the past.
Join Herman Melville Scholar, Dr. Mary K. Bercaw Edwards, and Mystic Seaport staff to learn all about one of the great American classics, Moby-Dick. Bercaw Edwards, Associate Professor of English, University of Connecticut, is an accomplished Melville scholar. Her books include Cannibal Old Me (2009) and Herman Melville’s Whaling Years (2004). Bercaw Edwards has worked aboard the Charles W. Morgan for over thirty years and was one of the Morgan’s sailing crew for the 38th Voyage. This program will include a special Moby-Dick themed tour of the Charles W. Morgan, lecture, and pizza! RSVP now to join us.
*"Moby Dick p 510 illustration" by A. Burnham Shute - Moby-Dick edition - C. H. Simonds Co. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Part lecture and part walking tour of Mystic Seaport, we will discuss the interdisciplinary teaching of American literary works set at sea or on the coast and how they have reflected, informed, and even spurred the environmental movements in the US. We'll discuss authors such as Rachel Carson, Ernest Hemingway, Langston Hughes, TS Eliot, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Linda Greenlaw, and Sarah Orne Jewett. As we look at the Mystic River and the museum's ships, we'll focus a particular eye toward fishing and ocean resources when examined through the lens of fiction, narrative, and poetry. Pizza dinner and time for discussion included!
Click here to learn more about our speaker, Dr. Rich King.
Join us as we dive into the Connecticut Social Studies Frameworks! During this workshop, participants will discuss how the social studies frameworks can be effectively utilized by schools and museums as they evaluate the ways they educate students. The inquiry arc will be analyzed in great detail, with attention given to approaches to getting students to ask compelling questions. Methods to promote effective collaboration, both between students and educators, will also be a focus of this session. Participants will also experience a Primary Source Workshop and leave with a Mystic Seaport inquiry-based lesson plan using objects from the Museum collection, featured on the MSE website.
This professional development workshop will introduce middle school teachers to a new science unit inspired by the 38th Voyage of the whaleship Charles W. Morgan. The six lessons in the unit merge history with science to encourage an enduring interdisciplinary connection between modern marine science and the experience of the nineteenth-century whaler. Each lesson includes a reading or activity that reflects one or more historic observations mariners conducted at sea. While these observations may not have been originally performed with scientific intent, students will learn the value of historical perspective on modern research.
Each lesson is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards and can be used as stand-alone material or in sequence, adaptable to any middle school science course. All of the lessons are free and linked to articles on Mystic Seaport’s 38th Voyage website and additional resources.
Read more about Dr. Lisa Gilbert and the 38th Voyage here.
Connecticut was and still is a very inventive state full of ingenious people. There are many Connecticut citizens who have invented great things to make our lives safer, easier, and fairer. What was it about the small developing towns in this small state that produced such big thinkers?
With direct ties to the Connecticut Social Studies Frameworks, "Connecticut's Unsung Heroes" is a new program for grades 2-8, tailored to your town’s history, introducing new vocabulary and examining products of the town, region and state. Through hands-on activities, students will understand why their town developed over time in the way that it did and what their hometown’s claim to fame was by discussing famous people and inventions that came from their town. They will learn what industries have come and gone in their town as well as our state and why, and learn how their town’s inventions and people contributed to the growth and strength of the state and the country. In addition, students will learn how the geography of the state (soil, water, natural resources, etc.) and the locations of major towns directly correlate to the concentrations of revolutionary ideas.
During this Professional Development session, teachers will have a chance to make one of Connecticut’s popular products, as well as have a local geography lesson, 19th century style.
(Image by L. L. Poates Eng. Co. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.)
Last year, the Mystic Seaport Museum hosted an exhibit called, “Ships, Clocks, and Stars: The Quest for Longitude”. On loan from the Royal Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, the exhibit allowed us to tell the story of maritime navigation like never before.
While the exhibit has moved on, the opportunity to teach navigation remains, and the Museum’s Education Department has designed two new on-site programs for school groups – “Explorers and Navigators” for grades 2-4, and “Finding Our Way: Navigation at Sea” for grades 5-12.
This workshop will introduce teachers to each program, before allowing them to experience a hybrid combination of elements from both. Teachers will experience activities including chartwork, taking a compass bearing, determining speed using a chip log, and measuring angles using a sextant.
(Image: Captain Benjamin Cleveland with sextant. © Mystic Seaport, 1973.189.60.)
In celebration of the opening of our new, dramatically different Thompson Exhibition Building, the SeaChange exhibit presents a range of beautiful and surprising objects from Mystic Seaport’s rich collections. Each is a survivor of the past and gives glimpses into other people’s lives in different places and times - from scientific surveyors charting the Atlantic coast on the eve of the American Revolution to western merchants trading for silk and tea in 1850s China, from Arctic explorers to laborers harvesting bird guano off Peru for American farmers. Together they speak to larger transformations that continue to shape our times. The exhibit includes interactives that give you the chance to peek inside a 1740s shipmodel, test the principles behind dazzling WWI ship designs, and zoom-in to see the tiny cuts on modern miniature figureheads.
Join Director of Exhibits Elysa Engleman as she gives a special teacher tour of this stunning new exhibit.
In 1846, the men and ships of New London’s whaling fleet began 70 years of extensive whaling in the eastern Arctic. With one of the earth’s most inhospitable regions serving as a stage, they played key roles in a series of dramatic adventures, including the greatest whaling “catch” of all – the discovery and salvage of the abandoned British exploring ship Resolute. Drawing from Mystic Seaport’s rich collections of rare photographs, artifacts, books, and documents, Curator of Collections Fred Calabretta will share the stories and adventures of colorful whaling captains, Inuit visitors to New London, arctic explorers, and other fascinating characters.
Have you ever been curious about hosting a virtual program in your classroom? If so, then join Mystic Seaport staff Krystal Rose and John Boudreau to learn about the mechanics of a Mystic Seaport virtual program, the programs and content that can be covered and why it can be a beneficial learning experience in your classroom!
The program is free. Will be hosted live from 4:30-5:30 pm, and archived afterwards. RSVP to receive link to program.
Visit https://www.mysticseaport.org/learn/k-12-programs/virtual-programs/ to learn more about our virtual programs.
One of the most powerful concepts in astronomy is the concept of scale. Our planet Earth seems so large sometimes, and yet in the grand scheme of things we are one of the tiniest dots in a vast universe. To convey this concept to students, the Treworgy Planetarium has crafted a new in-school program called, “Scaling the Solar System."
This workshop will introduce teachers to our new program, which draws on multiple disciplines – science, math, and visual arts – to create a unique perspective of our most local address in the universe. Visual aids, which are constantly being updated from the latest NASA missions, provide awe-inspiring, full-color displays of each unique member of our Solar System. Teachers can also learn how to make a kinesthetic model of the Solar System, with students playing the roles of celestial bodies, in a variety of school spaces (classroom, hallway, gymnasium).
(Image by Rick Guidice [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.)
Join Mystic Seaport staff as we explore new topics in our monthly professional development series. Sessions for the 2016-2017 school year include:
September 28: "Putting the Connecticut Social Studies Frameworks into Action" with Social Studies Consultant Steve Armstrong
October 5: "Science on the Charles W. Morgan's 38th Voyage" with Dr. Lisa Gilbert
November 16: "Connecticut's Unsung Heroes" with Assistant Director for School & Family Programs, Barbara Jarnagin
December 14: "Finding Your Way: Navigation at Sea" with Treworgy Planetarium Supervisor, Brian Koehler and Assistant Director for School & Famiy Programs, Barbara Jarnagin
January 18: "Sea-Change" Exhibit - Teacher Tour with Director of Exhibits, Elysa Engelman
February15: "Adventure, Discovery and Disaster: The New London Whaling Fleet in the Eastern Arctic" with Curator Fred Calabretta
March 15: "Behind the Scenes of Mystic Seaport Virtual Programs" with Krystal Rose & John Boudreau
April 19: "Hands-On! A Look into the Maritime Trades at Mystic Seaport" with Mystic Seaport Staff
May 10: "Scaling the Solar System" with Treworgy Planetarium Supervisor, Brian KoehlerJune 7: "Gerda III: A Story from WWII" with Gerda III Historian, Howard Veisz
Mystic Seaport volunteer and researcher Howard Veisz will speak about Gerda III, a wooden work boat built in 1926 to re-supply offshore lighthouses along the Danish coast. During the Nazi occupation of Denmark during World War II, she took on another cargo: clandestine groups of Jewish refugees that she transported to freedom. Howard will discuss in-depth her profound impact upon the fate of so many Jewish people who escaped the terror of the Gestapo because of her heroic actions.
By an act of the Danish Parliament, the Gerda III was donated to the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. The vessel was restored to her wartime appearance, complete with neutral flags, by the J. Ring Andersen yard in Denmark. Mystic Seaport is proud to help care for the boat and exhibit her in the United States.
Mystic Seaport is dedicated to helping teachers and students understand and utilize the primary and secondary source materials available in our collection. In this workshop, experience a Virtual Education Program, which can bring primary sources to your classroom, if you can’t come to us! We will also get to have some hands-on time with our Education Collection through one of our popular “Curator’s Challenge” programs.
Mystic Seaport is fortunate to have the Viking ship Draken Harald Harfagre docked until late spring 2018. We have collaborated with the crew to produce this joint education program. Come experience this new program, available to your students this school year only! The workshop will consist of a planetarium show, “Stars of the Vikings,” a tour of the Draken, a navigation based hands-on activity and a trip to our preservation shipyard to discuss how and why Viking Ships were built the way they were.
Mystic Seaport is now doing special programming for teachers in October instead of April, and for one day only so don’t miss it! This year’s Educators Appreciation Day is Saturday, October 21, 2017 from 9am-5pm, rain or shine. All teachers, administrators, instructional assistants, homeschoolers, afterschool professionals, and their families (up to four people total with teacher ID) will receive free admission to Mystic Seaport.
The Viking ship Draken Harald Harfagre is docked at Mystic Seaport for a limited time, and educators will be able to learn about our new joint tour with Draken for this year only. Don’t miss this special opportunity to explore the Museum, learn more about our educational programs, participate in special activities for educators and their families, and find connections that link your classroom with ours. Education Department staff will be on hand to discuss program offerings and answer questions.
Museum visitors might be surprised to learn that what they see in public exhibitions only represents a small percentage of that museum's collection as a whole. Mystic Seaport is no exception, so this program is a chance for teachers to see what we keep, safely stored in our vaults -- from our vast collection of scrimshaw to over five hundred small vessels. Join us for this rare, behind-the-scenes look at some of the major collections of Mystic Seaport: artifacts, documents and watercraft. Space is limited for this program.
Come learn about our popular Hands-On History program! Teachers will hear from our master craftsmen about what they do with students during this program, and get a chance to try their hand at some carving, blacksmithing, coopering, and printing.
Join us for a special teacher night in the exhibit Murmur: Arctic Realities.
Murmur: Arctic Realities will present a groundbreaking new experience by John Grade, one of world’s leading contemporary artists. Visitors will encounter what appears to be a natural landform – a mound intricately carved from Alaskan yellow cedar. This vast sculpture represents a pingo, a hill of ice that grows over centuries in the Arctic’s highest latitudes, then collapses, pockmarking the tundra. Grade’s work replicates exactly a pingo in Alaska’s Noatak National Preserve, mapped by the artist using photogrammetry. Visitors will not only witness the pingo’s impressive scale, but will also be able to enter inside the sculpture as its walls open and close, mimicking the pingo’s lifecycle at a time when this is accelerating due to unprecedented environmental change.
The title Murmur evokes both the sound of Arctic wind and the shapes made by flocks of Arctic birds in flight. The installation will provide an experience in which people can virtually explore the interior of a pingo’s ice core and the unusual textures, flora and fauna of the landform.
Murmur will incorporate the use of Microsoft’s HoloLens Mixed Reality technology. Grade will map fragments of Noatak’s landscape into the gallery so that visitors wearing a wireless HoloLens headset will see themselves within a holographic representation – one using visual images and spatialized sound of a precise geographic location 80 miles north of the Arctic Circle. By allowing visitors to traverse an Alaskan marsh in Connecticut, Murmur will revolutionize the public’s grasp of what a museum experience can be.
Mystic Seaport’s installation will be Murmur’s international debut and is made possible in collaboration with the Anchorage Museum.
Sing along with one of Mystic Seaport’s renowned staff musicians in a program of traditional songs from the sea, including ballads, dance tunes, and the shipboard work songs that came to be known as chanties. Our chantey staff can bring your curriculum to life with stories told through music. From the working music of the deep water sailors and coastal fisherman, to the tales of westward expansion through our inland waterways, to the cultural influences of music brought from far-flung ports, America’s rich musical heritage owes much to the way in which seafarers and river mariners carried music, musical instruments, and musicians from place to place. Teachers are invited to become crew members as they join in a chorus, picture the events in a ballad or use a chantey to mime the hard work of a sailor.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to speak with someone from the past? With the role-players of Mystic Seaport, we invite you to do just that! Through the art of first-person interpretation, our role-players blend historical research, historical perspective, and emotional connection to bring the past to life. Based in our country’s centennial year of 1876, each presentation includes a composite character that shares their personal accounts through storytelling and audience interaction, creating a unique education experience that can broaden your students’ understanding of history at the local, national, and international levels. Come meet three of our role-players in this program sampler, and experience how engaging and enlightening the experience can be!
PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE!
Join Melville Scholar, Dr. Mary K. Bercaw Edwards and Mystic Seaport staff to learn all about one of the great American classics, Moby-Dick. This program will include a walking tour of the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaleship in the world. Bercaw Edwards, Associate Professor, University of Connecticut, is an accomplished Melville scholar. Her books include Cannibal Old Me (2009), Herman Melville’s Whaling Years (2004), and Melville’s Sources (1987).
Image By Everett Henry (1893–1961) (http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/tri064.html) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
Join us for a special teacher night in our two new exhibits, The Vikings Begin and The Vinland Map, opening in May 2018!
In The Vikings Begin, priceless treasures, including helmets, shields, weapons, glass, and other artifacts that are safeguarded at the Gustavianum Museum of Uppsala University in Sweden, Scandinavia’s oldest university, make their way to Mystic Seaport. These collections, dating as early as the seventh century, are now the focus of a major research initiative designed to significantly advance our understanding of how the Norse culture evolved. Thematic sections on Viking warfare, trade, the Baltic Sea, a ship burial, Norse gods, and relations to other cultures will employ rare archaeological finds in the discovery of how this maritime society lived more than a millennium ago. This exhibition represents the first instance most of these artifacts will have ever left Sweden. Mystic Seaport’s installation will be the international debut of The Vikings Begin, and is made possible in collaboration with the Gustavianum, Uppsala University Museum.
Science, Myth & Mystery: The Vinland Map Saga will chronicle the story behind the controversial Vinland Map, first unveiled by Yale University in 1965. This parchment map was dated by Yale to about 1440 – an incendiary claim as the map depicts at its far western edge Vinland, the mysterious land discovered by explorer Leif Ericsson in about 1000, what we now know to be Newfoundland. Did Norse knowledge of the New World exist within mainland Europe before Columbus sailed? The Map suggests so. Its publication riveted a public deeply invested in the question of First Contact, and eager for evidence of an American connection to Viking history. The Map’s discovery also ignited a firestorm of debate as scholars, historians, and scientists across the globe argued over its meaning and authenticity. Today most scholars concur the Map is a forgery, which does nothing to diminish the role it has played in our national conversation about who we are and where we come from.
Science, Myth & Mystery brings the Vinland Map itself to public view for the first time in the United States outside of New Haven in more than 50 years. Mystic Seaport will engage historians, archaeologists, scientists, and other leading experts to share the Map’s story, and discuss its out-sized role in modern American history.
This exhibition is made possible in collaboration with the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
Image: Helmet, 7th century. Copyright: Gustavianum, Uppsala University Museum.
The buildings in the recreated seaport town on the campus of Mystic Seaport represent a variety of architectural styles. By examining these buildings and their individual styles and characteristics, we can learn a lot about the people who lived and worked in them. Join us for an evening sampler of the various hands-on architecture-related programs we offer at the Museum. Come prepared to put on your architectural historian thinking cap and survey a building with your team!
Connecticut’s 169 towns have many intriguing histories. The towns’ locations, its people and legends make each town special and different from its neighbors. Connecticut has as wide variety of geographical features which, in part, determined how towns grew and prospered. It is often all about “location, location, location”. Within each unique town’s history, there were and are many citizens who have invented great things to make our lives safer, easier, and fairer. What was it about the small developing towns in this small state that produced such big thinkers?
With direct ties to the Connecticut Social Studies Frameworks,” Your Proud Hometown History” for grades 2-8, tailored to your town’s history, introducing new vocabulary and examining products of the town, region and state. Through hands-on activities, students will understand why their town developed over time in the way that it did and what their hometown’s claim to fame was by discussing famous people and inventions that came from their town. They will learn what industries have come and gone in their town as well as our state, and how their town’s inventions and people contributed to the growth and strength of the state and the country. In addition, students will learn how the geography of the state (soil, water, natural resources, etc.) and the locations of major towns directly correlate to the concentrations of revolutionary ideas.
Map image courtesy of UCONN Library MAGIC. Publisher: Young & Delleker sc. Philadelphia [1824].
Join us for Educators’ Appreciation Day on October 20. All teachers, afterschool professionals, and their families (up to four people total with teacher ID) will receive free Mystic Seaport Museum admission!
Don’t miss this special opportunity to explore the Museum, learn more about our educational programs, and find connections that link your classroom with ours. Education Department staff will be on hand to discuss program offerings and answer questions.
“Education is a core value of the Museum,” said Susan Funk, executive vice president of Mystic Seaport. “We appreciate the work educators do every day. This is our way of saying thanks.”
Presented by the American Orff-Schulwerk Association Connecticut Chapter and led by Mystic Seaport Museum Chantey Musicians/Seaport Artists, this hands on workshop will explore music of the sea, highlighting history, culture, and language within the context of music. Participants will learn from world renowned experts as they examine songs on the grounds of the Mystic Seaport Museum itself. They will then visit sites and ships to apply the songs in authentic settings. This interdisciplinary workshop weaves together the National Arts Standards of Creating, Performing, Responding, and Connecting while intersecting the CT State Social Studies Framework. Please join us for this music based workshop for both Music Educators AND Classroom Teachers .
Come experience the Treworgy Planetarium's newest program, "The Celestial Navigation Challenge!"
This team building program provides a practical application of celestial navigation in the context of one of the Museum's signature vessels, the Joseph Conrad. We transport students back to the era when the Conrad was sailing around the world, and after viewing the stars in a "mystery location," student teams (crews) will try to figure out precisely where they are. Each crew member has a role to play, and only by working together can the crews pinpoint their location on the globe.
Enjoy a special opening night of Death in the Ice: The Mystery of the Franklin Expedition, just for educators!
In 1845, Sir John Franklin led the Royal Navy’s sturdiest two ships into the Arctic to great international acclaim. His mission: to discover a Northwest Passage to Asia. Franklin and his crew of 128 men were never heard from again. Thirty-seven expeditions were launched from several countries in a decades-long effort to discover the fate of Franklin’s men. Tantalizing clues, including graves, provisions, Inuit tales, and a single handwritten note told a grim story, but the men and ships would never be found.
This most enduring of mysteries leapt back into the headlines in 2014 with the discovery of Franklin’s flagship, HMS Erebus, then two years later with the discovery of HMS Terror, each incredibly well preserved at depths of less than one hundred feet in the Arctic Ocean. Dives aboard the wrecks are rapidly changing our understanding of what befell Franklin’s expedition.
This exhibition pulls together every strand of this epic history, including expedition materials from London, Inuit culture and knowledge that led to the wrecks’ discoveries from Canada, and artifacts raised from HMS Erebus, seen for the first time in 170 years.
*An exhibition developed by the Canadian Museum of History (Gatineau, Canada), in partnership with Parks Canada Agency and with the National Maritime Museum (London, United Kingdom), and in collaboration with the Government of Nunavut and the Inuit Heritage Trust.
Mystic Seaport Museum is dedicated to helping teachers and students understand and utilize the primary and secondary source materials available in our collection. The main focus of this workshop will be analyzing documents. Teachers who attend will experience a guided analysis, then get to work in teams to decipher real manuscript material in the Musuem collection. All materials examined will be available on the Mystic Seaport for Educators website, for easy use in the classroom. The document workshop will be followed by a brief tour through our artifact vault.
**PLEASE NOT THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 6, 4-6 pm**
Enjoy a special opening night of When This You See, Remember Me: The Photography of Everett Scholfield and George Tingley, just for educators!
This new exhibition, in the R.J. Schaefer Building, explores advances in photographic technology and techniques in late 1800s studio photography, from the perspective of both the sitter and the photographer.
Drawing on thousands of portraits in the Museum collection by local photographers Everett Scholfield and George Tingley, the exhibit also features their original backdrops, cameras, coupons, and ads. Visitors will be able to practice composing a scene viewed upside down through a camera, consider the importance of good light in the pre-electric age, and experiment with props and poses.
The exhibit brings us face-to-face with portraits of those who walked the Mystic streets before us, including people of different backgrounds – African American, Asian, Native American – various occupations – woodcutter, clock maker, musician – and of all life stages, from infants to elders.
**Please note this program has been postponed until Fall of 2019 - stay tuned for more details.**
Experience the magic of transporting your students into the past from the comfort of your own classroom! In this program, we'll give teachers a sneak peak into our new Virtual Roleplayer Program. If you are curious about our virtual programs, or our roleplayers, don't miss this free ONLINE PD!
A repeat of our popular PD program from last spring... with a few new additions!
By an act of the Danish Parliament, the Gerda III was donated to the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. The vessel was restored to her wartime appearance, complete with neutral flags, by the J. Ring Andersen yard in Denmark. Mystic Seaport Museum is proud to help care for the boat and exhibit her in the United States.
Join us for this special night JUST FOR EDUCATORS in J.M.W. Turner: Watercolors from Tate. Special exhibit overview by Nicholas Bell, Senior Vice President for Curatorial Affairs and editor of the new book, Conversations with Turner: The Watercolors. Pizza and beverages will be provided.
Don’t miss this special opportunity to explore the Museum, learn more about our educational programs, and find connections that link your classroom with ours on Educators Appreciation Day. Education Department staff will be on hand to discuss program offerings and answer questions.
Mystic Seaport Museum invites science teachers of all grade levels to join us for a special day of professional development on November 5, 2019. This full-day event will be hosted by the Museum’s Treworgy Planetarium, and will feature a series of workshops about creating hands-on, immersive lessons for Earth and Space Science units that align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
Keynote speaker Dr. Philip Sadler, F.W. Wright Senior Lecturer in the Department of Astronomy and Director of the Science Education Department at Harvard University will speak on “Students’ Scientific Misconceptions: What They Are, Where They Come From, and What to Do About Them.”
As the state-wide adoption of NGSS continues, formal and informal science educators are challenged to re-imagine the process by which students learn science. Critical thinking, problem solving, and charting one’s own course from problem to solution are all crucial components of NGSS. At this special Election Day event, Mystic Seaport Museum will share some of the programs and activities that we offer to accomplish the goals of NGSS, and will empower attending teachers to create their own hands-on experiences for their students.
Curious about our overnight programs? Wondering what the activities are or what it looks like below decks of the Joseph Conrad? Or how to connect it to your curriculum? Now’s your chance! Join our overnight staff to experience a taste of this popular program for students. The evening will include climbing the rigging (weather permitting), scrimshaw-making, and a teaser of the beloved “Seaport Jeopardy.”
Join us for an evening in one of our newest exhibits, Mary Mattingly's Open Ocean. During this program, we will get a sneak peek into online resources developed especially for the exhibit, by our Luce Teacher Fellow, Megan Jacobs. Pizza and beverages will be provided.
Join us to experience the stories of one of our 1876 roleplayers, Inna Belova, a Russian immigrant in New London, by way of Alaska. We'll first meet Inna virtually, to demonstrate the capabilities of our distance learning technology. After our virtual encounter, we'll meet Natasha, our Museum Educator and Roleplayer who created the character of Inna, using primary and secondary sources, personal travel and lots of enthusiasm and curiosity.
Come see how easy it is to connect to our distance learning programming and bring the resources of Mystic Seaport Museum into your classroom!
Join us for a series of telescope-themed activities at the Planetarium! We will begin with an all-new immersive experience, as our new projector fills the entire dome with a video presentation titled, “Two Small Pieces of Glass: The Amazing Telescope.” Our journey then becomes interactive as we invite attendees to help us steer through the sky using the World Wide Telescope computer program – in “fulldome” mode! We will then move into a classroom space to explore two hands-on activities – one where we take on the role of Galileo to see what he saw through his telescope 400 years ago, and another to examine the spectrum of light and how more modern telescopes can help us “see the invisible.”All of the evening’s activities can be scaled to a variety of ages, so we invite teachers of all grade levels to come and see how these complex concepts can be explored in fun and interactive ways, both here at our Planetarium and in the classroom, too!
Insects used to create the color red? A toothed rostrum from a strange sea creature? An outlandish ceremony at sea where King Neptune makes an appearance? Learn about all of these unusual things and more in this trip into the Museum's "Cabinet of Curiosities." We'll also show you a few different ways that you can bring these mysteries and curiosities into your own classroom!
Join us for free programs this week! Please note that we are more than happy to book private sessions with classrooms. Learn more about our distance learning offerings here and contact sarah.cahill@mysticseaport.org for more information.
*As of April 7th, we will require registration prior to joining sessions. Please be sure to take just a moment to register for each program you would like to attend. Only one registration per household per program is needed. You will receive an email from "Mystic Seaport Education" that will contain the link to the program and the passcode needed to enter the Zoom Room. If you have any trouble, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at krystal.rose@mysticseaport.org.*
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Tuesday, April 7th at 12:45 pm: Phases of the MoonRecommended Ages: Grades 3-8
Using hands-on activities and real-world math problems, students will learn about the phases of the moon and its relationship to Earth. We'll talk about scale models, tides, eclipses and much more! This week, our Phases of the Moon program is being offered through the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (https://www.cilc.org/). To sign up for this program in advance, please register here!
Click here for NGSS StandardsClick here for pre and post worksheets_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday, April 7th at 2 pm: Knot Tying (Part 2) with SarahRecommended Ages: All Ages
Join Sarah Clement, Museum Rigger, in an interactive class on knot tying. Come to the session with your own piece of rope so you can practice along. Learn different types of knots used on the Museum vessels, how particular knots are better for specific purposes, and review proper terminology.
Click here to register for this program!_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Wednesday, April 8th at 10 am: Artifact Investigation with KrystalRecommended Ages: Grades 3-8
This program features a Museum Educator who will guide students through the analysis of primary source documents and artifacts to help develop historical thinking skills. Have paper and a pencil and be prepared to sketch and write. *This program will use different artifacts from the previous week's version of this program, but the beginning content about the Museum's collections will be similar.*
Click here for CCSS Connections.Click here for CT Social Studies Frameworks Connections.Click here to register for this program!
Wednesday 2 pm: Night Sky Update for the WeekRecommended Ages: All Ages
Join us to explore the spring night sky! We will share information about the moon, visible planets, and the constellations that are visible this time of year - where they are and how to find them in the sky. By the end of our program, you'll have everything you need for some backyard stargazing! Planet profile for the week will be Mars! Tune in to find out the constellation of the week...
Click here to register for this program!
Thursday 2 pm: Program Info Coming Soon!
Friday 10 am: Scaling the Solar System with BrianRecommended Ages: 6th Grade and Up
Some concepts in Astronomy are difficult to convey simply due to the vastness of outer space, or the fact that some objects in our universe are massively larger than Earth. However, small-scale models are a powerful way to overcome these hurdles. In this session, we will use a variety of models and methods to devise fun ways to express astronomical distances, and also to compare the different sizes of celestial bodies.
Click here for NGSS Standards
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Friday 3 pm: Preservation Corner: Tool Sharpening (Part 2) with Chris SanfordRecommended Ages: High School to Adult
Join Museum shipwright Chris Sanders to explore the fundamentals of sharpening different hand tools, including hand planes and chisels. Learn how to create and maintain a razor sharp edge. Chris will be able to answer select questions from the viewers.
This free, public programming is being offered as part of Mystic Seaport Museum's efforts to share quality educational content during this time of social distancing. Please note that if you enjoy our programming, we are more than happy to book private sessions with classrooms, libraries, and senior centers. Please check this page and contact sarah.cahill@mysticseaport.org for more information on private bookings.
Date: Tuesday, 4/21/2020, 10:00:00 AM ET
Program Title: Night Sky Update Age Recommendation: All Ages Program Description: Join us to explore the spring night sky! We will share information about the moon, visible planets, and the constellations that are visible this time of year - where they are and how to find them in the sky. By the end of our program, you'll have everything you need for some backyard stargazing! Planet profile for the week will be Earth! Tune in to find out the constellation of the week...
Register Here: https://forms.gle/5spfVShrr7bSd2pU8
Date: Tuesday, 4/21/2020, 2:00:00 PM ET Program Title: Make a Messenger Bag Age Recommendation: Ages 10 - Adult Program Description: Make a messenger bag or purse using traditional sailor's skills! This class, taught by shipwright Nathan Adams, will teach traditional sailmaking, sewing, and rope work skills to craft a shoulder bag.
Register Here: https://forms.gle/tzanCyPVqYUEhZtw8
Date: Wednesday, 4/22/2020, 11:30:00 AM ET Program Title: An Introduction to Charts & Basic Navigation Age Recommendation: High School - Adult Program Description: Join our Yachts on Exhibit Operations Coordinator, Captain Nicholas Alley, to learn the fundamentals of finding your location using maritime charts and traditional tools. We will cover different types of charts, plotting tools, and how to use a compass and landmarks to guide your way.
Register Here: https://forms.gle/FTwUUNqe8sdAv9Es7
Date: Thursday, 4/23/2020, 3:30:00 PM ET Program Title: Collections Corner: Whaling in the Movies Age Recommendation: High School - Adult Program Description: Throughout the history of the motion picture industry Hollywood has often been drawn to whales and whaling as movie themes offering action, excitement, adventure, and occasionally even romance. This presentation will explore this story, which features three actual whaleships – including the Charles W. Morgan. Special focus will also be given to the classic whaling movie Down To the Sea in Ships.
Fred Calabretta is Senior Curator at Mystic Seaport Museum. Before joining the Museum’s staff, Fred experienced an inside look at the entertainment industry, working as a stage technician in Hollywood for several years. His presentation will reveal some Hollywood “magic” and will be illustrated with rare movie memorabilia from Mystic Seaport’s collections.
Register Here: https://forms.gle/mSnys3V7TVXzNNpUA
Date: Friday, 4/24/2020, 3:00:00 PM ET Program Title: Preservation Corner: Tool Sharpening Age Recommendation: High School - Adult Program Description: Join Museum shipwright Chris Sanders to explore the fundamentals of sharpening different hand tools. This week's focus will be cabinet scrapers. As always, Chris will be able to answer select questions from the viewers.
Register Here: https://forms.gle/JSkwnxEuneWVnNST6
This public programming is offered as part of Mystic Seaport Museum's efforts to share quality educational content during this time of social distancing. Please note that if you enjoy our programming, we are happy to book private sessions with classrooms, libraries, and senior centers. Check this page and contact sarah.cahill@mysticseaport.org for more information on private bookings.
Date: Tuesday, 4/28/2020, 2:00 PM ETProgram Title: Scalingthe Solar SystemAge Recommendation: Elementary-Middle
Program Description: Some concepts in Astronomy are difficult to convey simply due to the vastness of outer space. However, small-scale models are a powerful way to overcome these hurdles. In this session, we will use a variety of models and methods to devise fun ways to express astronomical distances, and also to compare the different sizes of celestial bodies. Have paper, a pencil, scissors and tape handy to participate in an activity during the program. Please note this program is offered through the Center for Interactive Learning & Collaboration.
Register Here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XDVpniuJTiOdyjD4nIePVg
Date: Tuesday, 4/28/2020, 3:30:00 PM ETProgram Title: Introduction to Charts & Basic NavigationAge Recommendation: Middle School Through Adult
Program Description: Join our Yachts on Exhibit Operations Coordinator, Nicholas Alley, to learn the fundamentals of finding your location using maritime charts and traditional tools. We will cover different types of charts, plotting tools, and how to use a compass and landmarks to guide your way. This is Part 2 of the series. Part 1 will be featured soon on https://stories.mysticseaport.org/category/education/.
Register Here: https://forms.gle/XcmYYsi3x4aHcxk16
Date: Wednesday, 4/29/2020, 10:00:00 AM ET Program Title: Ahab's Rolling Sea: A Natural History of Moby-Dick Age Recommendation: Middle School - Adult
Program Description: Arguably the greatest sea novel ever written, Moby-Dick serves as an ideal benchmark to examine how Americans in the 1850s understood the marine biology and oceanography of the deep sea. No previous reading of the novel is necessary, although there might be a few spoilers as Rich King examines Melville's unique understanding of the ocean environment and how, on the heels of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, this perception of the briny sea has changed surprisingly little from how we perceive the global ocean today.
Rich is a writer and illustrator who taught for many years at Williams-Mystic and is now a part-time boat captain at the museum in the summer. You can read the exceptional reviews of Ahab's Rolling Sea here: richardjking.info. And order a copy before or after the presentation at the Mystic Seaport store!
Register Here: https://forms.gle/Qyaw2ozhWKhFpyRf8
Date: Thursday, 4/30/2020, 11:30:00 AM ETProgram Title: What's New in the Sky this WeekAge Recommendation: All ages
Program Description: Join us to explore the spring night sky! This program changes weekly. We will share information about the moon, visible planets, and the constellations that are visible this time of year - where they are and how to find them in the sky. By the end of our program, you'll have everything you need for some backyard stargazing! Planet profile for the week will be Neptune! Tune in to find out the constellation of the week...
Register Here: https://forms.gle/m725LL9vFTfojJFaA
Date: Friday, 5/1/2020, 2:00:00 PM ETProgram Title: Shipwright Tools Show & Tell with Chris SandersAge Recommendation: High School through Adult
Program Description: Join Chris Sanders as he takes us through a "show and tell" of the interesting and unusual tools used by shipwrights. As always, Chris will take questions from the audience.
Register Here: https://forms.gle/juuQvjKFnSGSdqrt6
Date: Tuesday, 5/2/2020 7:46:29 AM, 9:30:00 AM ET Program Title: Animals in Sea History - Session 1 - Sailors & Seabirds with Rich King Age Recommendation: All Ages! Program Description: Author-illustrator Rich King begins a pilot video series titled "Animals in Sea History." For this first episode, Rich introduces the writing and illustrating of his column in Sea History magazine by explaining the research and drawing process as he tells the story of one special seabird and its connections to sailors at sea. This series, with episodes about 15-20 mins each, are meant for the young and young at heart! If you like, be ready with some paper, pencil, and colors to draw along, and we encourage questions and sharing via the chat!
Register Here: https://forms.gle/df727daAG1vcZp8F7
Date: Wednesday, 5/2/2020 8:22:45 AM, 3:00:00 PM ET Program Title: GERDA III & Henny Sinding: Acts of Resistance During the Holocaust Age Recommendation: Middle School - Adult Program Description: Mystic Seaport volunteer and researcher Howard Veisz will speak about Gerda III, a wooden work boat built in 1926 to re-supply offshore lighthouses along the Danish coast. During the Nazi occupation of Denmark during World War II, she took on another cargo: clandestine groups of Jewish refugees that she transported to freedom. Howard will discuss in-depth her profound impact upon the fate of so many Jewish people who escaped the terror of the Gestapo because of her heroic actions.
Register Here: https://forms.gle/NEoipHawSHLEpG1H8
Date: Thursday, 5/2/2020 8:48:18 AM, 3:00:00 PM ETProgram Title: What's New in the Sky this WeekAge Recommendation: All AgesProgram Description: Join us to explore the spring night sky! This program changes weekly. We will share information about the moon, visible planets, and the constellations that are visible this time of year - where they are and how to find them in the sky. By the end of our program, you'll have everything you need for some backyard stargazing! Planet profile for the week will be Jupiter! Tune in to find out the constellation of the week...
Register Here: https://forms.gle/HfJeTzRfddHLYPk18
Date: Friday, 5/2/2020 8:57:06 AM, 2:00:00 PM ETProgram Title: Introduction to Charts & Basic NavigationAge Recommendation: Middle School through AdultProgram Description: Join our Yachts on Exhibit Operations Coordinator, Nicholas Alley, to learn the fundamentals of finding your location using maritime charts and traditional tools. We will cover different types of charts, plotting tools, and how to use a compass and landmarks to guide your way. This is Part 3 of the series. Previous session will be featured soon on Mystic Seaport Museum's Digital Museum page.
Register Here: https://forms.gle/vzeYwqf9U65LSw4P9
Date: Wednesday, 5/13/2020, 9:30 AM ET Program Title: Animals in Sea History | Captain Cook's Calamari: The Dana Octopus Squid Age Recommendation: All Ages Program Description: Author-illustrator Rich King continues his "Animals in Sea History" series with "Captain Cook's Calamari: The Dana Octopus Squid." This series, with episodes about 15-20 mins each, are meant for the young and young at heart! If you like, be ready with some paper, pencil, and colors to draw along, and we encourage questions and sharing via the chat!
Register Here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYude6urDIvGdZWZ0dbA63_JZ06O3_fg2UU
Date: Wednesday, 5/13/2020, 1:00 PM ET Program Title: What's New in the Night Sky Age Recommendation: All Ages Program Description: Join us to explore the spring night sky! This program changes weekly. We will share information about the moon, visible planets, and the constellations that are visible this time of year - where they are and how to find them in the sky. By the end of our program, you'll have everything you need for some backyard stargazing! Planet profile for the week will be Mercury! Tune in to find out the constellation of the week...
Register Here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0of-urqDkpGtfsUxQTGkwia8UW567-MLol
Date: Friday, 5/15/2020, 2:30 PM ET Program Title: Build a Bat House with Shipwright Tom Daniels Age Recommendation: Upper Elementary through Adult Program Description: Bats eat LOTS of bugs, sometimes consuming 25% of their body weight each night! This not only makes your yard more pleasant in the summer, but they can help reduce the number of pests that attack your garden. In this class, Shipwright Tom Daniels will show you how to build a simple 3-chamber bat roosting box using simple tools and materials. The most expensive tools will be a circular saw and hand drill. Along the way, we’ll answer woodworking questions and talk about cool bat facts with one of our educator friends from the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center. If you’re new to woodworking, this might give you the confidence to try more ambitious projects in the future . . . maybe build your own boat one day!
Register Here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwqcuiqpjkqH90Q_CFwN59efKJji-dtX0n7
Date: Tuesday, 5/19/2020, 3:00 PM ET
Program Title: What's New in the Night Sky This Week Age Recommendation: All Ages Program Description: Join us to explore the spring night sky! This program changes weekly. We will share information about the moon, visible planets, and the constellations that are visible this time of year - where they are and how to find them in the sky. By the end of our program, you'll have everything you need for some backyard stargazing! Planet profile for the week will be Uranus! Tune in to find out the constellation of the week...
Register Here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAvde-rqz4oGNz3aXW5DUhdo9sIhkHpCLHJ
Date: Wednesday, 5/20/2020, 9:30 AM ET Program Title: Animals in Sea History: Ship-Sinking Swordfish Age Recommendation: All Ages Program Description: Author-illustrator Rich King continues his "Animals in Sea History" series with the "Ship-Sinking Swordfish." This series, with episodes about 15-20 mins each, are meant for the young and young at heart! If you like, be ready with some paper, pencil, and colors to draw along, and we encourage questions and sharing via the chat!
Register Here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0rdeGgrTgpHtQiYASuHxYtfRhEX5QDQhuF
Join us on Thursday, June 18 for the first program in our “What’s New in the Night Sky” virtual summer series. This 6-part collection offers a different program every two weeks, celebrating the diversity of the night sky by highlighting the star lore of a different culture. This week, we will kick off our summer series with a look at Babylonian star lore, and how these people laid the groundwork for the Zodiacal calendar that we still use today.
Author-illustrator Rich King continues his "Animals in Sea History" series, this week focusing on the electric ray. This series, with episodes about 20-25 mins each, are meant for the young and young at heart! If you like, be ready with some paper, pencil, and colors to draw along, and we encourage questions and sharing via the chat!
Older viewers might enjoy reading Eugenie Clark's The Lady and the Spear or Shark Lady by Jess Keating before tuning in.
Author-illustrator Rich King continues his "Animals in Sea History" series, this week focusing on sperm whales. This series, with episodes about 20-25 mins each, are meant for the young and young at heart! If you like, be ready with some paper, pencil, and colors to draw along, and we encourage questions and sharing via the chat!
Older viewers might enjoy reading Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea (adult or young readers' edition) before tuning in.
Join us on Thursday, July 2 for the second program in our “What’s New in the Night Sky” virtual summer series. This 6-part collection offers a different program every two weeks, celebrating the diversity of the night sky by highlighting the star lore of a different culture. This week, we will preview a lunar eclipse that will be visible in North America on the night of July 4. We will then celebrate our nation’s birthday by exploring the constellations of the Ojibwe (Chippewa) Native American tribe.
Author-illustrator Rich King continues his "Animals in Sea History" series, this week focusing on sea snakes. This series, with episodes about 20-25 mins each, are meant for the young and young at heart! If you like, be ready with some paper, pencil, and colors to draw along, and we encourage questions and sharing via the chat!
Older viewers might enjoy reading Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner before tuning in.
Author-illustrator Rich King continues his "Animals in Sea History" series, this week focusing on the brown pelican. This series, with episodes about 20-25 mins each, are meant for the young and young at heart! If you like, be ready with some paper, pencil, and colors to draw along, and we encourage questions and sharing via the chat!
Older viewers might enjoy reading articles by Martha Field in Louisiana Voyages before tuning in.
Join us on Thursday, July 16 for the third program in our “What’s New in the Night Sky” virtual summer series. This 6-part collection offers a different program every two weeks, celebrating the diversity of the night sky by highlighting the star lore of a different culture. This week, we will explore summer at the Arctic Circle, and how the tilt of Earth’s axis creates a unique condition there called the “midnight sun.” As this period comes to close in late July, we can discover the Inuit view of the night sky, and the constellations within.
Join us on Thursday, July 30 for the fourth program in our “What’s New in the Night Sky” virtual summer series. This 6-part collection offers a different program every two weeks, celebrating the diversity of the night sky by highlighting the star lore of a different culture. This week, as the Mayan calendar turns the page to a new year, we will examine the star lore of this ancient civilization along with their innovative system of tracking days, months, and years.
Join us on Thursday, August 13 for the fifth program in our “What’s New in the Night Sky” virtual summer series. This 6-part collection offers a different program every two weeks, celebrating the diversity of the night sky by highlighting the star lore of a different culture. This week, we will discuss the Perseid Meteor Shower, whose peak viewing nights are occurring this week, before turning our attention to Norse star lore and the constellations as seen by the famous ancient seafarers known as the Vikings.
Join us on Thursday, August 27 for the sixth and final program in our “What’s New in the Night Sky” virtual summer series. This 6-part collection offers a different program every two weeks, celebrating the diversity of the night sky by highlighting the star lore of a different culture. This week, our summer series concludes with an in-depth look at Polynesian star lore. Long before the development of the compass, chart, and sextant, the Polynesian people were fearlessly navigating the vast Pacific Ocean, using observations of the stars and a keen memory to find their way across the sea. By organizing the night sky into giant constellations known as Star Families, the ancient methods of tool-less navigation continue today in the descendants of these amazing wayfinders.
The Education Department is excited to announce our upcoming Teacher Virtual PD, which will highlight our newest exhibit, Sailor Made: Folk Art of the Sea, funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. Sailor Made highlights more than 200 objects from the Museum’s collection, many of which have long been hidden from public view. Each artifact has its own story, and through the work of exhibition curator Mirelle Luecke, Ph.D., much new information has been uncovered about the objects in the show.
When stuck in the difficult, dangerous, and sometimes monotonous environment of the ship, sailors used art to express themselves. The designs they inscribed on scrimshaw, the types of household items they made, and the ways they used different materials were all intentions, and tell us something about the sailors themselves, their experiences, and the world they lived in,” said Luecke.These stories show how creating art enabled sailors to differentiate their labor and leisure time in the otherwise all-consuming work environment of the ship.
During the PD, we will unveil our newest Mystic Seaport Museum for Educators exhibit resource set, developed by history teacher Christina O’Brien of North Providence High School. Tina will share stories from these artifact treasures and share ideas for how your students can interact with and learn from the primary sources found in the exhibit and online. We’ll also be joined by Curator Mirelle Luecke and Exhibits Director Elysa Engelman who will share some behind the scenes details about the exhibit. Finally, Education Staff will share our virtual offerings with participants.
Sign up today!
