TOLLAND MUSEUMS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

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           Tolland, Connecticut --- Where The Past Lives

The Tolland Museums Education Association fosters an excitement about history while reinforcing school curriculums.  Expand your classroom by visiting our four museums spanning 160 years of Connecticut History.  You and your students will enjoy exploring
the 1720 Daniel Benton Homestead, the 1822 Old Tolland County Courthouse, the 1856
Old County Jail and Museum and the 1880s Hicks-Stearns Family Museum.
 
Tolland has survived in the quiet ways of a rural village in inland Connecticut, growing
in the 1700s with farming, booming in the 1800s with water-powered local industries
and as the junction of several important post roads and toll roads, then declining
when bypassed by the new railroads, and eventually finding new life as a thriving
suburb.  

It is history that is close by and can be easily applied to other towns.  Following are specific highlights and tour offerings. We look forward to seeing you and your
students

                                                           Tolland Museums Education Association

•    Denotes four programs that, used together, trace the development of a small town like
      Tolland from Colonial times to the mid-1900s.

Colonial Times 
The Daniel Benton Homestead
April - November by Arrangement
Acting Education Director:  Kathy Bach         860 870-9599
Museum Director:  Gail White        860 974-1875

The ca. 1720 Daniel Benton Homestead is one of Tolland's oldest dwellings.  The museum reflects life in  18^th Century New England.  Programs and workshops help students explore life in colonial America through hands-on activities.
 

Benton Homestead

• The Colonial Kitchen                                   40 - 60 minutes Grades 3 - 12

Students learn about cooking in our ca. 1720 kitchen.  In the herb garden, they explore the use of herbs.  Students investigate the children's chores and contributions to feeding the family in the 1700s.  
Activity:  Students churn butter, season it with herbs,  and sample it on corn bread. 

Chores in Front of the Hearth                       40 - 60 minutes Grades 5 - 12
This program takes students back to a typical day in the 1700s.  They learn about the skills they developed while growing up on a farm.  
Activity:  Students build stone walls, learn textile production, and fetch wood and water.  

Games and Entertainments                        30 - 60 minutes Grades 2 - 7
Life on a farm was not all work and no play.  Students are introduced to toys, games and activities typically played by children in colonial New England.
Activity:  Students play several of the games and play with toys of the time period.

Loyalist vs. Patriot                                              40- 60 minutes Grades 7 - 12
Two old friends, now on opposite sides, meet for the first time in many years and argue their opposing viewpoints of the Revolutionary War.  Class participation is encouraged.

In-Class

Classroom Visit                                                             30 minutes Grades 2 - 12
Our classroom visit is an introductory presentation on the Benton Homestead and life in the 18^th Century.   We give a brief history of the house and discuss living on the home-stead 250 years ago.  Students imagine themselves as one of the Benton children and, with clothing and items of the period, begin to investigate life in colonial New England.  This program can be used in conjunction with our workshops.  

Note:  Programs can be combined into half-day or full-day workshops. 
Call for further details. 

The 1800s:  Tolland as the County Seat

The Old Tolland County Courthouse

Year-Round by Arrangement

Museum Director:  Barbara Cook 860 870-9599

The 1822 Courthouse contained all criminal and civil courts of Tolland County until about 1890.  The second-floor courtroom has been restored to its 19^th Century appearance.  Exhibits relate to the building's history and other county institutions.

•  The Town and The County
                                        30 to 45 Minutes adapted to grade level

A discussion about the ways that  appointment as county seat and the presence of the courthouse affected the growth of the town in the 19th Century, and the stagecoach lines, taverns, and other businesses that prospered partly as a result.  For better understanding, this pro- gram can be combined with an abbreviated tour of the jail portion of the Old County Jail and Museum (30 minutes) or with the complete tour offered by that museum. 

Mock Trial                                                                           Grades 9 - 12
The authentically appointed courtroom is available for mock trial practice sessions.

The 1800s and early 1900s

The Old County Jail and Museum

Year-Round by Arrangement

Museum Director:  Kathy Bach 860 870-9599

The 19^th Century comes alive for your students as they experience life in a small rural
community of that period.  This museum has extensive exhibits of early businesses --
shoe making, growing silk worms to produce silk thread, blacksmithing, hat making and basket making, to name a few.

General Museum Tour                                        60 minutes Grades 3 - 8

This tour includes some of the above program and also a country store, the 1856 Tolland County Jail, the duties of the warden, and the role of
the Tolland County Courthouse in the local judicial system.

• Early Schools and Industries                           60 minutes Grades 3 - 8

See what it was like to be a child in the 1800s.  Attend a one-room  school, sit at an early desk, do a lesson with a slate and a slate pencil.  Learn about the roles of the student and teacher.  How did people earn a living?  What were the economic effects on small towns of new businesses, the railroad and the Industrial Revolution?  (children can assume the role of an 1800s child.  Material available at additional cost.

Flag Day                                                                            30 minutes Grades 1 - 3 Costumed volunteers portray, with visuals and hands-on participation by students, how the first flag of the United States came to be.  Included are comparisons of the changes in our flag over the years. its uses and flag etiquette.

Classroom Visit:   "One Room Schools"             60 minutes Grades 3 - 6
Costumed staff will offer an in-depth presentation that takes a child through a typical day in a one-room schoolhouse.

The Victorian Era

The Hicks-Stearns Family Museum

Museum Co-Directors:  Bea White-Ramirez and Teri Gerry 860 875-7552 

(Hicks-Stearns is an independent museum at 42 Tolland Green, and a member, with the
Tolland Historical Society, of the Tolland Museums Education Association)

Begun in the 1700s as a colonial inn, this house was added-to and embellished in the 1880s.  The carriage house, three-story tower, and gingerbread trim were added during the Victorian period, when the simple  colonial exterior took on the ornate three-color dress seen today.  Feeling more like a home than a museum, it is filled with family heirlooms
and simple treasures because three generations of the Hicks family lived here, starting in 1845. The programs at the museum take students to the 1890s, a more formal time in history, an era filled with books detailing  daily rituals and proper etiquette. All plans are presented appropriate to grade level. 

• Plan A:  Life of a Victorian Child                 60 minutes Grades 3 - 12

Students will experience a day in the life of an 1880s child, and will com-pare it to a child's life today.  What was a child's place in the family and in society?  How did they dress? How did they spend their leisure time?  How were they disciplined and what were typical house rules?  Hear the wit and wisdom of the writers of the time on childhood.  Victorian-attired staff.

Plan B:  Clue                                                             60 - 90 minutes Grades 4 - 8
This game requires small groups of students to work as a team, using problem-solving techniques and deductive reasoning to solve a fictional crime.  The teams explore two stories of the house, finding clues com-plete with Victorian era historical notes and locating artifacts ranging from salt cellars to a reticule. 

Plan C:  1890s Christmas Tour                        30-60 minutes Grades 1 - 12
December only. Experience how the Victorians approached Christmas with gusto.  Introduce students to a holiday enjoyed before electricity and batteries.  The Victorians had a unique way of celebrating Christmas.  What were popular gifts, how were they wrapped and given?  How were houses decorated?  Discover the important role children played in pre-paring for this major holiday. Victorian-attired staff.

Plan D:  The Titanic---Preparing to Sail               45 minutes Grades 4 - 8
This interactive role-play includes gossip, banter and actual diary ac-counts from 1902, 1906 and 1911 shared with students as they help the Hicks sisters locate and pack items from a last-minute packing list.  Students will learn 1900 travel customs and discover the social etiquette of the times.  1912 attired staff.  

Plan E:  In-Class Visit                                          45 - 60 minutes Grades 3 - 8
We come to your class with an informative and fun comparison of every-day items, such as eating utensils, used by family members in the 1720s, 1890s and today.  Viewing artifacts dating from different periods, such
as a two-tined, a silver and a plastic fork, students will learn how
various household items have been adapted through the years.

We Can Tailor to Your Needs
Don't see a program that fits your needs?  Give us a call.  This brochure is a listing of our currently established offerings.  Our goal as an association is to help educators enhance the curricula through the use of our programs.  We are continually adding to and improving our offerings and are always looking for opportunities to create new programs.  
We look forward to hearing from you to see how we may be of service.

                                                 ~~ A TOUR TIP ~~

We suggest joint bookings with two, three, or all four museums to make the most of your trip.  The Hicks-Stearns Museum, Old County Jail and Museum and the Old County Courthouse are all within easy walking distance of each other on Tolland Green.  The Benton Homestead is on Metcalf Road, about two miles from the Green.  Access map below.

                                 General Information

Bookings:  Two to four weeks in advance.
Payment:  By check on the day of your visit.
Chaperones:  Minimum of one per eight children.  Chaperones are always admitted free. 
Fees:  Nominal, varying slightly depending on programs and expenses.

Tolland Historical Society Offices 860 870-9599   E-Mail  Tolland.Historical@snet.net
Hicks Stearns Museum 860 875-7552