EDUCATOR NEWSLETTER
Summer 2009
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• Your Fourth Grade Field Trip No More • Temporary Exhibition • School’s Out for Summer
Bring Your School Group to the KHS History Campus
Still in session and looking for a way to keep your students motivated? Already planning your calendar for next school year? Schedule a tour at the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) history campus, where history comes to life. Students will learn about Kentucky history in a fun environment at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History and the Old State Capitol. With a diverse assortment of tours, the KHS staff can design a field trip that will coordinate with your lesson plans. Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History Tours: “Let’s Take A Kentucky Journey” “Pioneer Life in Kentucky” “Civil War Workers” “Primarily Lincoln” (until June 6, when Beyond the Log Cabin will close at KHS) Old State Capitol Tours: “The Historic Old State Capitol” “The Civil War and the Old State Capitol” In addition to regular tour programs, groups can take advantage of Museum Theatre performances and History Zone hands-on activities. Admission is $2 per person (students, teachers, and chaperones), but scholarships are available for schools with 50 percent or more students on reduced-fee meal programs. To schedule your field trip, call (502)-564-1792, ext. 4424, or email KHSTours@ky.gov.
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• 2009 KJHS Convention Successful • National History Day State Contest
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• Meet Tim Talbott • Grant Information • Did You Know? • Free Teacher Coupon
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Visit KHS at the State Fair
The KHS history campus will be recreated at the 2009 Kentucky State Fair. School groups will have the opportunity to explore the KHS HistoryMobile, view live Museum Theatre performances and other presentations, and catch glimpses of Great Revivals: Kentucky Decorative Arts Treasures, Kentucky Military Treasures, and Made to be Played: Traditional Art of Kentucky Luthiers, three KHS exhibitions. /
Your Fourth Grade Field Trip No More
Exhibition Opening Breathes New Life into the Old State Capitol
Tired of the same old lesson plans? Visit the Old State Capitol and explore a new exhibition, Great Revivals: Kentucky Decorative Arts Treasures, with your students. The exhibition, which opens June 6, offers a unique opportunity to view rarely-seen treasures from the Kentucky Historical Society collections. Artifacts in Great Revivals illustrate the evolution of decorative styles and the changing tastes of nineteenthcentury Kentuckians by highlighting five stylistic design eras. /
Temporary Exhibition Will Provide Connections to Kentucky’s Music Heritage
Luthiers—people who make or repair stringed instruments—have a rich and fascinating history in Kentucky. A new exhibition opening July 11, Made to be Played: Traditional Art of Kentucky Luthiers, features the art and tradition of Kentucky master luthiers and their handcrafted guitars, fiddles, banjos, mandolins, dulcimers, and other original stringed instruments. Made to be Played is funded through the National Endowment for the Arts, and is dedicated to the memory of Homer Ledford, a gifted Kentucky luthier, craftsman, instrument inventor and musician, who was renowned for the quality, beauty, and uniqueness of his works. The exhibition features handmade instruments and tools of 16 Kentucky luthiers. Exhibition guests will have the opportunity to participate in special activities, including a master musician concert series, family activities, and instrument workshops. For a complete list of exhibition-related activities, visit www.history.ky.gov/luthiers. /
School’s Out For Summer!
View a Live Museum Theatre Production Every Day in June
Preparations for summer programming are underway and things are heating up at KHS. If you are looking for something to do with a group of students or your own children during the break from school, stop by the KHS history campus. Museum Theatre staff members bring the stories contained within the KHS collections to life in live theatre performances. The plays, performed by professionally-trained actors, highlight the periods and people in Kentucky history in a format that allows students to learn while being entertained. • Tuesdays, 2:00 p.m. Museum Theatre: Tobacco’s Tale: From Bed to Basket • Wednesdays, 2:00 p.m. Museum Theatre: Tobacco’s Tale: From Bed to Basket • Thursdays, 2:00 p.m. Museum Theatre: Birds of Passage: Vincent Scopa of “Tallie Holler” • Fridays, 2:00 p.m. Museum Theatre: Necessity Knows No Law: Lives and Liberties of Bloody Monday • Saturdays, 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. Museum Theatre: Jack and the Robbers KHS offers a wide variety of family-friendly activities each month. To view a complete list of programs, click here. /
KHS Educator Newsletter | Summer 2009
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2009 KJHS Convention Successful
Over 400 students, teachers, and parents attended the 47th Annual Kentucky Junior Historical Society (KJHS) Convention in Frankfort, March 26-28. Students from chapters around the state entered projects in a variety of categories relating to Kentucky history and heritage. Teams at the elementary, middle, and high school levels competed against one another in the Kentucky History Bowl quick-recall tournament. Beth Dunn, a retired teacher and co-sponsor of the Shelby Saddlebreds chapter, was selected as Sponsor of the Year for her exceptional involvement and leadership. For more information about starting a KJHS chapter or to see a full list of project winners, visit kjhs.ky.gov. /
Tough Competition Marked Kentucky’s National History Day State Contest
Kentucky’s National History Day state contest was held on April 18 at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in Frankfort. One hundred sixty middle and high school students from across the state created projects based around the theme of “The Individual in History: Actions and Legacies.” The contest was the culminating activity in the state, but the top two winners in each category and division are eligible to attend the national contest, which will be held June 14-18 at the University of Maryland, in College Park. James Case, a teacher at Clark Middle School in Winchester, was honored with the 2009 Becky Fitch Teacher of the Year Award during the NHD awards ceremony. Designed to recognize the most outstanding NHD teacher, the award includes a $200 prize. For a full list of winners, visit the NHD page on the KHS Web site. If you are looking for a hands-on approach to teaching history, the NHD program is perfect for you. Kentucky’s NHD provides teachers with an innovative teaching tool that facilitates project-based, active learning which leads to student achievement. In groups or individually, students in grades 6-12 research a topic around an annual theme, learning the skills and techniques of a historian. Engaging all kinds of learners, the program allows students to express what they have learned through performances, documentaries, Web sites, papers, or exhibits. “National History Day fits perfectly into Kentucky’s core content and offers teachers the opportunity to teach beyond books and videos,” said Melissa Singleton, a Rockcastle County Middle School teacher. “NHD allows real world learning and research to occur in Kentucky’s classrooms.” Students learn history by “doing history.” With the NHD program, students utilize primary and secondary sources, artifacts, and timelines as they do research, and the program works easily within a teacher’s curriculum. Creating history day projects gives students a hands-on experience during which they gain critical thinking, research, and oral and written communication skills. Summer is a great time to make plans to implement the National History Day program in your school during the 2009-10 year. Outreach staff are available to answer questions about becoming involved. For more information, email KHSSchools@ky.gov. /
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KHS Educator Newsletter | Summer 2009
Meet Tim Talbott
On May 1, Tim Talbott became the newest educator at KHS, joining the Teacher/Student Outreach team. His main role is to assist with all of the KHS Teaching American History (TAH) grant partnerships, but Tim will be involved in other outreach efforts as well, including the Kentucky Junior Historical Society and National History Day. After a ten-year career in business, Tim completed a second bachelor’s degree in history, went on to earn a Master’s in Public History from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., and spent the last three years as assistant chief of education and visitor services at Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier in Petersburg, Va. He is looking forward to working with Kentucky teachers and sharing his love of history with them. /
KNOW?
June 6 is the last day to view the state’s signature Lincoln Bicentennial exhibition, Beyond the Log Cabin: Kentucky’s Abraham Lincoln, at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History in Frankfort. The exhibition will be available for viewing at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville from June 28 to September 6.
DID YOU
Beyond the Log Cabin Online Exhibition Now Available
If you have not been able to make the trip to Frankfort to view Beyond the Log Cabin: Kentucky’s Abraham Lincoln, you can experience the exhibition from the comfort of your school or home by visiting the online exhibition at http://history. ky.gov/kylincoln/. Delve into the content themes of the exhibition, gain a sense of chronology by using the interactive timeline, and investigate Lincoln’s lifelong connections to his native state while perusing dozens of primary sources, including photographs, manuscripts, and artifacts. The Web site also offers a teacher’s guide, bibliography, and overview essay in the resources section.
Grant Deadlines
Grants are available for field trips and projects in the classroom for K-12 public or private schools!
Heritage Education Grant Mini–Grants up to $250 (for field trips to be taken between October and December 2009) Deadline
June 30, 2009
To obtain an application, visit www.history.ky.gov or contact khsschools@ky.gov.
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Kentucky History Education Conference Cancelled
Usually held in July at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, the 2009 Kentucky History Education Conference has been cancelled.
FREE TEACHER PASS COUPON
Visit the Kentucky Historical Society’s museums before you bring your students. Present this coupon and receive free admission for one adult.
If you’d like more information about educator resources or bringing your students to the Kentucky Historical Society, contact: Kate Hesseldenz kate.hesseldenz@ky.gov 502.564.1792, ext. 4477
KHS Educator Newsletter | Summer 2009
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