Education & Programs 

Our school programs are designed to make the past come alive for students. Experienced educators present interactive programs designed to meet many of New Jersey's Core Curriculum Standards, particularly in Social Studies and Language Arts Literacy. Programs are available at the historic houses, at the Museum, or brought to your classroom. They are especially appropriate for grades 3 through 5, but can be adapted to accommodate any age group.

Museum Programs at the Main Building in Freehold

Available Tuesday through Friday
Program Length: 60 minutes

Battle of Monmouth
The tour of the museum's permanent exhibition of the "Battle of Monmouth" illustrated by paintings and objects used on the battlefield.

The Discovery Room
The Discovery Room offers children a rich experience in a hands-on interactive gallery designed just for them. Reproduction items allow children to learn first-hand about life in the past by carding wool, playing with old fashion toys, and trying on Colonial and Victorian costumes and discovering toys of the past. In addition, a fully equipped camp tent, like those used by Revolutionary War soldiers, is set up for children to climb in.

Traveling Trunk Programs

Battle of Monmouth
Costumed interpreters bring clothing, canteens, maps, prints, and other artifacts, to give students a sense of what life was like for soldiers and camp followers at the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778.
Program length: 90 minutes

From Fiber to Fabric
See the tools of textile production in action! Costumed interpreters show students how to card, spin and weave wool. Students will learn who in the family had to help and why fabric was so valuable in the 18th century.
Program length: 60 minutes

Reading an Artifact
By using inquiry-based learning techniques to examine various artifacts, students will find clues in everyday objects from the past to help learn about the people who used them, as well as the world in which they lived.
Program Length: 60 minutes

Lenape Life
The life of the Lenape is presented using maps, artifacts and reproductions. Interpreters help students understand the early culture of our local Native Americans.
Program Length: 60 minutes.

School Days
Interpreters bring the 19th century schoolhouse to life in your classroom using photographs, reproductions and information on subjects taught and rules of decorum. Students compare their school day with the 19th century student's experience.
Program Length: 60 minutes

The Blue or The Gray
Discover how the Civil War forced an entire country to divide and an entire population to choose sides. By handling reproduction uniforms and artifacts that a soldier might have used in daily activities, students will get a sense of what life was like in the Confederate and Union armies of the 1860's. Songs of the period will be taught that tell of the struggle of division.
Program Length: 60 minutes
Recommended for grades 5-8

Historic House Programs

Learn about 18th century life inside any of the MCHA's four historic houses and enjoy one of the following special programs:

Marlpit Hall, Middletown
"Choosing Sides"
Available May through November

In 1776, not everyone supported American Independence, including the Taylor family of Marlpit Hall. Discover their story and that of the enslaved Africans living with them. Students decide for themselves which side to support in the struggle for independence and equality.
Program Length: 60 minutes.

Covenhoven House, Freehold
"Hearth and Home"
Available October through May, Wednesdays and Fridays only

A tour of the 1750's house shows what life was like for the Covenhoven family as they moved away from their Dutch traditions and embraced a more English lifestyle. Students will see cornbread, gingerbread, sizzled eggs and other colonial foods cooked over the open hearth, then sample the results.
Program Length: 60 minutes.
Program can be combined with a tour of Monmouth Battlefield.

Holmes-Hendrickson House, Holmdel
"Farm and Family"
Available May through September

Costumed interpreters introduce students to 18th century Dutch and English customs, and architecture as they go through a Dutch farmhouse. Upstairs, students join in carding, spinning and weaving to experience the labor involved in textile production.
Program Length: 90 minutes.

Allen House, Shrewsbury
"Tavern Life, Public Life"
Available May through November

The tavern in 18th century New Jersey was much more than a place to eat, drink, and sleep. Halstead's Tavern at Shrewsbury's "Historic Four Corners" also functioned as a court, town hall, post office, and news center for the surrounding countryside. Students take a close look at the role taverns played in civic life.
Program Length: 60 minutes.

Cost of Programs

$100 for each program not to exceed 30 people at the Museum, Holmes-Hendrickson House, Marlpit Hall or the Allen House.

To Schedule a Program

Call Glenn May in the Education Department, 732-462-1466, ext. 23.

Reservations must be made at least two weeks in advance.

Maximum group size is 30 students, with one adult chaperone for every 10 students.

The Covenhoven House and the Museum can each accommodate two groups at the same time.

Confirmations will be sent with directions to each site with instructions for the bus driver, upon receipt of deposit.

What educators are saying about MCHA’s trunk shows --

"Informative, interesting – performers were excellent!"
-- Millstone River Upper Elementary School

"Really, really wonderful – so interesting!"
-- Emma Havens Young School

"Your program suits our needs perfectly."
-- Bradley Beach School

"This program is an excellent opportunity for students to learn about the Revolutionary War and the role New Jersey played in it."
-- Conover Road Elementary School

 
Updated 23 April 2011