August 21, 2007
JAMESTOWN-YORKTOWN FOUNDATION
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING EXPANDS IN 2006-07
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.--Educational programs offered by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, a Virginia state agency that administers Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center history museums, grew substantially in reach and scope during the 2006-07 academic year.
Structured educational programs at the two museums attracted 263,773 participants from July 2006 through June 2007, an increase of 28 percent over 2005-06. Additionally, Foundation educators presented hands-on history programs to 165,267 students – 47 percent more than in 2005-06 – in outreach settings. Outreach programming took place in all of Virginia’s 132 school districts, and Jamestown-related programming was taken to schools and community venues in the Baltimore, Md., and Philadelphia, Pa., regions.
Inquiry-based programs that include hands-on activities and object analysis are offered on several topics at the museums for student groups and home-educated students and through outreach. Curriculum-based guided tours also are offered at the museums, where education programs incorporate experiences in exhibition galleries and outdoor interpretive areas – re-created Powhatan Indian village, 1607 ships and colonial fort and riverfront discovery area at Jamestown Settlement, and re-created Continental Army encampment and 1780s farm at the Yorktown Victory Center.
Internet and broadcast initiatives became an important component of educational programming during the year. The museum Web site www.historyisfun.org was enhanced with educational videos, updated lesson plans and historical background essays.
The videos include “Jamestown Chronicles,” in which actors portray five individuals associated with America’s first permanent English colony, and “Quadricentennial Minutes,” produced in cooperation with WCVE Community Idea Stations in Richmond. Twelve “Quadricentennial Minutes,” which chronicle the development of the Jamestown colony and the contributions of the cultures that converged there, were distributed by American Public Television to 97 stations across the country. Sixteen “Quadricentennial Minutes” were produced specifically for radio broadcast.
The Jamestown Foundation partnered with WHRO Public Broadcasting for Hampton Roads to produce a half-hour documentary, “Jamestown: Founding of America,” made available to public television stations nationwide through the National Educational Telecommunications Association and broadcast on 95 stations from coast to coast.
Structured educational programs at Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center are available year-round on an advance-reservation basis for groups of 15 or more students. Advance reservations also are required for home-educated student programs, next scheduled on September 24 and 25. Outreach programs are available to Virginia schools, also by advance reservation. All of the programs correlate with the Virginia Standards of Learning.
For more information about Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation education programs, call (888) 868-7593 toll-free or (757) 253-4939.
