Museum Outreach

The Adirondack Museum can come to you!

In Your Classroom

Museum Educators will give presentations in your classroom. Outreach classes include historic photographs, objects to touch and explore, and hands-on activities.

Available September through early May
Schools must be located within 100 miles driving distance of Blue Mountain Lake, N.Y.
Programs are 40 minutes to one hour in length
Single classroom sizes are the preferred group size; however assembly-style programs are available
Up to five programs may be presented in one day
Fees: $50 per class plus $.48 per mile round trip

Register now! Call 518.352.7311, ext. 116 or email education@adkmuseum.org

All museum programs support New York State Learning Standards. Listed under "targeted teaching" are specific curriculum points for each program.

Camping Out

Explore wilderness recreation before flashlights, gas grills or nylon tents. Experience the thrill of a wilderness adventure as students recreate a turn-of-the-century camping trip in your classroom! Packbaskets, fishing poles and campfire stories are all part of the fun.

Best for: Pre-school through 2nd grade.

Targeted Teaching: Recreation, local history and imaginative play.

A Day on the Farm

Here a horse, there a cow, everywhere are oxen! Learn about the animals Adirondackers had on the farm. Students investigate tools and equipment and see photos of farmers at work to imagine a day on the farm.

Best for: Pre-school through 4th grade.

Targeted Teaching: Crops, farm animals, simple tools and imaginative play.

Our Natural Neighbors

Who shares the region's woods and waters with us? Puppets, skulls, photos and pelts introduce students to many of the mammals who call the Adirondacks home. A lively discussion helps with understanding the difference between domestic and wild animals, signs animals leave, and human/animal interactions.

Best for: Pre-school through 4th grade.

Targeted Teaching: Domestic vs. wild animals, habitat, omnivores and science.

Work That's Never Done

Cleaning, baking, laundry — everyday chores were even harder without electricity and running water. Students try out several domestic tools and learn about nineteenth-century household responsibilities.

Best for: Kindergarten through 3rd grade.

Targeted Teaching: Domestic life, simple machines and technology.

School Days

Experience a nineteenth century school day with old-fashioned lessons and activities. Students practice penmanship with a pencil and slate, recite tongue twisters and learn about the one–room schoolhouses that once dotted the Adirondacks.

Best for: 1st through 4th grade.

Targeted Teaching: Local history, ELA — role playing and authentic sources.

Gadgets and Gizmos From the Peddler's Wagon

From apple peelers to wash boards, nineteenth-century peddlers sold domestic goods door-to-door. Students try their hand at simple machines and learn about the important role immigrant peddlers played in the Adirondack region.

Best for: 3rd through 6th grade.

Targeted Teaching: Immigration, domestic life, simple machines and technology.

The Great Outdoors

Traditional camping gear and stories of Adirondack guides bring nineteenth-century wilderness adventures to life. Students discover how outdoor recreation in the Adirondacks has changed and what has stayed the same.

Best for: 4th through 6th grade.

Targeted Teaching: Recreation, ELA, local history, economy and social class.

Reading History: An Introduction to Primary Documents

Discover the stories documents tell. Students work with primary sources from the museum's collection to uncover information about one of the Adirondack's most important industries — mining.

Best for: 4th through 8th grade.

Targeted Teaching: Industry, geology, social studies and authentic sources.

Work in the Woods: Logging the Adirondacks

Historic film footage and tall tales bring lumberjack life into your classroom. Students examine and try traditional tools while learning about the seasons of the lumberjack in the days before mechanization.

Best for: 4th through 8th grade.

Targeted Teaching: Industry, imigration, simple machines and ELA.

Fur Traders and Bounty Hunters

Primary documents and historic photographs illustrate the effects of trapping bounties and sport hunting on the region's wildlife. Students examine pelts and mounts as they learn about trapping and hunting traditions in the Adirondacks.

Best for: 4th through 12th grade.

Targeted Teaching: Native Americans, natural resources, science and technology.

Wilderness Cure

Discover the work of Dr. Edward L. Trudeau and the health care industry in Saranac Lake. Historic photographs, a cure chair, fur coats, and foot warmers help students envision "taking the cure" when tuberculosis was a national epidemic.

Best for: 5th through 12th grade.

Targeted Teaching: Infectious disease, economy, social studies and decision making.

New — Adirondack Advocates

A brief history of key individuals, organizations, government bodies, social movements, and political actions that have influenced the protection of New York State's Adirondack region from the 1850s to today.