HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES ENTERTAIN AND EDUCATE ALL AGES
 AT JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT AND YORKTOWN VICTORY CENTER

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – History is an adventure at Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center, museums of 17th- and 18th-century Virginia.  Whether trying on armor or wandering through soldiers’ tents, people of all ages will find the past coming to life as they encounter costumed historical interpreters demonstrating everyday life in re-created settings.

At Jamestown Settlement, a museum depicting the early years of America’s first permanent English colony, visitors can immerse themselves in much the same environment the settlers encountered and built four centuries ago.  In 1607, English settlers aboard three merchant ships endured a four-and-a-half month voyage across the Atlantic to arrive at Jamestown. On the pier where the replica ships Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery are docked, families can delve into the contents of a “see” chest and learn how ship’s rigging is used to lift and lower cargo. On board one of the ships, they can steer with a whipstaff or tiller. Children might try out one of the crew’s beds on the Susan Constant, the largest of the ships, then descend to the deck below to see where the 54 passengers lived. 

Back on shore, the world of Pocahontas – the Virginia Indian chief’s daughter who befriended the English colonists – is evoked in Jamestown Settlement’s re-created Powhatan Indian village.  Historical interpreters help visitors make cordage the way the Powhatans did, using plant fibers.  Families can learn how the Powhatans fashioned tools from bone and stone, pound corn kernels into meal, and discover how deerskin was processed to make clothing and furnishings.  Inside a re-created colonial fort, children can play a game of ninepins or quoits.  Adults and children alike can feel well protected as they try on metal armor and watch as a historical interpreter fires a matchlock musket.

At Jamestown Settlement’s seasonal riverfront discovery area, families will learn about the vital role of the James River and other waterways in 17th-century travel, commerce and cultural exchange among Powhatan, European and African cultures.  Adults and children can use oyster shells to scrape out a tree trunk to learn how Powhatan Indians made canoes, and then climb into one already hollowed out.  Visitors also can work at a carpenter’s wood-shaving bench, try hoisting barrels and handle examples of trade items.

A short distance from Jamestown Settlement, the Yorktown Victory Center, a museum of the American Revolution, also engages visitors in hands-on history to make learning an interactive experience for the whole family.  Here, an outdoor re-created Continental Army encampment familiarizes visitors with the daily activities of Revolutionary soldiers.  Families can explore their living quarters and try on a uniform, visit the camp surgeon’s tent to learn about 18th-century medical techniques, observe how soldiers prepared meals at a unique earthen “kitchen,” and join an artillery crew, then watch as the weapon is fired. 

At the Yorktown Victory Center’s re-created 1780s farm, visitors can practice breaking flax, one of the steps in producing linen thread.  In the farm’s gardens, youngsters can lend a hand pulling weeds, watering plants with hollowed-out gourds, and harvesting – just as children did two centuries ago.

Throughout the galleries at both museums, display panels at a child’s eye level ask thought-provoking questions that help young visitors compare their lives today with life during 1600s Virginia and the Revolutionary War era.  At Jamestown Settlement, next to a display of Powhatan, English and African tools for grinding corn, planting crops and cutting wood is a touch-screen panel for selecting video demonstrations of how each was used.  Inside a full-scale partial re-creation of the Susan Constant, visitors can use an astrolabe to locate the North Star in a sparkling night sky and determine the ship’s latitude.  In a mirrored alcove adjacent to the Yorktown Victory Center galleries, children can try on 18th-century-style clothing.

Both museums are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily year-round (until 6 p.m. June 15-August 15); closed on Christmas and New Year’s days. Children will need assistance in following directions for hands-on exhibits and must be accompanied by adults throughout the museums.

A value-priced combination ticket for both museums is $19.25 for adults and $9.25 for ages 6 through 12 in 2010.  Children under 6 are admitted free.  Individual museum admission also is available.  Jamestown Settlement is located on State Route 31, about six miles southwest of Williamsburg, and adjacent to Historic Jamestowne. The Yorktown Victory Center is located on Route 1020 in Yorktown, about 12 miles from Williamsburg, and near Yorktown Battlefield.  For more information, call (888) 593-4682 toll-free or (757) 253-4838, or visit www.historyisfun.org.

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Media Contacts:  Debby Padgett, (757) 253-4175
                          Tracy Perkins, (757) 253-4114
                          Susan Bak, (757) 253-4138

1/2010