WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – A special ticket for homeschool families will be available February 21-March 8 for admission to Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia, and the Yorktown Victory Center, a museum of the American Revolution. The two museums are administered by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
At $10.25 per family member, the ticket provides unlimited admission to both museums February 21-March 8 and the opportunity to pre-register at no additional cost for optional student hands-on classroom programs and family guided tours of the museums’ outdoor living-history areas – Powhatan Indian village, replica 1607 ships, re-created colonial fort and riverfront discovery area at Jamestown Settlement, and re-created Continental Army encampment and 1780s farm at the Yorktown Victory Center.
Classroom programs last one hour and address Virginia and United States standards of learning for history and social studies. Students can enroll in one of three programs at each museum, according to grade level. The following hands-on history programs and guided tours, taught and led by trained museum educators, are available:
Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 2
February 23, 25, 26 and March 2, 4, 5: In “Living With the Indians” at Jamestown Settlement, students handle and analyze clothing, bone tools and pottery of the Powhatan Indian culture. Programs begin at 10:30 a.m., 1:15 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
February 24, 25, 27 and March 3, 4, 6: In the Yorktown Victory Center program “Colonial Life,” students examine tools and materials used on a small Virginia farm to explore life of a typical Tidewater farming family. Programs begin at 10:30 a.m., 1:15 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Grades 3-6
February 23, 25, 26 and March 2, 4, 5: In “Cultures at Jamestown” at Jamestown Settlement, students compare and contrast the Powhatan Indian, English and African cultures in contact during the 17th century. Programs begin at 10:30 a.m., 1:15 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
February 24, 25, 27 and March 3, 4, 6: In the Yorktown Victory Center program “Revolutionary Virginia,” students analyze primary sources and reproduction artifacts to learn about lives of ordinary 18th-century Virginians. Programs begin at 10:30 a.m., 1:15 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Grades 7-12
February 23, 25, 26 and March 2, 4, 5: In “Voyage to Virginia” at Jamestown Settlement, students learn about the 1607 voyage to Virginia by exploring period navigational tools. Programs begin at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
February 24, 25, 27 and March 3, 4, 6: In the Yorktown Victory Center program “Life of a Private,” students explore a Continental soldier’s haversack, clothing and weapons to relate to the experiences of people during the American Revolution. Programs begin at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Family Guided Tours of Outdoor Living-History Areas
February 23, 25, 26 and March 2, 4, 5: A two-hour, hands-on history tour of Jamestown Settlement includes visits to outdoor re-creations of a Powhatan Indian village, three 1607 ships and colonial fort, and a riverfront discovery area. Tours begin at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
February 24, 25, 27 and March 3, 4, 6: A two-hour, hands-on history tour of the Yorktown Victory Center includes visits to outdoor re-creations of a Continental Army encampment and 1780s farm. Tours begin at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The homeschool ticket is $10.25 per family member (youth or adult) for unlimited admission to both museums from February 21 through March 8. Children ages three and under receive complimentary admission. Tickets also are available online for advance purchase at www.historyisfun.org. The deadline to register for hands-on classroom programs and guided tours is 5 p.m. three business days prior to the program or tour. For more information about the Foundation’s homeschool programs or to register, contact Group Reservations at (757) 253-4939 or toll-free (888) 868-7593, or e-mail groupreservations@jyf.virginia.gov.
Jamestown Settlement is located on Route 31 South at the Colonial Parkway, adjacent to Historic Jamestowne and just southwest of Williamsburg. The Yorktown Victory Center is located on Route 1020 in Yorktown, near Yorktown Battlefield. Jamestown Settlement’s permanent exhibition galleries and introductory film chronicle the nation’s 17th-century beginnings in Virginia in the context of its Powhatan Indian, English and African cultures. Jamestown Settlement also features a café and gift shops. Gallery exhibits at the Yorktown Victory Center relate the experiences of ordinary men and women who lived during the Revolutionary era. Exhibits provide eyewitness accounts of the American Revolution, describe the convergence of forces on Yorktown in 1781 for the climactic military engagement of the Revolution, and examine the development of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and how people from many different cultures shaped a new society.
To learn more about the museums, call (888) 593-4682 toll-free or (757) 253-4838, or visit www.historyisfun.org.
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