Archive for November, 2009

If you are 1. an educator, and 2. on Facebook, be sure to become a fan of “Mount Vernon Teachers” and say “hi!” After all, we have long been a fan of you! We know that you already religiously keep up to date with George Washington Wired, but come have some fun with us on Facebook, too.

For the first time, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History will hold a Summer Institute for Teachers at Mount Vernon this year. Apply now for George Washington and the American Revolution, which will be held from June 27 – July 3, 2010. Andrew Robertson, Professor of History, Lehman College, The City University of New York is the director of this exploration of the American Revolution as two different historical events. One was the War for Independence, 1775-1783, that began with Lexington and Concord and concluded with the Treaty of Paris and the evacuation of the British from New York. The “other” American Revolution occurred in the hearts and minds of the American people.

This revolution began in the pamphlets and protests of the 1760s, continued in the Continental Congress, and helped inspire new institutions that emerged after the War for Independence: the abolition of slavery in the North, expanded public roles for women, and the separation of church and state. Both revolutions had global historical significance. George Washington was the pivotal figure in the War for Independence but he played an important role in the second revolution as well. Washington was a representative Virginia planter at the outset of the Revolutionary War. By the time the war concluded, Washington’s ideas about slavery, race, and republican government had been transformed. His leadership after the Revolution helped insure the conservation of both American Revolutions. Teachers accepted into the program will live on Washington’s estate and enjoy unprecedented access to Mount Vernon. More information and an application are available here.

Three hundred years before enslaved cooks, Lucy and Nathan, prepared meals for hundreds of visitors a year at Mount Vernon, the kitchens at Hampton Court were the main stay of royal entertaining. Last week, Marc Meltonville, a “food archaeologist” in the Historic Kitchens of Hampton Court Palace, England gave Mount Vernon staff a fascinating “behind-the-scenes” tour of these Tudor kitchens, which have been the focus of in-depth research examining their usage through time since 1991. The kitchens, some may say like the King, were enormous! Fifty-five rooms once made up the complex, each with a purpose in sourcing, storing, preparing, cooking and serving food for a household of over 600. Today, Marc’s team views the resources of the historic kitchens as a laboratory, and their investigations embrace any and every aspect of social history in that space, which they then interpret through demonstrations to the Palace’s visitors and lucky colleagues in America!

Delving into history should engage all of our senses. There is a ton of great information on the project’s website that will draw your students into learning about history through their senses and their stomachs!

Our very first 3-D animated Mount Vernon website is now live! Ta Da! WashingtonsWorld.org is a website that allows children of all ages to explore Mount Vernon and meet some of the people, such as Dr. Craik and Billy Lee, that lived in Washington’s world. The game Washington’s Treasures is a treasure hunt through the estate that has you looking for clues to find famous objects such as Washington’s spy glass or fan chair. In Harpsichord Hero, you are a colonial rock star playing the harpsichord so the Washingtons and their guests can dance. General Washington gives the orders in Bombarding Yorktown as you aim the cannons at the British forts and frigates during the siege of Yorktown. A Mount Vernon archaeology game and virtual jigsaw puzzles are also available when you beat that final level of Harpsichord Hero (though we’re not quite sure that’s possible- it’s hard!). So leave a comment and let us know what you think about our two new websites!