Author Archive

Friday marks the last day of Mount Vernon’s final George Washington Teachers’ Institute for summer 2010.

Throughout the week, teachers grades five through eight have gathered on the banks of the Potomac at George Washington’s estate, immersing themselves in the study and discussion of the founding father’s public and private life. The week’s 24 teachers, part of a larger cohort of 68 to pass through the institute this summer, will disperse to their respective states, taking Washington everywhere from Reno, Nev. to Ardmore, Okla.

With an estimated 349 years of teaching between them, this session’s carefully selected educators have gained a nuanced understanding of the nation’s first president. Click on the link below to see their week in photos.

Middle School Teachers’ Institute

Restored Distillery

We are all familiar with George Washington as the father of our country, for the roles he played in the Revolutionary War and as our first president. Fewer of us know that he was also a successful and innovative farmer and business entrepreneur. Click her to listen and learn more about his innovations including his gristmill and distillery operations, and to hear Esther White, Mount Vernon’s Director of Archaeology, talk about related archaeological finds: History and Archaeology: George Washington’s Gristmill and Distillery

Restored Gristmill

In celebration of Martha Washington’s birthday today, we just wanted to point out some of the fabulous teaching resources we have online that you can use in your classroom. Martha Washington: A Life is a website devoted entirely to teaching about Martha Washington with a biography, lesson plans, an Archive of artifacts and letters that were hers, as well as a list of Resources. We also have a range of lesson plans that teach about Martha Washington for different grade ranges on our main website. If you have a chance to visit Mount Vernon in person this summer, you will surely meet Martha Washington via our first-person interpreter, Mary Wiseman. This past weekend’s Washington Post article about Mary’s work as Martha Washington is a little teaser for all that you will experience when you meet her in person. So once again, Happy Birthday, Martha!

Huzzah, huzzah, huzzah for our Discover the Real George Washington: New Views from Mount Vernon website! It won an Interactive Media Award for outstanding achievement. The website is a companion to the Mount Vernon traveling exhibition with the same title. The exhibition, currently at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, will visit up to nine institutions over its three and a half year tour.

Out of 83 international entries only 6 were selected for this prestigious award. Mount Vernon is clearly following in Washington’s innovative footsteps!

For more information on the traveling exhibition, and to see this award winning website, visit discovergeorgewashington.org.