You Be the Historian is devoted to hands-on activities that help students learn how historians – in particular researchers, curators, and archaeologists – use and care for different historical sources.

This program begins with a short exploration of what history is, followed by a slide show which introduces students to historical discovery through paper documents, objects, and archaeological processes. Students will then be divided into three groups to pursue activities at three discovery workstations, using actual historical materials that they can handle and discuss among themselves, and with teaching staff and chaperones. Worksheets are on hand to guide the discovery.

The workstations are:

BE A RESEARCHER – paper documents
This workstation contains old photographs, a store ledger page from the early 19 th century, and a patent agreement.

BE A CURATOR – objects
Students investigate objects from everyday life of a farm to determine condition, use, and general period.

BE AN ARCHAEOLOGIST – found items, the results of a “dig”
Here, the work centers on examination and documentation of natural and manmade objects and parts of objects, dug up in the 1980s.

The materials introduced at each workstation derive from a particular site, the Goodenough-Wheeler site in Calais, Vermont, and are authentic items collected by the Vermont Historical Society.

The program is intended to last one hour, or a little more, giving each student an opportunity to work at each of the three stations.

There is a charge of $2 per student (minimum of 10 students) for this program. We can accommodate 24 students per program.