**School Programs available at the Armory and on-line**\
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**Date**\
June 30, 2006\
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**Contacts**\
Joanne Gangi-Wellman, 413 734-8551 ext. 236\
Susan Styckiewicz, 413 734-8551 ext. 235

\*\* All programs require one chaperone per 10 students.\
\
**\*The Civil War -- Soldiers, Civilians and Armory Workers"** -- Middle
School program (\$50.00 up to 20 students, (\$2.00 for every additional
student up to a maximum of 25)

This student workshop has been designed as a full day event and provides
hands-on experiences in several major areas: life as a worker at the
Armory, life as a soldier in the Civil War, and life as a civilian
supporting their loved ones from home.

[Soldiers]{.underline}

Experience "being" a Civil War infantry soldier, find out about Civil
War soldiers and learn how military life was similar or different for
soldiers of color and for white soldiers. Handle the contents of a
haversack. Find out the value of an item called a "house-wife." Try some
hard tack, try on a cap or jacket and learn the importance of a Goodyear
rubber poncho. Learn about the period weapons made at the Armory,
firearms safety and watch a blank firing demonstration on the Armory
grounds.

Compare infantry to artillery soldiers. Learn all the positions to fire
cannon and the many steps and tools required to be safe. Discover the
importance of math and science to the firing of the cannon. Maybe you'll
be the gunner and be able to wear the artillery coat and instruct the
team to fire the weapon.

[Civilians]{.underline}

Students participate in a social visit at the Commanding Officers
Quarters where they roll bandages for wounded soldiers and make
bookmarks to raise money at the Soldiers Fair. Conversations on the side
mention letters from the war. Students are offered apple juice and
ginger cookies and reminded only two per person due to war time sugar
shortages. The women who lead the social are living history re-enactors.
Participants practice making paper cartridges as women and children did,
although, they will use black jelly beans, newspaper and kitty litter.
Dexterity really helps with this important work. Students get to take
their finished cartridges home.

The workshop aligns with current Massachusetts standards in U.S. History
I. The student workshop activities align with middle school standards in
mathematics, science and technology and language arts.

**\* Catalyst for Change -** Middle School Program (\$50.00 up to 20
students, (\$2.00 for every additional student up to maximum of 40 )

This program is led by teachers and rangers and consists of two 45
minute classroom lessons and one 2 ½ hr. hands-on museum program.
Teachers select from three pre-visit programs: 1.) Manufacturing and the
Community, 2.) In Their Own Words, and 3.) A Class Debate. Classroom
experiences focus on the effects of Armory technology through readings
about the consequences of an advertising business upon themselves, the
local economy, and the environment.

The museum visit includes a discussion of firearms safety, a Flintlock
Musket loading demonstration, "Museum Search" and film. Small group
discussion questions demand critical thinking to discern how Springfield
Armory was a catalyst for change for civilians and soldiers and grapples
with the positive and negative consequences of Armory firearms
production for the U.S. military. Students present results of the museum
search to the larger group and Armory staff and VIP's compare the
technological changes from one firearm to the next, starting with the
Flintlock Musket used during the American Revolution and War of 1812
through the M-14 Rifle of the early days of the Vietnam War. Brought to
light are the many inventions and industrial processes that were
developed at the Armory that moved the country forward with
interchangeability and mass production methods. All activities are
interdisciplinary and link with curriculum frameworks for History,
Social Studies, Science and Technology.

**\* Armory for the Nation** -- Upper Elementary Program (\$50.00 up to
20 students, (\$2.00 for every additional student up to 30 )

Led by teachers and rangers, this program consists of a 45 minute
pre-museum lesson for the classroom, a 90 minute ranger led Introductory
program, "Right in Our Backyard" at the school, followed by a 2 ½ hr.
Museum program and Post activity of the teacher's choice.

Teachers can select from four pre-visit programs: 1. Let Them Eat Cake,
2. Wood 'N You, 3. Producing Pens, and 4. Genius in Me. Students link
their experiences with technology with firearm technology and the
resulting consequences. The focus is on the effects upon soldiers and
civilians.

During the site-visit, students discover inventors and inventions during
"Technology, Inventions and Consequences", museum search. Using objects,
photographs and small group presentations students learn about each of
the main shoulder arms designed and manufactured at the Armory and about
the contributions made by the Women Ordnance Workers and other "Soldiers
of Production" who sacrificed with long hours and a six day work week
during wartime. Following the museum search students present their
discoveries and staff point out how their information led to both
advantages and disadvantages for soldiers, civilians and armory workers.
Post-Museum classroom activities include the use of poetry, theatre,
researching school conflicts, music and debating skills. This
interdisciplinary program is linked with Massachusetts Curriculum
Frameworks for English Language Arts, History and Social Science.

\* Evolution of Firearms Program (general public, scout and community
groups. (\$50.00 up to 20 students, (\$2.00 for every additional student
up to 35)

This program can be tailored to the time frame of the visiting groups
and generally runs approximately 1 ½ hours. It includes an orientation
film, a tour through the museum exhibits, and a space for lunch can be
provided. Learn about the Springfield Armory's role in American history
and how the Industrial Revolution played a role in firearms development.
Discover how the firearms changed over time and how these changes
affected the soldiers in battle. See one of the world's largest
collections of firearms. Experience how a Revolutionary War era
flintlock was actually loaded and the sights and sounds of a black
powder blank firing demonstration of three kinds of Armory manufactured
weapons.

\* Using Web-Based Curricula Featuring the Springfield Armory's role in
America's Industrialization 1812- 1865.
[forgeofinnovation.org]{.underline}

Springfield Armory NHS and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
are pleased to offer this educational resource for all teachers
nationwide. The lessons and web plan have been created by teachers and
other professionals specifically geared for grades 5- 9th. However,
teachers may use the primary and secondary historical materials at any
level with some professional alterations.

Using payroll documents, letters, maps and drawings, and historical
records teachers and students will learn about the industrialist,
technicians and artisans who carried away technologies and "armory
practice" that laid the foundation of what is now known as the American
System of interchangeable parts.

The website focuses on the profound transitions that occurred as the
factory system replaced the crafts tradition between the late 1790s and
1860s. Interactive, online curriculum activities delve into: 1) the
crafts tradition in colonial society; 2) the arrival of technologically
-- driven change in factories; and 3) the enormous consequences of this
transition for society. The Armory's unique story is one of industrial
growth, highlighting vital contributions to the development of
standardization and interchangeability of parts. This curriculum fills a
large gap in K-12 curricula to tell the industrial story of the United
States. Existing curricula focuses on the factory story through the
immigrant experience in textile mills. The precision metalwork industry
followed a different evolution than this due to: greater skill
requirements, higher wages, differences in materials and working
conditions and more. Web activities are linked to MA History, Social
Studies, Math, Science and Technology curriculum standards.