This program is designed to introduce early learners to the collecting, preserving, and exhibiting functions of a museum. Students will spend half a day participating in activities in the restored foreman's home and the Brandywine Manufacturers' Sunday School on Blacksmith Hill. Children do laundry, bake cookies, dress up in period clothing, and learn short lessons typical in a nineteenth-century school. Previsit materials available for loan. Activities take place in the restored foreman's home and Brandywine Manufacturers' Sunday School on Blacksmith Hill, as well as in part of the powder yards.
Children learn by participating in work and home life activities typical of the nineteenth century.
Pre-visit Materials available for loan. This study trip tells the story of industrialization on the Brandywine River with visits to exhibits in the Henry Clay Mill, the Blacksmith Hill workers' community, and selected sites and demonstrations in the powder yard. The principles of waterpower are illustrated in an operating waterwheel, a water turbine, a steam engine, a restored machine shop, and in selected exhibits. Each group works with models of many of the machines to understand how they operate. This tour is designed as a resource for the study of American history for secondary school groups.