Just for Kids!![Photograph of a child]()
Cut and assemble a Grand Banks Dory
Download and print out our Junior Ranger Booklet before your visit!
(These are .pdf files) |
For Teachers
![Photograph of a school group]()
The following information applies to all school programs at Salem Maritime NHS.
- Programs are limited to 25 students, and require a 1:10 chaperone to student ratio.
- They are available mid-September through mid-June. Summer programs may also be reserved.
- School programs are free, but reservations are required and are recommended as far in advance as possible.
- The programs have limited accessibility. Wheelchair accessible restrooms are available.
- Student groups can bring lunches and eat in the picnic area adjacent to the restroom facility. Nine picnic tables are located in a tree-shaded area and are available year round on a first come, first served basis. A number of restaurants and food services are within walking distance of the Site.
- Directions/Parking:
- Salem Maritime National Historic Site is located in Salem, Massachusetts, 18 miles northeast of Boston, MA (forty minute drive). There is a bus drop-off in front of the Orientation Center, 193 Derby Street. Bus parking in designated areas painted green throughout the city.
- Driving Directions: From the North or South, take Route I-93 to Route I-95N/128N (exit 37A). Follow 128N to exit 44 (Peabody). Take exit 26, right, onto Lowell Street (becomes Main St. then Boston St.) into Salem. Watch for brown signs with National Park Service arrowhead. Turn left onto Bridge Street, right onto Winter Street, right on Washington Square North, and follow Hawthorne Boulevard to a left on Derby Street, to 193 Derby Street.
To reserve a program, inquire about accessibility, or get alternate directions, call Hazel Trembley at 978-740-1662. or by email at hazel_trembley@nps.gov
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Target Audience: Grades 2-6
Students participating in this ninety minute on-site program use specially designed hands-on stations to learn about the process of shipbuilding in the nineteenth century and the need to construct sailing vessels that could survive long voyages to the West Indies, Africa, India, China, and Europe. Working in small groups, students move from station to station, uncovering the steps and skills (planing, drilling, fastening, caulking) involved in building ships like the eighteenth century tall ship, Friendship. Students also consider the variety and quantity of natural resources used in the shipbuilding industry and the impact of this use on the environment.
Teachers receive pre-visit materials to prepare students for the program and post-visit materials that extend learning beyond the program. Click here to download Adobe pdf versions of the teacher's materials. [COMING SOON]
Ties to the Curriculum
- History/Social Science
- 3.9 Identify historic buildings, monuments, or sites in the area and explain their purpose and significance.
- 5.11 a, b, c Explain the importance of maritime commerce in the development of the economy of colonial Massachusetts. Draw on the services of historical societies as needed.
- a. the fishing and ship building industries
- b. trans-Atlantic trade
- c. the port cities of New Bedford, Newburyport, Gloucester, Salem, and Boston
- 3.12 Explain how objects or artifacts of everyday life in the past tell us how ordinary people lived and how everyday life has changed. Draw on the services of the local historical society and local museums as needed.
- Science/Technology
- Strand 4: Technology/Engineering
- Strand 2: Life Science (Biology)
- Mathematics
- Geometry Strand and/or Measurement Strand
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Target Audience: Grades 3-8
Children of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were expected to be active, contributing members of their family. Prior to the on-site program, students learn about education and gender beliefs by studying period samplers and learning needlework. During their visit, students discover the crucial role chores played in a child's life. While at the Narbonne House, each student creates a sachet filled with herbs and plant material. Then, students take a ranger-led tour of the house and explore a model of the home and archeological exhibits to find out about the three centuries of traders and artisans who lived in the house. In closing, students visit the garden and use their senses to explore plants used for many household chores.
Teachers receive pre-visit materials to prepare students for the program and post-visit materials that extend learning beyond the program. Click here to download Adobe pdf versions of the teacher's materials. [COMING SOON]
Ties to the Curriculum
- History/Social Science
- 3.12 Explain how objects or artifacts of everyday life in the past tell us how ordinary people lived and how everyday life has changed. Draw on the services of the local historical society and local museums as needed.
- 5.10 On a map of North America, identify the first 13 colonies and describe how regional differences in climate, types of farming, populations, and sources of labor shaped their economies and societies through the 18th century.
- 5.11c Explain the importance of maritime commerce in the development of the economy of colonial Massachusetts. Draw on the services of historical societies as needed.
- c. the port cities of New Bedford, Newburyport, Gloucester, Salem, and Boston
- English Language Arts
- Language Strand/Questioning, Listening, and Contributing (Standard 2) -- Students will pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute their own information or ideas in group discussions or interviews in order to acquire new knowledge.
- Science/Technology
- Strand 2 -- Life Science (Biology)
- Art
- Strand 1 -- PreK-12 Standard 8, Concepts of Style, Stylistic Influence, and Stylistic Change
- Mathematics
- Number Sense and Operations Strand
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Target Audience : Grade 1-College
Trade is an old and simple process that once provided 99% of our nation's income and made many merchants wealthy, but none of it would have been possible without the consumer's desires, demands, and willingness to purchase. In this one and one-half hour program, students handle and discuss actual products, including spices, porcelain, and coffee beans to discover the great distances, risks, and hardships undertaken to obtain "luxuries" which are now "common" household products. Program activities include role-playing and mapping skills, and a visit to a working nineteenth century West India Goods Store.
Teachers receive pre-visit materials to prepare students for the program and post-visit materials that extend learning beyond the program. Click here to download Adobe pdf versions of the teacher's materials. [COMING SOON]
Ties to the Curriculum
- History/Social Science
- 3.5a Explain important political, economic, and military developments leading to and during the American Revolution.
- a. the growth of towns and cities in Massachusetts before the Revolution
- 3.9 Identify historic buildings, monuments, or sites in the area and explain their purpose and significance.
- 3.12 Explain how objects or artifacts of everyday life in the past tell us how ordinary people lived and how everyday life has changed. Draw on the services of the local historical society and local museums as needed.
- 5.11 Explain the importance of maritime commerce in the development of the economy of colonial Massachusetts. Draw on the services of historical societies as needed.
- Grade 6, Central and Southern Asia-See CSA.1 & 2 & 3.d
- Grade 6, Northern and Eastern Asia-See NEA.1 & 2 & 3.d
- E.2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8
- E.7.1 & 7.2
- USI.27.c Explain the emergence and impact of the textile industry in New England and industrial growth generally throughout antebellum America.
- c. the rise of a business class of merchants and manufacturers.
- Concepts & Skills, #9, #11 (Grade 1)
- 9 - Give examples of products (goods) that people buy and use.
- p. 16, Concepts & Skills, #10 (Grade 2)
- Explain what buyers and sellers are and give examples of goods and services that are bought and sold in their community.
- Concepts & Skills, #8, 9 (Grade 4)
- 8 -- Give examples of limited and unlimited resources and explain how scarcity compels people and communities to make choices about goods and services, giving up some things to get other things.
- 9 -- Give examples of how the interaction of buyers and sellers influences the prices of goods and services in markets.
- Concepts & Skills, #12, 13 (Grade 6)
- 12 -- Give examples of products that are traded among nations, and examples of barriers to trade in these or other products.
- 13 -- Define supply and demand and describe how changes in supply and demand affect prices of specific products.
- English Language Arts
- Language Strand/Questioning, Listening, and Contributing: (Standard 2) -- Students will pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute their own information or ideas in group discussions or interviews in order to acquire new knowledge.
- Science/Technology
- Strand 4 -- Technology/Engineering
- Art
- Strand 1 -- PreK-12 Standard 8, Concepts of Style, Stylistic Influence, and Stylistic Change
- Mathematics
- Geometry Strand and/or Measurement Strand
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Target Audience: Grades 4-9
Relying on taxes collected by the Custom Service in ports like Salem, the United States remained independent, paid its debt, and even expanded as a country. Change often leads to more change. In this one hour hands-on program, students discover changes to the internal source of revenue collection through the role of a sea captain and a sailor filling out their required documents. Students explore three related Custom Service buildings, including the offices, public stores, and Scale House.
Teachers receive pre-visit materials to prepare students for the program and post-visit materials that extend learning beyond the program. Click here to download Adobe pdf versions of the teacher's materials. [COMING SOON]
Ties to the Curriculum
- History/Social Science
- 5.11.a, b, c Explain the importance of maritime commerce in the development of the economy of colonial Massachusetts. Draw on the services of historical societies as needed.
- a. the fishing and ship building industries
- b. trans-Atlantic trade
- c. the port cities of New Bedford, Newburyport, Gloucester, Salem, and Boston
- 5.32 Explain the importance of the China trade and the whaling industry to 19th century New England, and give examples of imports from China
- USI.16 Describe the evolution of the role of the federal government, including public services, taxation, economic policy, foreign policy, and common defense.
- USI.26 Explain the importance of the Transportation Revolution of the 19th century (the building of canals, roads, bridges, turnpikes, steamboats, and railroads), including the stimulus it provided to the growth of a market economy.
- Mathematics
- Number Sense and Operations Strand
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Target Audience: Grades 2-6
In this one hour hands-on program students discover how change leads to more change. Students examine how products that were once major import items are now prohibited from importation into the United States. Students then explore the exotic side of trade by examining actual animal hides and conducting a mock modern day inspection of contraband products, such as tortoise shell and ivory. During the program, students visit the 1819 Custom House, public stores, and Scale House.
Teachers receive pre-visit materials to prepare students for the program and post-visit materials that extend learning beyond the program. Click here to download Adobe pdf versions of the teacher's materials. [COMING SOON]
Ties to the Curriculum
- History/Social Science
- 3.9 Identify historic buildings, monuments, or sites in the area and explain their purpose and significance.
- 3.12 Explain how objects or artifacts of everyday life in the past tell us how ordinary people lived and how everyday life has changed. Draw on the services of the local historical society and local museums as needed.
- Concepts and Skills, #10 (Grade 2)
- Explain what buyers and sellers are and give examples of goods and services that are bought and sold in their community.
- Concepts and Skills, #12 (Grade 6)
- Give examples of products that are traded among nations, and examples of barriers to trade in these or other products.
- Science/Technology
- Strand 2: Life Science (Biology)
- Mathematics
- Geometry Strand and/or Measurement Strand
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Target Audience Grades 8-12
In this one hour program, students are introduced to Nathaniel Hawthorne, surveyor of the Port of Salem. While employed by the federal government, Hawthorne worked at the 1819 Custom House from 1846 to 1849. Two years later, his book The Scarlet Letter was published. In the first section, The Custom-House Introductory to The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne describes a declining maritime industry and duties associated with the Custom House. Students compare this introduction with the actual role of the Customs Service in the Salem Port as they visit the 1819 Custom House, public stores, and Scale House.
Teachers receive pre-visit materials to prepare students for the program and post-visit materials that extend learning beyond the program. Click here to download Adobe pdf versions of the teacher's materials. [COMING SOON]
Ties to the Curriculum
- History/Social Science
- USI.16 Describe the evolution of the role of the federal government, including public services, taxation, economic policy, foreign policy, and common defense.
- English Language Arts
- Reading and Literature Strand/Making Connections: (Standard 9) -- Students will deepen their understanding of a literary or non-literary work by relating it to its contemporary context or historical background.
- Mathematics
- Geometry Strand and/or Measurement Strand
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For more information on school programs in other parks in Massachusetts, please visit the National Park Service web site |
