MINUTE MAN NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Minute Man National Historical Park was created by an act of Congress in 1959 to preserve and interpret the events, ideas, significant historic sites, structures, properties and landscapes associated with the opening battle of the American Revolutionary War which lie along the Battle Road of April 19, 1775.

Education Programs carry out the major interpretive themes of the Park while connecting field experiences to classroom units. Programs at the Park are designed to align with the Massachuesetts State Curriculum Frameworks for History/Social Science and English/Language Arts. Onsite programs make use of the unique environment of the Park while outreach programs bring Park staff into the schools. All programs are done in conjunction with our multimedia program "The Road to Revolution."

Minute Man National Historical Park offers a range of education programs for all ages on a fee basis. These programs focus on a variety of subjects - from colonial history to the literary legacy of the Revolution - in diverse indoor and outdoor instructional settings. Some use living history characters and role playing, hands-on activities, peried reproductions while others focus on the interpretation of primary resources and landscape. All programs embrace multiple perspectives and opinions and utilize the stories of real individuals to dramatize and personalize Park themes.

Programs cost $150.00 per group (up to 55 students). To reserve a program for your students, please contact our education coordinator by e-mail or by phone (978) 318 - 7832. Our programs are very popular and fill up very fast! Please plan your visit well in advance.

British Regular (Park Ranger) firing a musket

PROGRAM
Brother Jonathan, Thomas Lobster
Students participating in the 45 minute program learn about the soldiers who fought at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. Students meet a Colonial Militiaman or a British Soldier (protrayed by a Park Ranger) at Hartwell Tavern and take part in an activity-based lesson and learn what it was like to be a soldier in 1775. Students will get the chance to perform 18th century militiary drill, role play, and witness a musket firing demonstration. During the course of the program, the complexity of the Battle of Lexington and Concord emerges as students uncover clues that allow them to compare and contrast the experiences and perceptions of British Soldiers and Colonial Militiamen.

Target Audience: Grades 3 - 8

Massachusetts Curriculum Connections

PROGRAM
A View From the Participants
Students participating in this one hour program use primary sources to develop a narrative account of what happened at Concord's North Bridge on April 19, 1775. The program begins at the North Bridge Visitor Center where each student receives a card with a picture of someone who participated in the battle and a short statement about what happened that day from the perspective of the participant. A park ranger then takes students on a guided walk to the North Bridge, narrating events of April 19, 1775 and stopping periodically to have students read the words of battle participants. Conflicting interpretations and perceptions of the battle prompt students to consider the sources and origins of history. At the end of the walk, students collaboratively "write" a history of what happened on April 19, 1775 based on perspectives and interpretations uncovered during the program.

Target Audience: 8th Grade and up

PROGRAM
A Walk to the North Bridge with the Concord Authors
Students participating in this one hour program learn about the April 19, 1775 battle at North Bridge from the perspectives of Concord's 19th-century literary circle, and compare how different people have dealt with similar issues over time. The program begins at the North Bridge Visitor Center where students meet a park ranger who takes them on a guided walk to the North Bridge and Minute Man Statue. Along the way, students read quotes from Henry Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the other nineteenth century Concord authors to get a sense of the connection between Concord's two revolutions. A closing conversation prompts students to think critically about the extent to which issues faced by eighteenth century colonial farmers and nineteenth century writers remain relevant today.

Target Audience: High school and up.

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