“Drink not nor speak with any thing in thy mouth.”

These are but two quotes from the book The School of Good Manners, published in Hartford in 1787, which schoolchildren hear after they have toured the elegant Deane House during their trip to the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum.  Having come for a day of learning outside the classroom, students participating in “Foodways: A Tea Party” see the tools and equipment used to prepare food in the 1770s, move on to see tables set for an 18th century meal, learn about how the Deanes might have entertained guests for tea, and finally return to the Education Room for their own tea party.  They sit down, serve and drink tea and eat biscuits with jam and butter, all the while learning how “proper” children would have behaved in Silas Deane’s day.

Students participate in an average of four programs each day they are at the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, often with a lunch break in the Webb Barn.  Each thematic curriculum unit combines a visit to one or more houses where children look at and learn about (and even touch) the artifacts, followed by a hands-on participatory learning activity.  Besides the “Tea Party,” teachers bring their classes for programs such as “Isaac Stevens, Leatherworker;” “George Washington Really Did Sleep Here!” and “The Ancient Burying Ground.”  In the first, children go into the Stevens House to learn about the life of a skilled tradesman in Wethersfield, followed by a workshop in the Barn in which each student creates his or her own leather pouch.  The Washington program brings students into the Webb House to learn about its Revolutionary War associations and see the general’s bedchamber and the Yorktown Parlor murals, followed by an opportunity to write with a quill pen or examine the contents of a soldier’s knapsack.  In the Burying Ground program, students climb the hill behind Wethersfield’s First Church to see the carved stone markers of some of the people associated with the Webb, Deane, and Stevens Houses, as well as many other local residents from 1648 to 1800.  After studying the designs of the stones, they go off on their own to find examples of different motifs and styles.

The Museum’s trained Teachers and Guides are always eager to share their love and knowledge of the past with others.  In addition to offering programs for young children, the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum Education Department teaches seniors, high school students, people with disabilities, museum professionals, and numerous other audiences about the social history of early America.  Each program is adapted to the special interests and needs of the people participating, in order to create a memorable and meaningful learning experience.

Call 860 529-0612 or email us to inquire about bringing your group to the Museum School!
 
 

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