Social Studies
Classroom Programs

Programs

60 minutes, maximum 30 students.

Archaeology of Ohio Valley Native Peoples

Grades 3-8

Gain an introduction to the major cultural groups of the Ohio Valley’s prehistory, and discover the tools, natural resources and skills that allowed them to survive. Using a timeline, view these local cultures within the context of civilizations around the world. Learn about two techniques that archaeologists use to gather information and make inferences about people of the past. Use artifacts to experience quadrant mapping and create an example of stratigraphy for your group to keep.

Business Beginnings

Grades 3–6

Investigate soap and candle making, meatpacking, furniture making and brewing in 19th-century Cincinnati. Work in small groups to review period business records, illustrations and historical artifacts. Learn how productive resources were used in these industries and how they impacted production and consumption. Get to know economic terms such as opportunity cost, scarcity, profit and loss. Strong reading skills are necessary for this program.

Impact of Inventions

Grades 1–6

Many inventors, including Thomas Edison, Lewis Howard Latimer, Garrett Morgan, Eli Whitney, George Washington Carver and Patricia Bath, have created items that change our daily lives. Use a timeline, experiments, hands-on activities and role-playing to investigate the impact of their inventions and others on the past, present and the future.

On the Trail with Lewis & Clark

Grades 2–8

Take an imaginary trip with Lewis & Clark to explore President Jefferson’s recent acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase. Why were they going? What did they pack? Answer these questions and more as we head out on our adventure. Use a choose your own adventure style game, maps, historical artifacts and primary source material to study the wildlife, unknown lands and people that the Corps of Discovery encountered on their journey. Primary source material includes an 1803 Meriwether Lewis letter and replicas of the Jefferson Peace Medal. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Liberty on the Border

Grades 3–8

Imagine life as a Civil War soldier and interact with hardtack, period ammunition and a haversack containing personal supplies and historical letters written during the war. Learn about Civil War causes, economic effects, important figures and territorial expansion through photographs, prints, maps, replicas and other period materials.

Lotions, Potions and Strange Notions

Grades 3–6

Learn about cholera, the disease at the root of multiple Cincinnati epidemics in the 1800s. Role-play its symptoms and discuss its causes (known and historical theories). Investigate the difference between a pandemic and an epidemic while matching “giant microbes” with the diseases they cause. Then, use mortars and pestles to roll herbal pills like those dispensed by 19th-century apothecaries.

One World, Many Cultures

Grades 1–4

Take a trip around the world, using maps and travel buddies to navigate your way. Explore cultures from Africa, Asia, Australia and South and North America through clothing, crafts, games, celebrations, music and photographs. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Transportation Transformations

Grades 1–6

Learn how canals, streetcars and inclines impacted the growth of Cincinnati from the 1820s through the 1950s. Learn about a period folksong, load goods on a mock canal boat, experience one of Cincinnati’s five inclines and view historical photographs of these forms of transportation.

Uncovering Egypt*

Grade 2-8

Calling all Egyptologists! Explore archaeology, the science that unlocks the secrets of past civilizations. Excavate and analyze artifacts from a replica burial site to deduce their owner’s identity and expand your knowledge of Egyptian culture. Immerse yourself in this world of hieroglyphs, pharaohs and gods and goddesses galore!

The Underground Railroad: Its History, People & Glory

Grades 3–8

Recreate elements of the Underground Railroad through photographs, maps, navigational tools, replica shackles and true stories of historical figures. Discover the resourcefulness, courage and determination of freedom-seeking enslaved people and abolitionists.

Walking City

Grades 3-8

Explore how geographic factors kept Cincinnatians confined to the downtown basin and learn why our city remained a walking city longer than most. Use a giant authentic 1863 urban map, its key, advertisements from the city directory and illustrations to perform a series of tasks that help you understand what life was like then in downtown Cincinnati. Program available in Exploration Station format.

When Two Worlds Met

Grades 3–8

The North American fur trade connected people from two different worlds. Exchange furs, coins and wampum for replica goods from a late 18th-century trading post. Learn about the Battle of Fallen Timbers by stepping into roles as the signers of the Treaty of Greenville. Experience a period beaver felt hat, wampum and a calumet.