Program Fees:
The fee for each program, per class, is $120, plus mileage. Mileage is charged once per visit and calculated at the current federal reimbursement rate round trip from 21 Fairground Avenue, Ballston Spa, New York 12020.
Civil War Letters:
Seventh grade and high school levels available
Discover the world of Alonzo Bump, a local Union soldier who served with the 77th New York State Volunteer Regiment. Students use letters that Alonzo wrote to his wife Mary back home in Schuylerville, newspapers, photographs, maps, original artifacts and replica items. They then familiarize themselves with the materials and become experts on their group’s topic before presenting information to the rest of the class.
Sheep to Shawl
Preschool through elementary
We’ll bring our popular Sheep to Shawl program right into the classroom! Sheep to Shawl encourages students to discover the important role that sheep and agriculture play in local history as well as our modern lives. The program offers students an interactive experience that they will remember for years. A variety of new vocabulary terms are introduced and students actively participate in many steps in processing wool fiber.
Our Community Now & Then
Kindergarten through Fifth grade
This highly customizable program brings lessons from the history and text books to life. Activities can include doing farm chores like hauling water with a yoke, collecting eggs, making butter and planting seeds. Other station options include old fashioned toys and games, historical what’s-its (using critical thinking and problem solving skills to discover the intended use of historical artifacts), an old fashioned one-room-schoolhouse experience, trying on clothes from different eras, and herbs and early medicine. All stations encourage students to compare and contrast their modern-day lives with those who lived long ago. Looking to focus on a specific topic? Talk to us about designing a custom station. Offered at the museum or in your classroom. Program fee varies depending on the number and stations and material fees. Contact us for more information.
Native New York
Fourth and Seventh Grade
By incorporating hands-on activities, original and replica objects, student-led exploration and discussion, this program helps students better understand what life was like in New York State over 500 years ago.
Manners Matter Tea Party
Preschool and Kindergarten
Let us bring a tea party to your classroom for your pint-sized ladies and gentlemen. Students learn about the importance of manners as we read a story together and discuss how to be polite. Then we practice those skills during a real tea party. We bring real cups and saucers and enjoy (fruit) tea and cookies. Students also make a small lavender sachet to take home as a gift of gratitude for an important person in their lives.
Saratoga County Water Works
Upper elementary grades
Discover the importance of water in local history through primary and secondary sources, artifacts, maps, storytelling and science experiments! Test pH levels of water from local mineral springs, try hefting a block of ice with ice tongs, hear stories of floating logs down the Hudson River to paper mills and compare waterwheel and turbine designs. We examine how water was, and continues to be, an important natural resource in Saratoga County agriculture, industry, tourism and everyday life.
Digging up the Past: Archeology at Brookside
Upper elementary grades
Introduce your students to the fascinating world of archeology as Brookside educators bring the excavation to your classroom. Four groups of students are assigned units to measure, excavate, document and analyze. We will discuss excavation techniques, materials, documentation procedures and how artifacts are used to deepen our understanding of local history. Students will use primary and secondary sources to analyze the authentic artifacts that he uncover and share their findings with the rest of the class.
