Final Project Part I: The Concord Museum

Courtesy of the Concord Museum, www.concordmuseum.org

The Concord Museum is a small, focused collection located in Concord, Massachusetts.  The collection of over 35,000 items spans over 10,000 years and includes artifacts documenting the Native American communities that lived in the area, the American Revolution, especially the role Concord played as the location of the "shot heard round the world", Colonial American life and decorative works, and the literary and cultural contributions of Concord and its most notable citizens (namely Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau).  Highlights of the collection include Paul Revere's Lantern, which is one of the lanterns used by Revere to warn patriots in Charlestown of the path of the advancing British military ("one if by land, two if by sea"), the desk and other personal objects belonging to Henry David Thoreau, and the contents of Ralph Waldo Emerson's study from the 1870's.

Courtesy of the Concord Museum, www.concordmuseum.org

The collection of the Concord Museum was started by Cummings Davis (1816-1896), who moved to Concord in 1850 and began gathering historical artifacts that depicted the history of Concord, even then a very patriotic and historically-minded town. Davis's collection attracted attention throughout the 1870's, and in 1881 a group of thirty local citizens joined together to finance the purchase of a more permanent location for the collection at the courthouse.  The move was accomplished in 1886 with the founding of the Concord Antiquarian Society.  A year later, in 1887, the collection moved again to a nearby house, and then in 1930 to a new building made specifically as a museum.  During
the 1970's, 80's, and 90's, the museum turned its focus from being a small, local collection, to educating the wider public about Concord's history and cultural contributions.  To this end, the museum began more rigorous education programs and hired its first professional director.  Several additions to the building in the 80's and 90's resulted in more space for educational programing, administration, exhibition galleries, a theater, and fully accessible visitor amenity areas.  In 1984, the museum adopted the name Concord Museum to reflect its growth.

The Mission Statement of the Concord Museum is as follows:

The Concord Museum educates visitors of all ages about the history of Concord and its continuing influence on American political, literary and cultural life. The Museum’s nationally significant collection serves as a catalyst for changing exhibitions, extended classroom learning, dynamic programs and publications relevant to an ever-changing world. Founded in 1886, the Museum is a center of cultural enjoyment for the region and a gateway to the town of Concord for visitors from around the world.

The Concord Museum supports this Mission Statement in many ways, including:

• Many educational programs that are tiered for different age levels
• Annual, monthly, and weekly events that appeal to many different age groups and backgrounds
• Publications: exhibition catalogs, monographs, and contributions to scholarly articles to spread awareness of the museum's collections
• A fully accessible building
• Dynamic, changing exhibitions
• Relatively low-priced admission fees
• Digital Collections and online exhibitions

Courtesy of the Concord Museum, www.concordmuseum.org

There are SO MANY educational programs available at the Concord Museum (and some that will come to local classrooms!), but my favorite include programs that allow students to cook like a colonial person in a replica kitchen, experience churning butter, sew a sachet while the food cooks, and even eat what they've made.  Another great one involves teachers receiving pre-visit materials with the names of actual colonial Concord residents, which they assign to their students.  The day of the visit, the class travels around Concord, acting as their assigned Concord roles, and interact with trained living history educators to experience the events of the American Revolution in Concord.  Other programs focus on the importance of learning from objects (primary sources!) and nature.  Some fun events at the Concord Museum include weekly tea on the weekends with different themes like Teddy Bear Tea, where you bring your favorite stuffed animal to join in tea; Musical tea, which features local singing groups; and Colonial tea, where a curator explains the ritual of tea time during the Colonial period.  These events, among others, support the museum's mission to be a "center for cultural enjoyment".  Some of the annual events have been happening for more than 25 years and seem to be integral to the local community.  The Concord Museum describes all of its education and cultural programs and events on their website, which makes it extremely easy for educators and families to plan and arrange their visits.

Powder Horn. Courtesy of the Concord Museum, www.concordmuseum.org

The program that most reflects the museum's dedication to providing education to all is their Paul Revere's Ride Fund.  This charitable project aims to provide access to the museum to underserved school districts at no cost, so that all students have a chance to learn about local history and the importance of learning from objects.  The museum has a partnership with Lowell Public Schools, and in 2014, the fund allowed for all Lowell 5th graders to visit the museum and engage in an educational program at no cost.  The fund even underwrites the cost of buses.  Kindergarteners in Lowell were also invited to participate in the annual Family Trees event, where trees are decorated with children's literature stories and characters and displayed in the galleries around the holiday season.  This project encourages literacy and supports English language learning.

Emerson's Study. Courtesy of the Concord Museum, www.concordmuseum.org

References

"Discover the Concord Museum-American Revolution, Thoreau, Emerson, Colonial Furniture, Paul Revere Lantern."  The Concord Museum.  Accessed March 20th, 2016. http://www.concordmuseum.org