History Education News

Free Field Trips to the Alexander Ramsey House

The Alexander Ramsey House, home of Minnesota’s first territorial governor, has an opportunity to offer free field trips to for all eligible Saint Paul Public Schools. Thanks to the generosity of the Ramsey House Board of Governors, the historic site can offer free admission for K-12 students and subsidize the cost of bussing for St. Paul Public Schools and St. Paul Public Charter Schools.

At the Ramsey House, the Victorian era is brought to life by over 14,000 artifacts that belonged to the Ramsey family. The students will meet costumed tour guides that will talk about Alexander Ramsey and his role as a prominent Minnesota politician in the second half of the 19th century. Hear stories about the lives of servants and learn about the newest technologies of the Victorian era.

For more details or to make a reservation please call 651-296-8760.

Transportation Subsidies for Field Trips

Need help getting your students on a field trip this spring?  For a limited time, Sesquicentennial transportation subsidies are available for field trips to these museums and historic sites:

• Minnesota History Center
• Minnesota State Capitol,
• James J. Hill House,
• Mille Lacs Indian Museum,
• Forest History Center,
• North West Company Fur Post,
• Jeffers Petroglyphs and
• Historic Forestville.

If you’ve already scheduled a field trip to any of these sites between now and June 30, or if you plan on scheduling a field trip during that time, apply today for a transportation subsidy. Connecting your students with history has never been easier!

This project is supported with funds provided by the State of Minnesota through the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Commission’s Grants Program.

Free Workshop: Meet the Standards Saint Cloud

The Minnesota Historical Society is thrilled to provide subsidies for our Meet the Standards workshop. With the help of limited grant funds from the Midwest Center for Teaching with Primary Sources, we are able to subsidize our Meet the Standards: Saint Cloud workshop. Sessions will focus on bringing the social studies standards to life through primary sources. We will address historical skills standards as well as the following: utilizing the Library of Congress and MHS online resources, Civil and Dakota War through primary documents, using primary documents as evidence to support a thesis in History Day projects, Immigration to Minnesota, the contributions of Minnesota's Greatest Generation during the Great Depression, and more. Call Suzi Gran at 651-259-3431 or register online. To apply for subsidies fill out our workshop subsidy application. Grades 4-12. $100 ($85 for History Day teachers, Northern Lights users, and MHS members).

Lincoln and Minnesota? You Betcha!

Surprising but true -- there are a number of connections between Abraham Lincoln and Minnesota! Lincoln was the first president Minnesotans could vote for, and signed the Homestead Act, which encouraged settlement in Minnesota and other frontier states. The first troops to volunteer to serve in the Civil War were from Minnesota as well. The Lincoln Bicentennial website honors the important connections between President Lincoln and Minnesota and Minnesota during the Lincoln years by highlighting artifacts, books, and other resources in our collections.

Using Paideia Seminars in Social Studies

Interested in improving in inquiry-based discussions, critical thinking, reading, writing, and speaking skills? Would you like to receive free graduate credit, be paid $100 for a week in Minneapolis, and classroom support during the school year? Augsburg College will be holding The Paideia Institute July 20-24, 2009. The goals of this project are designed to incorporate primary source documents in social studies, methods of inquiry, as well as reading and writing skills through the use of a Socratic questioning pedagogy called Paideia (Py-day-a) seminars. Training will consist of a one-week summer institute, on-site consultations and four faculty seminars during the school year. Information and questions may be directed to Anne Kaufman at 612-330-1188 or kaufman@augsburg.edu.

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