Education Programs

Education programs align with a variety of Common Core, State, and NCSS standards. Specialty tours can also be crafted for individual classes.

PINCH, NO SMILES: EARLY 19TH-CENTURY PLAY AT RIVERSDALE

This program introduces students to the Riversdale House Museum by using the perspective of a child.  Students will move from room to room and discover the ways in which the Calvert children would have learned and played. Workshop components include making a toy, learning a dance, and playing a 19th-century game.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS: RIVERSDALE'S SERVANTS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

This program highlights the economic workings of an early 19th-century Maryland farm using the perspective of the estate's slaves and servants. Students on this tour will assume the role of a worker at Riversdale and move from room to room to discover the ways in which servants and slaved worked in and utilized the spaces. Workshop components include making an herb sachet and carding wool.

WHAT'S COOKING?:  OPEN HEARTH COOKING & EARLY 19TH CENTURY FOODWAYS

This program uses Riversdale House Museum’s reproduction open hearth as a lens for students to explore the effects of technology and the concept of change over time. Students will employ critical analysis and mathematics skills to gain an understanding of the people and tasks involved in acquiring, cooking, and serving food on an early 19th-century estate. Participants will bake19th century cupcakes, churn butter, and learn about food trends, diet, and paleoarchaeology.

TASTE & TEACH: HEALTHY HABITS AND GOOD GREENS

Offered seasonally, this program can be added on to another program or scheduled on its own. 200 years ago, those who lived and worked at Riversdale were tied to seasonal produce and what was grown in the gardens. With the gardener, students will tour the organic gardens and orchard, making interdisciplinary connections and learning how eating seasonal produce can aid healthy eating habits.

SENSING THE PAST

This program is designed for groups with special needs and engages the senses to help bring history alive. The program is designed with flexibility in mind to cater to the specific needs of each group. Individuals that can negotiate stairs take a 20-minute tour of the house, with a focus on visual inquiry and hands-on object-based learning. For individuals not able to tour, a museum teacher presents an interactive PowerPoint presentation of the house, complete with visual and audio enhancements. All participants take part in a workshop and make an herb sachet to take home.