Bringing History to Life: Connecting to Ohio Historical Societies By: Trent Roberts

Introduction: (5 minutes) Background information about Presenter Name, title, school district, etc. Why Program is being offered Give reasons why program is being offered Ex: Historical Societies are experts in the local history and can offer information to teachers and/or students that otherwise might not be available Goals for the program and its participants Provide goals for program and participants Ex: Explain the benefits of collaborating with local historical societies

Where Am I in Ohio Scavenger Hunt: (10 minutes) Show pictures of 10 different historical sites scattered throughout Ohio to stimulate the participants thinking towards history and Ohio historical sites in general. Give participants a few moments to write down either where the site is or what it is called After showing the pictures ask participants for their answers to see how many they got right. Congratulate those who got some of them right.

Example of a Picture from the Ohio Scavenger Hunt This is a picture of a reconstructed charcoal-fired iron blast furnace commonly operated in Southeastern Ohio over a century ago. Where am I? Information provided by the Ohio Historical Society http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/places/se02/

Presentation: (15 minutes) Goals and background Information on Ohio Historical Societies Goals (Explain common goals of historical societies) Ex: Preserve state and/or local history Ex: Instill pride in Ohio culture and history Historical societies and sites in Ohio (Give brief information on historical societies and sites) Ex: Over 150 different societies and sites in Ohio Ex: Main historical society in Ohio is The Ohio Historical Society

Presentation: (15 minutes) Ways to connect to historical societies in Ohio Give examples with explanation of ways to connect to historical societies Ex: Field trips to historical sites Ex: In class speakers Benefits of connecting to historical societies in Ohio Give the benefits of connecting with historical societies Ex: Have numerous programs and activities focused toward education at the historical site Ex: Passionate and professional individuals who can provide expert information on Ohio and/or the local history

Presentation: (15 minutes) Information on the Ohio Historical Society and other historical societies Ohio Historical Society (Give brief history and information about educational programs and materials offered by the society History Ex: Established in 1885 Ex: Has over 9,000 members Education Ex: History-To-Go Van Ex: School Loans Other historical societies Give brief information about other historical societies in Ohio and give 5 examples of local historical societies and the educational programs they offer Ex: Over 100 historical societies throughout Ohio

Example of a local historical society and educational programs they offer Allen County Historical Society First in the state to offer a history program for children Welcomes school field trips Zoo-Tea-Children’s Tea at the Museum program My family Tree program Pieces of our Past program A Child’s Life Over a 100 years ago program Many many more! Children’s Discovery Center offers the following for children A Native American wigwam one-room schoolhouse general store log cabin model railroad layout classroom changing exhibit and activity area Information provided by Allen County Historical Society http://www.allencountymuseum.org/Home.html

Presentation: (15 minutes) How to find and contact historical societies in your area Historical Society website (Explain that many historical societies have websites and their contact information on them) (Explain that the Ohio Historical Society has links to websites of other societies in Ohio) Provide link to Ohio Historical Society website

Group Work: (20 minutes) Find historical societies in the region on the internet Allow participants to break into groups and find historical societies in their region over the internet on the school library media center computers. Participants will take down background information and educational programs (if available) of a couple of interesting societies and sites Participants will then brainstorm on ways to connect with one or more historical societies in the area After 15 minutes, the participants will report back to me and the rest of the class brainstorming ideas and/or any prior experiences with collaborating with any local historical societies

Handout Materials: (1 minute) Hand out the following supplemental materials at this time Program Evaluation Form Contact Information Business Cards Description of programs and materials offered by the Ohio Historical Society Supplemental handout of what was mentioned in the presentation Ohio Historical Society and Sites Bibliography Contact Information, Website, and Location of all known historical societies in the participants’ region

Program Evaluation and Closing Remarks: (10 minutes) Give the participants time to fill out the program evaluation in order to get feedback on the presentation, program, and materials available Thank participants for coming and tell them you look forward to hearing about their collaborations with Ohio historical societies. Answer any questions