In the month of September, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation welcomes a new exhibition on log canoes, a community with hands-on historical activities and the chance for homeschool families to engage with the foundation’s two museums.
Jamestown Settlement to Celebrate Chesapeake Bay Log Canoe Exhibition with Community Day
“Working and Racing on the Bay: The Chesapeake Log Canoe” will open at Jamestown Settlement on Sept. 19. The new special exhibition was curated by The Mariners’ Museum and features more than 100 objects from its collection.
Running through September 2015, the exhibition will trace the evolution of the dugout canoe over the centuries. It starts with the canoe fashioned by Powhatan Indians 400 years ago, practical for navigating local waters for fishing and harvesting.
It was later adopted by European colonists, and the exhibition considers how the canoe changed based on economic demands for tobacco and oysters. It chronicles through the 20th century, when log canoes were used for racing.
On Sept. 20, the museum will mark the opening of the exhibition with “Community Day: On the Riverfront,” funded in part by a grant from James City County.
In addition to guided tours of the exhibition, there will be performances by chantey singing groups the Northern Neck Chantey Singers and Shanty Grass.
Visitors can take part in hands-on activities, including scraping out a log canoe, racing a paper vessel, caulking ship seams and handling underwater creatures in a touch-pool. They can also see demonstrations of modern net-making, crab-potting and oyster-tonging, and learn about water preservation from the James River Association.
Jamestown Settlement is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $16 for adults and $7.50 for children ages 6 through 12. Residents of James City County, York County and the City of Williamsburg, including College of William & Mary students, receive free admission with proof of residency.
Click here for more information.
Homeschool Program Days Offered at Both JFY Museums in September
Homeschool families can take the learning outside the house and get history lessons at Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center.
A homeschool ticket grants unlimited access to the two museums starting Saturday and running through Sept. 21. It includes registration for student programs, family guided tours and colonial games.
Tickets are $12 per person, with free admission for children ages 3 and younger.
Students can enroll in specific programs at each museum, broken down into four groups by grade level groups. The topics include Powhatan Indian culture, life aboard a cargo ship and survival of the Jamestown colony. Each program lasts 90 minutes and includes hands-on activities that address state and national standards of learning for history and studies.
Click here to see the full list of programs, and dates and times for each.
Registration is due by 5 p.m. three business days before the program or tour. For more information or to register, contact Group Reservations at 253-4939.
