Classroom Outreach

Bring KTM&HC to your classroom! Outreach programs engage students through hands-on activities and primary source document analysis about our site history. Programs can stand on their own or be used to prepare students for upcoming onsite visits.

In-Classroom Program: $200 each
Programs run 45-60 minutes and are presented to one classroom at a time. Up to five programs can be scheduled in one day.

The Declaration in Context (Grades 5-12)
A FREE outreach program to commemorate and celebrate America250 – the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence – and demonstrate its relevance in Ridgefield, historically and today. Funded through a generous grant from Liz and Steven Goldstone. Through hands-on activities, close readings, and inquiry-based discussion, students learn about the importance of America250 to their own lives and gain a deeper understanding of the Declaration and its profound impact of people in the 18th century and today. Includes a historic object analysis, timeline presentation, and Declaration-masking activity. Students will think like a historian, learn from material culture, grow chronological reasoning skills, make local and national connections, read and understand the Declaration, and discover its impact on people then and now.
War at Home (Grades 4-12)
How did people interpret the 1777 Battle of Ridgefield? Students explore and think critically about a series of 18th-century interpretations of the events of April 27, 1777, and they learn strategies for understanding a source’s perspective and purpose. After an introduction to the members of the Keeler household, who were living on our museum’s site during the American Revolution, students analyze two newspaper articles and one etching that have different takes on the “truth” of the events of April 27, 1777.
Ridgefield Inventors (Grades 2-6)
How did local residents attempt to solve everyday problems through innovation and invention? Students discuss how 19th-century Ridgefield inventors F. Rockwell and Abijah Resseguie created new, more efficient iterations of familiar objects – candlesticks and carriages – and explore the process of inventing, from brainstorming to patents. Throughout the program, students learn how to handle historic objects like a museum curator, wearing white gloves for hands-on activities with 19th-century candlesticks and carriage-making tools.