By Jessica Dillon
Elementary students learned about colonial Virginia and the nation’s founding through interactive activities during a June 23 event at the New College Institute.
The “Colonial Passport Experience” was designed to give summer school students a hands-on introduction to Virginia’s role in the American Revolution as part of Virginia’s VA250 commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
During the event, students rotated through stations focused on Virginia and Henry County in the late 1700s. They explored colonial life, met historical interpreters, examined artifacts, participated in storytelling and crafts, and learned about important people and events connected to the American Revolution. Students also received “passports” to collect stamps as they completed activities at each station.
Organizers said the goal was to help students better understand Virginia during the Revolutionary era while encouraging discussions about freedom, citizenship and the experiences of people living during that time. Through the immersive experience, students connected local history to the broader story of America’s founding in an engaging, age-appropriate way.
“Everyone’s really excited to be celebrating the 250th anniversary and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, so we decided we wanted to offer this program,” Henry County Public Schools Social Studies and Health Curriculum Coordinator Sue Townes said. “We just started brainstorming and I personally love station rotations so I had a lot of volunteers who stepped up to the plate and it all just came to life.”
One station gave students the opportunity to try writing with quill pens.
“Students enjoyed all of the stations, especially the craft station. That’s always fun,” Townes said. “A few of the students said that they would like to take the quill pens to use in school. I don’t know if their teachers would appreciate that, but who knows – maybe we’ll be trading iPads for quill pens.”
“History is super important,” she added. “It’s not just stuff that happened a long time ago. A lot of the things that happened even hundreds of years ago are still impacting our lives today. We’re just so excited to have all the students here learning about our nation’s past, our state’s past, and some local history.”
The event was sponsored by Henry County Public Schools and New College Institute, with assistance from the Salem Museum & Historical Society, Hunter Haskins, Andrew Doss, and Henry County Public Schools teachers, staff and volunteers.
