South Street Seaport Museum conducts standards-based professional development workshops in all areas of its educational programming – social studies, science, mathematics, arts and seamanship. Programs can be tailored to meet the needs of your staff and generally accommodate up to 35 teachers. Materials are provided for classroom use, while meals and snacks are available for an additional fee. The Museum is a certified DOE vendor. Contact Margaret Flanagan at 212-748-8594 or email mflanagan@southstseaport.org for more information.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Underground History
2 Hours/$700
Learn how to incorporate object based inquiry and artifact study in your social studies curriculum using the unique and authentic collections found at New York Unearthed. Enhance your students’ understanding of how history is reconstructed through found items while expanding your knowledge of New York City’s history.
New York History Through Architecture
2 hours/ $700
Explore the South Street Seaport Historic District to see how its 18th and 19th century buildings reflect the commercial and industrial growth of New York City. Through examination of maps, prints and architectural elements, learn how to put together primary sources to teach neighborhood history in your classroom.
African American Walking Tour
2 hours/$700
Hear the little-known stories of some of the African-Americans who helped build New York. Learn about their lives and the role they played in building the cultural, economic, and physical foundations of New York City. Sites visited include the location of the city’s first official slave market, Trinity Church, and the African Burial Ground.
New Amsterdam Walking Tour
2 hours/$700
Learn what life was like for Manhattan’s early settlers as you take a walk back in time to Dutch New Amsterdam. Teachers use primary sources to trace the development of Lower Manhattan from 1600 to the present. Finish your program with a visit to New York Unearthed and view artifacts that provide clues to New York’s Dutch Past.
SCIENCE
Classroom Aquaria
2 hours/$700
Discover tried and true methods for bringing the excitement and learning resources of an aquarium into your classroom. With little planning and commitment, your students may be able to witness the balance within ecosystems, the principles of the food web, or the systems of living things. Teachers will see how to prepare a variety of aquaria, explore potential curriculum connections, and receive references for maximizing the educational benefits of working with live specimens. 15 persons maximum
Historical Perspectives on Environmental Awareness
2 hours /$700
From Lenape fishing to the Clean Water Act, New York’s harbor has always been both a valuable commercial source and an amazing natural environment. Through primary sources and period summaries, teachers will analyze the balance between nature and commerce through centuries past. After considering the human impact, we’ll debate the future of our harbor estuary and how education can make a difference in preserving this vital resource for generations to come.
Water Quality in NY Harbor
3 Hours/$1,000
Tour the harbor aboard out historic tugboat, W.O Decker, which reaches into waterways such as Gowanus Basin and Newtown Creek, where water quality is a very serious issue. Learn the basics of hands-on water testing with a variety of equipment, compare data from waters of concern with data from the open harbor, evaluate what makes water clean, and share in discussions of how to make clean water meaningful to students. 10 person maximum. Ship’s route varies according to tides.
Sail Training
4 hour program/call for prices
Through an immersion experience on board Lettie G. Howard, teachers learn the basics of sailing a traditional schooner including sail handling, steering, piloting and knot tying. Teachers learn teambuilding strategies as they are introduced to marine biology, environmental science and maritime history. Hands-on activities may include trawling for marine life and testing for water quality.
Maritime Studies
4 hour program/call for prices
Lettie G. Howard’s maritime studies curriculum combines elements of marine science, environmental studies, maritime history and sea literature to give teachers an understanding of the marine environment and the culture of seafaring people.
Overnight Sails aboard Lettie G. Howard
One night or more/call for prices
Teachers learn the basics of sailing a traditional schooner, including sail handling, steering, navigation and standing watch. Each group experiences the life of a sailor as they climb rigging, sleep in bunks and prepare meals in the ship’s galley. Teachers explore the natural environment of the sea and the experience of seafaring people though hands-on activities. Depending on the weather, activities may include field trips ashore.
MATHEMATICS
Navigation
2 hours/$700
Both a science and an art, the mariners’ practice of navigation has led to innovations in way-finding for centuries. Review milestones in the history of human achievement in the field. Learn about systems for location on the globe and investigate both traditional and contemporary tools, such as the taff rail log and the sextant. Apply math in planning compass courses and determining speed, and practice the basics of piloting on a chart of New York Harbor.
ABOARD OUR VESSELS
Education Under Sail
1.5 hours/$500
Board the 19th century schooner Pioneer to explore New York Harbor as a rich interdisciplinary classroom. Teachers may choose to focus their workshop on environmental awareness or New York City History. Learn how the South Street Seaport Museum’s historic ships can provide unique enrichment programming in both science and history curricula. 35 person maximum.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Professional Development Programs
South Street Seaport Museum
12 Fulton Street
New York, NY 10038
Phone: 212-748-8753
Fax: 212-748-8610
Email: teacherprograms@southstseaport.org