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NOVEMBER 2004

A Celebration of Native American Culture:
Great Adventure—Mashantucket Museum

By Jan Aaron

Just two and one-half hours by road from New York City, the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Learning Center in northeast Connecticut takes you on a journey stretching back 1800 years and to the present again.

Here, amazing state-of-the art interactive displays and lifelike immersion environments provide an intimate look at the history and living culture of the Pequot and other Native American tribes for visitors of all ages. However, the extensive museum programs for educators, from reduced price previews, to special workshops and vast library resources, make it prime territory for study and field trips and the focus in this story.

During a typical classroom visit, a one-hour-guided tour offers students an overview of the museum’s exhibits, ranging from prehistoric times when our land was covered with glaciers to life on the reservation now, to spotlighting the key concepts of the 85,000 square-foot facility: Land, People, Community and Family. After your tour, you can continue exploring on your own. Tours also can be tailored to any age and grade.

For instance, a tour for kids in kindergarten through grade six might focus on the exhibit, “Through The Eyes Of A Pequot Child,” where they can explore the half-acre, life-size Pequot village and compare it to life today. The seven to 12-grade tour might concentrate on, “Life On The Reservation Today,” a colorful explanation of how the Pequots survived for three generations on their shrinking Connecticut reservation. Everyone 12 and older (or with adult supervision) should make a point of seeing the museum’s 30-minute film, “The Witness,” which vividly depicts the tragic Pequot War.

The 20 plus museum highlights also include the sights, sounds and giant mammals of the ice age, life-size dioramas showing techniques for growing essential foods and tribal portraits of Pequots today. Among the videos are artisans at work and the build up to the Pequot war.

Crafts, workshops and in-depth enrichment programs in archeology, social studies, clash of cultures and ecology offer additional learning opportunities.#

Can’t make it to Mashantucket? The museum’s outreach program will send an educator to your classroom. (110 Pequot Trail, Mashantucket, CT; Tel.1-800-411-9761).

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