With the generous support of the Reynolds Foundation, Mount Vernon and the Fairfax Network have partnered to provide schools with engaging and FREE satellite-delivered distance learning broadcasts. Previously broadcast programs are available to educators, also for free, in DVD format.  To order a copy of each DVD (one per school), please send the request on school letterhead to: Fairfax Network, 4414 Holborn Avenue, Annandale, VA 22003.  Please visit the Fairfax Network to learn about the technology requirements and registration process for satellite broadcasts. 

Upcoming Broadcasts

First in War: George Washington and the American Revolution
Broadcast Date:  Thursday, October 29, 2009
1:00 p.m. EST

Through dedication and determination, George Washington accomplished the impossible by leading the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War. Our panel of historians, including Caroline Cox, William Fowler, Ed Lengel, and Andrew O'Shaughnessy, will explore how Washington’s leadership was instrumental in securing American independence.  Discussion topics will include Washington’s relationship with his generals as well as the common soldier, the British perspective of the war, the turning point at Valley Forge, and the quelling of a rebellion at Newburgh.  Key themes will include leadership, perseverance, team work and cooperation to achieve a goal. Grades 6-12, 60 min.

Previously Broadcast Programs Available on DVD

Nation to Nation

As the first president of the United States, George Washington faced a myriad of challenges in solidifing the nation under one federal head as well as overseeing foreign relations with both European nations and the Indian Nations of America. This program will explore how or if Washington’s Indian diplomacy and policies set the stage for 19th century American policy. Taped at the Oklahoma History Center, speakers include Fred Anderson, Brett Rushforth, Robert Miller, and Gerard Baker, Superintendant of Mount Rushmore.  Grades 9-12, 60 min.

Primarily George

Shaping the Presidency

Shaping the Presidency looks back at the profound impact George Washington had on defining the office of the president, as well as how campaigning, the election process and the role of the media affected early presidential candidacies, and how those influences have evolved. The panelists include Joseph J. Ellis, the Ford Foundation Professor of History at Mount Holyoke College and award-winning author of the Pulitzer Prize winning Founding Brothers and the National Book Award winner for American Sphinx. He is joined by Cokie Roberts, author of the best-selling book Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation and Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation, and John P. Riley, former historian at George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estates and Gardens and present director of education and scholarship programs at the White House Historical Association. Grades 8-12, 60 min.

Shaping the Presidency: A Teachers Guide- This Teachers' Guide provides a program description, unit objectives, and background information on George Washington that will supplement the broadcast and lesson plans.

The Real Martha Washington

"Step back in time and meet Martha Washington, America’s "first First Lady!"

Martha Dandridge Custis married George Washington on January 6, 1759, and moved to his family home, Mount Vernon, several months later. In this program, Mrs. Washington’s incredibly full and vibrant life is portrayed by costumed historical interpreters filmed live on the Mount Vernon Estate grounds and interviewed by students in Mount Vernon's Distance Learning Studio. Susan Zickel portrays young Martha Washington’s life up to the American Revolution. Living biographer Mary Wiseman shows students what the first lady’s life was like after the Revolutionary War. Political commentator and author of Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty, Cokie Roberts, and George Mason University historian Dr. Rosemarie Zagarri also provide background information about Mrs. Washington and 18th-century women's lives.   Grades 3-5, 30 mins.

History Meets Hollywood

This high-energy broadcast moderated by Chris Matthews, television news anchor, MSNBC Hardball host, and author of American, explores how historic sites and classroom teachers increasingly capitalize on the interest Hollywood generates in historical events, places, and people.

In 2006, Mount Vernon introduced a Hollywood-style orientation film, We Fight To Be Free, which was written, produced and directed to bring George Washington to life in a way that dramatically captures visitors’ interest. The History Channel produced a series of docudrama videos for Mount Vernon’s new exhibition galleries. And National Treasure: Book of Secrets filmed on location at a variety of “national treasures,” including Mount Vernon. What lessons can classroom teachers and historic sites learn from Hollywood to blend education and storytelling in a manner that engages and excites interest in history? How effectively can film and fact blend? Join us as our panelists debate the positive and negative results of dramatizing historical figures and events when History Meets Hollywood!  Grades 9-12, 60 mins.

Special Guests: Jerry Bruckheimer, Producer, and Jon Turteltaub, Director, National Treasure: Book of Secrets; James C. Rees, Executive Director of Mount Vernon; Dr. Libby O’Connell, Chief Historian for the History Channel; and actor Sebastian Roché, star of General Hospital and "George Washington" in We Fight to Be Free

Seed to Table: Farming at Mount Vernon

Shot on location at Mount Vernon's Pioneer Farm and Gristmill sites, this exciting, colorful program gives your classroom a chance to tag along with a group of students attending one of Mount Vernon's most popular field trip programs!

Students will learn more about George Washington as an innovative farmer and businessperson. They will explore how a farm works, how farm resources are managed, how the foods we eat are produced, and how simple machinery functions. In addition, the program provides information about the operation of a water-powered gristmill, the jobs that exist at a farm and mill, and the importance of animals to farming. Students will also visit a restored slave cabin and witness costumed first-person interpreters' research-based accounts of how enslaved laborers lived on the plantation and made valuable contributions to support its work.  Grades K-5, 30 mins.

Slavery at Mount Vernon

This program explores the lives of the 18th-century enslaved community at Mount Vernon and examines George Washington's changing attitudes about slavery.

Special guests include Ruhulamin Quander and Zsun-nee Matema, direct descendants of two enslaved women who lived and worked at Mount Vernon under Martha Washington's supervision. The program also features Larry Earl, former Director of Education at the Charles W. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan, and Manager of Planning and Administration of the Historic Area Division for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. They are joined by historian Dr. Philip Morgan from Johns Hopkins University and Dr. Dennis Pogue, Associate Director for Preservation and Restoration at Mount Vernon.  Grades 9-12, 45 mins.