Students to Step Back in Time with "Colonial Days" Education Program at Mount Vernon!

Special New Discount for Title I Schools

For Immediate Release
October 16, 2009
Digital images available
 
Media Contact:
Melissa Wood (703) 799-5203
mwood@mountvernon.org

Students to Step Back in Time with "Colonial Days" Education Program at Mount Vernon!

MOUNT VERNON, Va. – Mount Vernon invites schools to experience 18th-century plantation life at the home of George Washington during its Colonial Days program, October 20 through November 13; and February 17, 2010 through March 12, 2010. The program, included in admission, gives students the opportunity to watch blacksmithing demonstrations, participate in a special ceremony at George Washington's tomb, watch 18th-century trade demonstrations at the farm, play colonial games, and meet costumed characters. In October and November, students can enter to win an opportunity to feed one of the calves at Mount Vernon!   New for the 2009-2010 school year: Title I schools will receive a reduced rate of $4 per student and required chaperones.  Teachers from Title I schools will receive free admission during Colonial Days.  For more information and to make a reservation, please visit MountVernon.org/Learn.

Some of the Colonial Days highlights include:

• Visit Mount Vernon’s 18th-century blacksmith!  All participating teachers will receive an 18th-century-style wall hook handcrafted by the blacksmith.
• Meet history “Face-to-Face”!  Any school that brings more than 175 students to the program can register for a free Face-to-Face video conference.  This interactive half-hour program allows your students to learn history firsthand from Mount Vernon’s character interpreters and storytellers.
• Bottle feed our baby cows!  Students are encouraged to write a one-paragraph letter to George Washington the Farmer and win the chance, during their Colonial Days visit, to bottle-feed one of the Red Devon calves (October/November session only).  E-mail letters to education@mountvernon.org and include the name of the student, date of visit, and scheduled time of arrival.
• George Washington Portrait Assemblies!  Order your free George Washington portrait and register for the opportunity for a presentation at your school in January 2010.  Presentations are available on a limited schedule and first-come basis.
• Observe costumed workers demonstrating spinning, basketmaking, woodworking, weaving, candlemaking, soldiering, and more!
• Learn about farming and slave life at the George Washington: Pioneer Farmer site and outlying slave cabin.
• Play colonial games!
• Participate in a special ceremony at George Washington's tomb.

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Events, programs, and activities are subject to change.

Public Information:
703-780-2000; 703-799-8697 (TDD); Visit.MountVernon.org

Since 1860, over 80 million visitors have made George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens the most popular historic home in America.  Through thought-provoking tours, entertaining events, and stimulating educational programs on the Estate and in classrooms across the nation, Mount Vernon strives to preserve George Washington’s place in history as “First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen.”  Mount Vernon is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, America’s oldest national preservation organization, founded in 1853.  A picturesque drive to the southern end of the scenic George Washington Memorial Parkway, Mount Vernon is located just 16 miles from the nation’s capital.

Hours of operation: April-August, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; March, September, October, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; November – February, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Regular admission rates: adults, $15.00; senior citizens, $14.00; children age 6-11, when accompanied by an adult, $7.00; and children under age 5, FREE.  Admission fees, restaurant and retail proceeds, along with private donations, support the operation and restoration of Mount Vernon.