Programs

The mission of the Morris County Historical Society is to discover, preserve, and make known the history of Morris County through exhibits, programs, publications, and preservation advocacy.

A key goal of our mission is our programming. To meet this goal we have established the Community Speakers Program. Through this program, lectures, slide, and object presentations are available to historical organizations, civic groups and schools. Each program is approximately 45 minutes in length and can be modified within reason for groups upon request.

Programs are presented by Morris County Historical Society staff members, who are museum professionals with extensive speaking experience. A donated fee is based upon the financial ability of the organization. Scheduling is based on a first-come, first-serve basis and consideration must be given to staff schedules.

The Women’s Suffrage Movement in NJ
       * Based on the MCHS exhibition, “Women’s Work is Never
          Done”
       * Optional focus on Morris County
       * Women in politics

Many Lands, One County: the Impact of Immigration
on Morris County
* Based on exhibition of the same name
* Slides available

Entertainment in Morris County
* Role entertainment has played
* What types of entertainment have been available
* Where and when

¨       The Morris County Historical Society
       * Society’s mission and programs
       * Exhibitions, operation of a historical society
       * Other Morris County historical organizations

¨       Victorianism
       * Life in the Victorian period
       * Slides and objects available
       * Inclusion of Acorn Hall optional

¨       Victorian Architecture & Design
       * What is Victorian?
     * Victorian Architecture in America
       * Acorn Hall
       * Slides available

¨       Victorian Morristown Architectural Walking Tour
       * Victorian architectural styles as represented in Morristown
          homes
       * Includes social history of Morristown
       * Can be adapted to slide lecture

¨       Women in the Victorian Period
       * Role of women in late 19th century America
       * Lives, status, responsibilities
       * Societal view of women

¨       The Conflict, the County, & the Citizens:
   Morris County in the Civil War
      * Morris County soldiers & regiments
       * Local politics during the Civil War
      * Homefront—women’s organizations, soldier’s aid, Bible societies

¨       Victorian Mourning
       * Code of etiquette
       * Influence of Queen Victoria
       * Fashions & funerals

Our new educational programs offer a hands-on way for students to experience history rather than to simply read about it in a text book. We offer both off- and on-site programs that can be adapted to fit the needs of your students.

Choose from specialized tours of Acorn Hall, an 1853 Victorian Italianate mansion, or rent a traveling trunk, in which reproduction items from different periods can be seen and touched by the students.

MCHS’s educational programs fit the New Jersey Core Curriculum standards for social studies and visual and performing arts. They are a fun alternative and a great way to get students involved in history. NJEA Members will receive a 10% discount, so call us and reserve a program today!

MCHS Traveling Trunks cost $50 per trunk and can be kept for two weeks. Delivery is available anywhere in the continental United States via Federal Express. All trunks fit New Jersey Core Curriculum Social Studies standards 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, and Visual and Performing Arts standards 1.5

THE LIFE OF A CIVIL WAR SOLDIER
GRADES 5-10. This trunk lets students see, hear, taste and feel what it was like for a soldier during the American Civil War. Students will be able to try on replica gear, listen to period music, and perform army drills.

THE GREAT WAR
GRADES 6-12. This trunk shows students the causes and effects of “The Great War” and the lost generation that followed. Focusing on the rise of the United States as a major world power, students will understand the major changes that the country underwent because of its participation in the first World War.

THE WORLD WAR II HOMEFRONT
GRADES 6-12. This trunk focuses on life at home during the 1940s, a time of propaganda, rationing and victory gardens. Students will learn about the mobilization of a nation under attack and the impact the war had on many different social groups.