Educational Opportunities & Resources
The Benzie Area Historical Museum
The Benzie Area Historical Museum offers a wide array of exhibits and artifacts to connect with Benzie history. If you are interested in visiting or consulting on a program, please contact us! Here is a list of some ways that students & teachers can connect with Northern Michigan’s rich history.
We look forward to working with you and seeing you soon!
Junior Historians Program
CONTACT US TODAY TO SCHEDULE A PROGRAM IN YOUR CLASSROOM OR PLAN A VISIT TO THE MUSEUM OR DRAKE SCHOOL!
Make history come alive through hands on activities and real experiences for your students.
Our volunteer teachers created Junior Historians, a free program following Michigan State Social Studies Academic Curriculum Standards for kindergarten through fifth grade students. Each 45-minute program includes a tote of hands-on artifacts for the students to hold, study and learn from. Volunteer educators travel to area elementary schools and develop relationships with the students as they return each year.
Educational Opportunities:
- In the classroom
- At the museums
- At the Drake School House, Our One-Room Schoolhouse
Curriculum integration to compliment Michigan grade level social studies standards!
Drake School, One-Room Schoolhouse Experience
Come spend time in the year 1900!
Experience a half day program at this historic one room school house that opened in 1891. Students will enjoy traditional lessons including reading, history, geography, math, elocution, and a recess with games of the era. The students will delight in being able to stand tall on stilts or hone their agility with Graces.
Educational Opportunities in the Classroom
SCHEDULING SPRING PROGRAMS NOW!
BAHS offers docent-led programs in your classroom! Each program is designed to engage the students and bring history to life through hands-on exploration and learning.
Kindergarten: Myself
In this program, an Educator will start by reading a story and will then introduce a hands on sharing of antique clothing and toys. This will allow students to better understand their cultural experiences through the comparison of their ancestors.
First Grade: Daily Life
This program starts out with a book on life in the past. The Educator will bring lots of fun artifacts to pass and share. Students get to explore history of the way we used to live at the tips of their fingers.
Second Grade: My Community
This docent led program allows students to engage with the history of our community. They will have hands on exploration with old time chores and jobs throughout the Museum.
Third Grade: Protecting Our Natural Resources
This program will feature water as the heart and soul of our lives: employment, recreation, and economic development in Benzie’s rich history. Students will get their feet wet, through an interactive activity exploring the way water flows.
Fourth Grade: Lumbering
Life in Northern Michigan during the lumbering era was filled with dangers, community growth and rich stories. Students will learn through the
pictorial and oral histories of our ancestors.
Fifth Grade: Woodland Indians
This program illustrates the incredible intelligence and resourcefulness of our native peoples, who not only lived but thrived on this land. Students will build an understanding of the hunting and gathering way of life through the sharing of artifacts found within Benzie County.
