Education
Programs at the South Street Seaport Museum- Available for School and Afterschool Groups
The South Street Seaport Museum, located at 12 Fulton Street, offers authentic New York experiences for schoolgroups in the heart of the South Street Seaport historic district. Teachers can register for a visit at 10 am or 12:30 pm. All groups require a reservation.
Each program costs $125 for a maximum of 35 children, and runs for 90 minutes, unless specified. To schedule your visit, call 917-492-3334 or email reservations@seany.org
A Sailor's Life for grades 3-6
Can you imagine a time when the South Street Seaport was lined with so many piers, docks, and sailing vessels of all sizes that it was referred to as the "Street of Ships"? Schooners, ferries, tugs, barges, and large cargo ships crowded the Seaport in the 18th and 19th centuries. The merchant sailors who worked on these vessels played a major role in making the Sepaort the nation's leading port. Students will explore the tools and objects used by these men to learn about daily life at sea.
Growing Up in the 19th Century Seaport for grades 1-6
What was it like growing up during the mid- to late-19th century at the South Street Seaport? This historic neighborhood surrounding the Seaport Museum was home to hundreds of immigrant children who went to school, did chores, and played in the city's streets. Students will investigate artifacts and images to piece together a list of activities that an immigrant child would perform and create a map with symbols representing where these activities took place in the district. Then, using their maps, the class will explore the area to locate where these activities would have taken place.
Help Wanted: Jobs in the 19th Century Seaport for grades 3-6
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Fulton Street was lined with stores of all kinds-- restaurants, hotels, taverns, chandleries, food markets, bootmakers, barbershops, and more! Who worked in these businesses? Students will "meet" three of these people who spent their days and nights working at the Seaport and visit the places where they worked-- an Irish immigrant woman who worked in the laundry room of the old Fulton Ferry Hotel, a cartman who transported goods from place to place using his wheelbarrow, and a businessman who worked for A.A. Low & Brothers, a firm that built many great clipper ships for the China trade. Students will create broadsides to advertise for these positions that would have typically been seen by the crowds of people moving through the area daily.
Life in New Amsterdam for grades 2-6
The Seaport Museum is located near the heart of what was once New Amsterdam, a Dutch colony that was established as a trading post in the early 17th century. Students will peel back layers of history to discover how the Museum's very neighborhood transformed from a Lenape Native American campsite to a bustling, diverse company town. Through hands-on investigations of objects, maps, and images, students will learn the history behind the street names that survive until this day and "meet" the individuals who lived and worked on the New Amsterdam streets. The class will create a map of New Amsterdam representing these important people and places friom the early 1600s.
New Amsterdam Walking Tour for grades 4-8
Discover what life was like for Manhattan's early settlers as you take a walk back in time to Dutch New Amsterdam. While on this walking tour, students will trace the development of Lower Manhattan during the early 17th century using images, documents and the street plan itself, which was created by the Dutch almost 400 years ago.
Mannahatta for grades 3-6
Students will explore the island of Manhattan at the time of Henry Hudson's arrival-- a fresh, green new world at the moment of discovery. Using multi-media and historical artifacts and maps, students will learn about the natural landscape and the ecology of Manhattan in 1609.
Mysteries of the Museum (60 minutes, or add Timescapes for 90 minutes)
Before Schermerhorn Row housed the Seaport Museum along Fulton and South Streets, it was home to counting houses, shops and restaurants, coffee roasters, and hotels throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Students will learn about the historic district through a close examination of this 1820 building by discovering its mysteries--an original hauling lift to move goods, graffiti representing the people working in the building at different times, and the original laundry room for the 19th century hotel, to name a few.
Aboard Ambrose: The 1907 Lightship for grades 2 and up
A floating lighthouse, Lightship Ambrose anchored at the entrance to the NY Harbor with signal lights at the top of her masts that guided ships safely to piers in all five boroughs. Students will tour the ship to learn about the role she played from 1907 to 1964, and practice communicating with signal flags and morse code to experience the technology used aboard Ambrose.
JOIN THE MAILING LIST
CONNECT WITH THE MUSEUM
PLAN YOUR SCHOOL TRIP
WORTH & MAINBOCHER
LINDSAY ONLINE EXHIBITION
BIRTHDAY PARTIES
BRING YOUR GROUP
COLLECTIONS PORTAL GUIDE
