WISCONSIN: OUR STATE, OUR STORY, NOW AVAILABLE IN SPANISH!

The Wisconsin Historical Society Press has partnered with the Milwaukee Public Schools to translate "Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story" into a Spanish edition, "Wisconsin: Nuestro Estado, Nuestra Historia."

All components of the textbook have been translated into Spanish including text, maps, timelines and image captions.  

Christina Green, translator and language specialist for the Milwaukee Public Schools noted that, "the translation of 'Wisconsin: Nuestro Estado, Nuestra Historia' provides equal access to Hispanic students as an integral part of our curriculum, through a well-explained and beautifully written account of our state's history and its impact within the nation's history."

by Michael Edmonds, Head, Digital Collections  

The Wisconsin Historical Society has one of the richest collections of Civil Rights movement records in the nation, which includes more than 100 manuscript collections documenting the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964.

More than 25,000 pages from the Freedom Summer manuscripts -- enough to fill several file cabinets -- are available online. In them you will find official records of organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and  Congress of Racial Equality (CORE); the personal papers of movement leaders and activists such as Amzie Moore, Mary King and Howard Zinn, letters and diaries of northern college students who went South to volunteer for the summer; newsletters produced in Freedom Schools; racist propaganda, newspaper clippings, pamphlets and brochures, magazine articles, telephone call logs, candid snapshots, internal memos, press releases and much more. The digital collection will continue to grow as more manuscripts are added in coming months.

We encourage students, teachers, writers, historians, and other researchers to use these materials in any 2014 programs marking the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Freedom Summer Project. Feel free to copy them for classroom activities, term papers, displays or exhibits, dramatic presentations, and other non-profit educational purposes.

Jun 26, 2013 11 am; 1 pm: Summertime Fun: Southwest Wisconsin

Jul 10, 2013   11 am; 1 pm: Summertime Fun: Northwoods Wisconsin

Jul 17, 2013   11 am; 1 pm:  Summertime Fun: Lake Superior Coast

If you are interested in making reservations for a fall of 2013 or spring of 2014 Wisconsin Historical Museum field trip please contact Museum Education staff or call 608-264-6557. Many schools make their spring reservations 9 to 12 months in advance, so please consider booking prior to your visit or in person when you arrive for next year's trip to reserve your preferred date and times.

You can review your visit options by checking out the Wisconsin Historical Museum's Printable Field Trip Catalog. Museum Education staff look forward to working with you to identify your group needs and tailor a program to enhance your museum visit.

Old World Wisconsin

Jennifer Van Haaften, Curator of Interpretation  

Hands-on Experience for East Troy History Students

Where today can high school students learn about historical interpretation at a living history site? Not many can say they have, but students at East Troy High School who take Marisa Piper-Zahn's Wisconsin History course can say they have been sharing history with Wisconsin's elementary school children at Old World Wisconsin. These students don't just learn Wisconsin history, they live it.

Part of the requirements of the course is to learn visitor interaction techniques that have been used at historic and living history sites for nearly 40 years. In addition, they choose one of the historic areas at Old World Wisconsin to learn about its history and the educational goals for elementary students who visit the building throughout a busy field trip day. Marisa also has them research the correct historic clothing so that they put together the best historic outfit to wear on the site. As part of their prep for being historical interpreters (the name for the guides that are stationed around Old World) the students take a visit around Old World Wisconsin to become familiar with the environment. Old World's Curator of Interpretation, Jennifer Van Haaften, then visits the students in the classroom to share what a day will be like out on-site and historic images of clothing to help guide them through the process. Each student is expected to spend two days presenting programs to elementary students on-site. They explain the history of the building and teach the kids historic activities which they then allow the kids to try. The end of their project is to put together a web presentation showing what they learned from the experience.

The students gain real world knowledge of what it is like to share history with guests to a large living history site like Old World Wisconsin. They gain an appreciation for the work of their ancestors and for a brief moment can imagine more deeply how it was to be an early resident of Wisconsin. Student Autumn Briggs-Teuteberg shared with us, "Going out to Old World Wisconsin for a field trip was fun when I was in fourth grade. Going out to Old World Wisconsin as an interpreter was amazing; seeing the way the kids interact with history and artifacts really changed how I look at museums and what they provide for people."

The historical interpreter staff at Old World are impressed with the students' skill in talking to large groups and taking charge. These skills will help them in any presentations they may make in any career they choose. The experience is one of a kind, as no other school does this with Old World Wisconsin. Marisa and Jennifer are interested in sharing this with other high schools and creating more partners to give students such a unique high school experience.

Sarah Klentz, National History Day Coordinator

Contact State Coordinator, Sarah Klentz, with questions.