COOPERSTOWN 6-13-10
June 13, 2010
I learned that those who live in Cooperstown believe that baseball was first played in their city and was invented by Abner Doubleday, a Civil War soldier. There is no proof that Doubleday invented the game; the English claim invention of the game as well. None of the artifacts in the National Baseball Hall of Fame are purchased; they are all donated. The museum is a private, non-profit organization with over 36,000 artifacts and over 136,000 baseball cards. There are 292 plaques of the inductees, with three more to be added this summer. To be inducted as a player you had to play the game for 10 years and be retired for 5 years. The Museum has a wonderful website as well as outreach programs where you can teleconference with their educators right on sight with the artifacts. Students can ask questions and get immediate feedback. Through baseball teachers can spark a student’s interest in a variety of subjects: Women’s Rights, Civil Rights, Black History Month, Character Education, Economics, and Cultural Diversity, etc. A Kodec system is required to do teleconferencing, and our district may have the equipment to loan out to the schools.
The most interesting information in the Fenimore Art Museum were the Magnum photos. There were photos from many different time period that depicted struggles our country has been involved in. Many of the photos could be used in the classroom as the different time periods occur in our curriculum.
Another tour we took was of the Farmers’ Museum; once a working farm for the Fenimore Cooper House. It is a replica of a small village that may have existed in the mid 1800s. People, in period dress costumes, gave us tours of their facilities: Country Store, Morey Barn, Blacksmith Shop, Dr. Thrall’s Pharmacy, Pope Hop House, Bump Tavern, and many others. Virtual tours like these would be a great teaching tool. There is some information regarding the museum on their website – thefarmersmuseum.blogspot.com .
Morey Barn
Blacksmith Shop
Chris,
I agree with you about all the information we received from the Baseball Hall of Fame. They have so many lessons that will help me teach Women’s Rights, Civil Rights, Black History Month,and Character Education. I am always looking for an interesting way to hook my students and I think we found it there!
Dana F.
Hi Chris,
The Baseball Hall of Frame has so many great resources. I was very surprise on how complete the lessons plans and the different subjects, what a wonderful resource! The Farmers Market was another great hook for our students. The pictures could get the students to start thinking about the time period and possible questions to the students: Why was this picture taken? What actions prove your point? Do you think the actor enjoys what he is doing or is he just doing this because it is just a job? Why or why not?
Dolores