USA: New York State Museum launched new Online Educational Guide

Online history learning tools

The New York State Museum has launched an online resource for educators about New York’s Dutch history, including an educational guide, photos of historic artefacts and artworks, and video interviews with content experts. Launched during a teacher workshop at the Museum on 31 January, the educational guide provides five lessons that introduce students to Fort Orange (present-day Albany, New York) and the world of New Netherland, the first Dutch colony in North America.

The topics of the lessons of the educational guide include: Native American daily life before the arrival of the Dutch, trade and global commerce, archaeology, and economic and political tensions. In these lessons, students use digital images of archaeological collections, archival material from the New York State Archives, and artworks to learn about Fort Orange and New Netherland in the 17th century and develop skills for analysing and interpreting primary sources.

Further development

In the coming year, video interviews with experts will be added to the lessons, including interviews with: Dr. Charles Gehring, Director of the New Netherland Research Center; Dr. Janny Venema, Associate Director of the New Netherland Research Center; Dr. Michael Lucas, Curator of Historical Archaeology at the New York State Museum; Dr. Paul Huey and the late Joseph McEvoy, retired archaeologists from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; and local artist Len Tantillo.

This program is supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York. Additional support for the educational guide was provided by the New York State Archives Partnership Trust.