What did Baltimore look like in 1896? Using a giant map of the museum’s neighborhood,

students help build old Baltimore. They learn where workers lived and shopped and how

they got to work each day. Students then construct a neighborhood by creating and coloring paper models of houses, trains, and shops that they can take home. This program works well as a companion to In The Neighborhood. It is also a good alternative for groups that may have difficulty moving through the museum.

Grade: Pre-K – 2nd                                                                                               
Capacity:  15
Duration:  60 minutes
Rate: $5.00 per child
Standards met for Social Studies, Math & Science

Kids' Motorworks

Learn how Henry Ford revolutionized car-making by introducing the assembly line into the automotive industry. Each student takes a seat along the line and performs a single job, as the group works together to build replicas of a 1914 moving van. Students learn how an assembly line works and that each job is equally important in creating a finished product. Each worker takes home his or her very own van!

Grade: 2nd – 8th
Capacity: 50
Duration: 60 minutes
Rate: $6.00
Standards met for Social Studies, Math & Science

Kids' Cannery

As workers in an 1883 oyster cannery, students become loaders, labelers, shuckers and fillers and learn about the requirements and pay rates of both skilled and unskilled workers. As pay, students earn brass tokens to redeem in the company store, where they quickly learn the value of a day’s work.  Each child takes home a self-made can of oysters!

This program won the Dibner Award in Excellence as Outstanding Museum Exhibit on History of Technology and Culture.

Grade:  3rd- 8th
Capacity: 40
Duration: 90 minutes
Rate: $7.00
Standards met for Social Studies, Math & Science

Needles & Threads

Students become garment workers and hand sewers and learn about life in a turn-of-the-century garment shop. As they work, they hear about labor activist “Mother Jones” and her crusade to rid the world of abominable working conditions for children while also discussing today’s child labor issues. Later, they gather to learn about labor unions and the pros and cons of joining a union. Will they vote to unionize? Who knows – each class is different.  Each child takes home a handmade pocket!

Grade:  3rd- 8th
Capacity: 30
Duration: 90 minutes
Rate: $7.00
Standards met for Social Studies, Math & Science

Garment Loft

What was it like to work in the garment industry in Baltimore from 1865-1930? Students quickly learn as they become 1929 garment workers at the Baltimore Clothing Company. They each receive a new name and background and are divided into skilled, unskilled and management personnel.  Management arrives with sudden decisions that affect the workers.  Heated negotiations follow and union members try to keep the workers from going on strike.  What will happen? The results are different with every class?

Grade:  6th - 9th
Capacity: 30
Duration: 90 minutes
Rate: $7.00

Design-It

Long before Legos™ or Erector sets®, children used wooden boards, tree limbs, cardboard boxes, blocks and even sand to construct buildings, vehicles and other gadgets. In this guided program, students are given a working design with appropriate materials and are asked to engineer a successful project. Working in small groups, students work through challenges and learn about experimenting, testing, making observations, asking questions and explaining what they have done and why. Choose from these projects: