COVID-19 Park Closure

Effective immediately, all Morristown National Historical Park site locations and grounds are closed.

Morristown National Historical Park (NHP), in response to State of New Jersey’s Executive Order 107 issued on March 21st directing all residents to stay at home until further notice to curb the spread of COVID-19, is announcing that all park gates providing access to the grounds and trails at Jockey Hollow Area (including restroom facilities), Fort Nonsense Area, and the New Jersey Brigade/Cross Estate Area are closed until the Executive Order is lifted.



Washington’s Headquarters Museum and the Ford Mansion remain closed.

Jockey Hollow Visitor Center and Wick House remain closed.

All visitor access gates to the Jockey Hollow Area and restrooms will remain closed.

All visitor access gates to Fort Nonsense Area will remain closed.

All visitor access gates to the New Jersey Brigade/Cross Estate Area will remain closed.



The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners at Morristown NHP is our number one priority. The National Park Service (NPS) is working with federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor COVID-19. The National Park Service (NPS) encourages all visitors to park lands to adhere to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local public health authorities to protect visitors and employees. #covid19 #nj #coronavirus #parkclosure #morristownnhpclosed #stayathomeorder #stayhomesavelives .


Please check our park website for the latest updates: www.nps.gov/morr and stay tuned for virtual museum features next week! .


[Image Description: This post features a closeup image of a skeleton keyhole at the historic Ford Mansion.  Sarah Minegar].

PARK CLOSED DURING FEDERAL SHUTDOWN

During Federal shutdown, we do not monitor or update social media. Morristown National Historical Park is closed for resource protection and safety. For more information: www.nps.gov/morr

Finding Their Park

Student artists from Westside High School, Newark, New Jersey found their park at Morristown! After viewing their Dream Rocket exhibit, these talented teens wanted to explore the site that inspired their art...they had a little fun in the process!














The Morristown Dream Rocket theme is Ingenuity in the Face of Adversity, and our Westside artists were especially creative with their interpretations of what that means.

Hiking the yellow trail from the Wick House

to the soldier huts with Ranger Gilson. 

Before students even visited our site, they were given a creative prompt which taught them about the Park's history, the Revolution War events we commemorate, and the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) who helped lay the groundwork for historical parks around the country. With this information and the guidance of their outstanding teacher, Ms. Patricia Marinaro, students collaborated to see their artistic visions materialize.

See their work on our Flickr Album
(keyword Westside High School):

https://flic.kr/s/aHskoGuHyw

Students were allowed to pick rhubarb with the gardener's
permission. Here they are visiting the Wick House,
stalks in hand.

Journals in hand, students set out to explore the resources that inspired their work. The framing narrative for the day was "assumption versus evidence" and this tool helped us analyze everything from historic landscapes and structures to park careers, preservation, and climate change.



   Q.

Some questions we tackled...


Place Over Time

•What has happened here throughout time?

•How are we part of that history?

•How does understanding the past help us become more empathetic people?

•How will you mark your legacy?


Preserving Public Lands

Student explore the replica hut at the VC.

•What is natural and cultural stewardship?

•Why is it important? How can we help?

•What is involved in preserving and protecting landscapes and historic sites?

•What careers in science, public history, education, and engineering are available at parks?


Innovation in the Face of Adversity

•What is innovation?

•In what ways are you innovative in hard times?

•How do your struggles connect you with other people throughout time?

•How might you connect your story to the stories this park has to tell?


Making Preserved Landscapes Relevant 

•What are the reasons a person might enjoy public lands?

•How might preserved landscapes be meaningful to people on a personal level?

Frog encounters.

Looking closely.

For four hours, students spent time immersed in the power of place. They spent time journaling, conducting science experiments, hiking, analyzing real world job scenarios, and exploring historic structures.

Ranger Gilson (a guest science educator from Gateway Parks) leads students
in a climate change simulation.

Sit spotting exercise.

Student posing with his work (his is in the center).

A little entertainment on the trails.

Thanks Ms. Marinaro for inspiring your talented troop and for helping them #FindTheirPark!

I think we might even have a few new recruits!

recruits

sit spotting and journal time

>The Dream Rocket exhibit runs now through Sept 4, 2017,
at our Jockey Hollow location.



✿ Big thanks to Ranger Kathryn Gilson and Ranger Abby Parsons! ✿

Summer Hours Begin July 1

Morristown, NJ – The National Park Service at Morristown National Historical Park is pleased to announce that it will begin its seven-day-a-week, summer hours of operation on July 1, 2016.

Both the Washington’s Headquarters Museum and Jockey Hollow Visitor Center buildings will be open daily from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm.

The Ford Mansion also will be open daily with tours at 10:00 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 3:00 pm, and 4:00 pm. Tickets for Ford Mansion tours must be obtained in the Washington’s Headquarters Museum.

The grounds of all park areas will be open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.

On August 31, 2015, the park will resume its regular Wednesday through Sunday operating schedule.

Emily Ramos Finds HER Park

Seventh grader, Emily Ramos, is a seasoned National History Day (NHD) participant. She is also a seasoned National Park explorer! For the past couple of years, her stellar NHD projects have allowed her to share her love for history and meet other young scholars who share that passion. This year’s NHD theme was Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange, so Emily decided to research the establishment of the National Park Service and its role in preserving and protecting sites and landscapes of significance. Her project coincides with our own Centennial celebration and serves as an excellent tribute to one-hundred years of inspiration, education, and community.


We interviewed Emily to get more insight into her research process.

Name:  Emily Ramos

Grade:  7

School:  Nicholas Oresko School
Hometown:  Bayonne

Hobbies/Interests:  Swim Team, Girl Scouts, violin and reading

What is National History Day and why do you enjoy participating?

National History Day is an academic contest that focuses on different areas of history.  I enjoy participating in National History Day because it gives students a fun and interactive way to learn about different aspects of history. 

What was this year’s theme and how did you go about interpreting it?

This year’s NHD theme was “Exploration, Encounter and Exchange”.  My topic relates to all of these aspects.  It deals with the exploration of a new idea.  My thesis stated that establishing America's national parks was one of our nation's best ideas.  This idea was very radical for the time period- that lands should be preserved for everyone to enjoy and for future generations.  Exchange also played a role in my project- industrialization and economy using up the land and the resources versus protection and preservation.  Encounter involved new peoples, such as Indian tribes living there, people occupying the lands in the east where Shenandoah and the Smokies were created.  Their opposition was encountered in many cases.  I was glad to find out through my research that the idea of establishing national parks succeeded.  And I agree that it was one of the best ideas and contributions made by our country.

How did you choose a topic?

My family and I have visited several National Parks over the past few years.  I learned that they are all operated by the National Park Service.  My favorite parks are the ones that preserve and conserve the natural world such as: mountains, seashores, and wildlife habitats.  Besides being some of the most beautiful places to visit, they offer many educational programs.  My favorite is the Junior Ranger Program.  It allows young people to earn badges for completing activities designed to have them learn about a particular park in a fun and interactive way.  With the 100th anniversary of the NPS approaching, I would like to use my project as doing my part in making people aware of what our National Parks have to offer.  

Morristown NHP to Begin Off-Season Hours

 
Morristown, NJ – Beginning on November 1, 2014, Morristown NHP will begin its off-season hours of operation for visitor services as follows:


Washington's Headquarters Museum
Monday and Tuesday – Closed
Wednesday through Sunday – 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day


Ford Mansion
Monday and Tuesday – Closed
Wednesday through Sunday – tour times at 10 am, 11 am, 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm and 4 pm
Tours are limited to 20 visitors per tour. You can purchase tickets at Washington's Headquarters Museum. All tickets are first come first served, no reservations.
Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day


Jockey Hollow Visitor Center
Monday and Tuesday – Closed
Wednesday through Sunday – 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day


Wick House
Monday and Tuesday – Closed
Wednesday through Sunday – 9:30 am to 12 Noon and 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day


Please note that the grounds of the park will remain open 7 days per week along with the restroom facilities at the Jockey Hollow area (Visitor Center and New York Brigade Comfort Station) per park hours listed at www.nps.gov/morr.


For more information about the park, please call 973-539-2016 ext. 210 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/morr.


PHOTO Sarah Minegar/NPS

Reserve Your Classroom Materials Today!

Dear Teachers,

We know you are busy enjoying your summer activities, but it is never too early to beginning thinking ahead to the fall!  Our Traveling Museum Artifact boxes are available for two week loan intervals and include adaptable activities appropriate for primary, middle, and secondary grade levels. We currently offer four museum boxes available for classroom use.


Morristown’s Traveling Museum Artifact Boxes contain groupings of reproduction artifacts similar to those that would have been typically found in the possession of various persons during the late eighteenth century. The purpose of these boxes extends beyond a mere show-and-tell experience for students. Morristown National Historical Park has constructed these traveling educational units to enable students to simulate what the Park and other museums do when archiving, storing, and interpreting objects from the past. We hope that by examining these objects in “museum condition,” students will gain a greater appreciation and understanding of the work involved in preserving a record of the past, as well as expand their historical reasoning and historical empathy skills. And ultimately, we hope that these boxes will serve as useful preparation for teachers planning a field trip to the Morristown National Historical Park Museum.

Unit 1
Contents of a Slave's Bag

Unit 2
Contents of Native American Bandolier Bag

Unit 3
Contents of a Colonial Lady's Pocket

Unit 4
Contents of a Soldier's Haversack



The artifacts in our Traveling Museum boxes are stored, labeled,
and catalogged just like the real objects in our special collections.



Our replica objects come with corresponding accession records and catalog
cards, so students can get the full museum experience!

 



Schools within the state can request the loan of the Traveling Museum Artifact Boxes by contacting 973-539-2016 (Sarah Minegar @ x 215) or (Jude Pfister @ x 204)

Our Traveling Museum Artifact boxes are available for two week loan intervals
(teacher pick up only).



 
Our Traveling Museum Artifact boxes utilize replica artifacts and lesson units originally developed and distributed by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. These original Hands-On History Kits can be found here. Morristown National Historical Park has utilized these fantastic materials to create its own derivation demonstrating the museum end of artifact preservation. These derivations include artifact "housing," museum object records, and original lesson materials and activities. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is in no way affiliated with the derivation of materials found here.

Frelinghuysen's Youth Advisory Council Visits Special Collections

We'd like to extend a special thanks to Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, his staff, and the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) for attending a special program this past Monday.

Traveling Museum Artifact Boxes

What would you find in a soldier's traveling haversack? A lady's pocket bag? A Native American's traveling bag? Or even among an enslaved person's unique items? Morristown’s Traveling Museum Artifact Boxes contain groupings of ­­­reproduction artifacts similar to those that would have been typically found in the possession of various persons during the late eighteenth century. The purpose of these boxes extends beyond a mere show-and-tell experience for students. Morristown National Historical Park has constructed these traveling educational units to enable students to simulate what the Park and other museums do when archiving, storing, and interpreting objects from the past. We hope that by examining these objects in “museum condition,” students will gain a greater appreciation and understanding of the work involved in preserving a record of the past, as well as expand their historical reasoning and historical empathy skills. And ultimately, we hope that these boxes will serve as useful preparation for teachers planning a field trip to the Morristown National Historical Park Museum.

Traveling Museum Artifact boxes are available for two week loan intervals (teacher pick up only) and include adaptable activities appropriate for primary, middle, and secondary grade levels.

Schools within the state can request the loan of the Traveling Museum Artifact Boxes by contacting 973-539-2016 (Sarah Minegar @ x 215) or (Jude Pfister @ x 204)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We have two boxes available for loan beginning February 1, 2013: (Unit 1) The Contents of a Slave's Bag & (Unit 2) The Contents of Native American Bandolier Bag. 

We hope to have (Unit 3) The Contents of a Colonial Lady's Pocket and (Unit 4) The Contents of a Soldier's Haversack ready soon!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our Traveling Museum kits utilize replica artifacts and lesson units originally developed and distributed by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. These original Hands-On History Kits can be found here. Morristown National Historical Park has utilized these fantastic materials to create its own derivation demonstrating the museum end of artifact preservation. These derivations include artifact "housing" and original lesson materials and activities. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is in no way affiliated with the derivation of materials found here.

*A special thanks for intern Julie Carlson for assembling these museum boxes and creating unique curriculum materials to accompany these reproduction artifacts. Read more about Julie HERE.

A Park for Every Classroom Immersion Workshop

We would like to extend a special thanks to the educators, park staff, and community partners who helped pilot the Park for Every Classroom (PEC) workshop model here at Morristown. Thank you for two days of intensive Park resource exploration, scholarly discussion, and lesson development.

We hope to see you and your students soon!

Learn more about this project HERE.

Exploring Place: A Park for Every Classroom @Morristown

Morristown has some exciting educational projects underway! We were selected as one of eight parks in the Northeast region to pilot A Park for Every Classroom (PEC).

The goal of PEC is to develop a model for teacher professional development that engages teachers in immersion experiences that lead to unique place-based, teacher-created programming. Teachers who participate in PEC develop curricula that foster student understanding of and appreciation for the public lands and cultural heritage institutions in their communities. The teacher-developed curricula integrate hands-on natural and cultural explorations that address concepts in history, ecology, sense of place, stewardship, and civics.  At the heart of the PEC program is the belief that students who are immersed in the interdisciplinary study of "place" are more eager to learn and be involved in the stewardship of their communities, local heritage, and public lands.

We are enthusiastic that specialized, teacher-led programming really resonates with students, and in our quest to continue to provide relevant and meaningful park experiences, we have partnered with Newark Public School teachers and Rutgers University Newark instructors. We aim to expand the reach of park resources and provide a space for teachers to utilize those resources as an extension of their classrooms.

For this pilot year (2011-2012), we have partnered with Ms. Elizabeth Aaron, Outreach Coordinator for Public Education in the Department of History and for the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience, at Rutgers University Newark.  Ms. Aaron has 15 years of classroom experience and teaches education courses at Rutgers in addition to her other duties.  The park coordinator for this project is Sarah Minegar, archives technician and museum educator at Morristown NHP. Together the two are developing an educators’ toolkit and intensive workshop series for teachers.  Ultimately, the idea is to bring Newark Public School students to Morristown to participate in resource rich immersive experiences. We want students to see how their National Parks' resources connect to their own lives.

We have also workshopped with several teachers from Newark Public Schools at various stages of this project.  These educators and our workshop participants will help us to evaluate and develop our educational offerings.

Our park is unique in that we can boast amazing cultural and natural resources that are layered with historical, cultural, geographical, and scientific curriculum potential. We are excited to invite teachers to maximize these resources to enhance their students’ interdisciplinary learning experience.

The Morristown National Historical park campus is comprised of four diverse sites:  Jockey Hollow, Fort Nonsense, New Jersey Brigade-Cross Estate, and the Museum and Washington’s Headquarters Unit. Located just a short train ride away from Newark, Morristown NHP offers the proximity and diversity of resources teachers desire.

In the near future, it is our intention to expand this program to more schools and districts. We’ll be posting updates on our progress this summer.

Stay tuned!

Morristown NHP will not be holding a typical Primary Source Seminar or Archival Ambassadors program this year. The division of cultural resources is excited to share with our friends that a new Park Service initiative, Park for Every Classroom, has started and our programs have been selected as prototypes for this new service-wide initiative. We will still be offering limited opportunities for students and teachers this spring and summer, so please check back often or give us a call. 973-539-2016 x215 (Ms. Minegar) x214 (Dr. Pfister).  

Report 3: Reflecting on the Past Three Weeks

Now that we are wrapping up our third week of the program (and our final week before the students join us), we wanted to take some time to reflect on what we have done thus far and why we have decided to do what we are doing with the students once they are here. Our first week here went by pretty quickly, full of tours that allowed us to learn the background information surrounding the Morristown National Historical Park sites, discussing and brainstorming to figure out topics and themes for both the student week and the Traveling Archives Box, and then looking through the Finding Aid and researching documents that we each found interesting. Once we had had a chance to explore the wide range of sources in the Lloyd W. Smith collection, we brought together our plethora of documents and arranged them under various categories in order to prepare ourselves for the next step: sorting through and selecting what documents we really wanted to use. The narrowing down process was difficult, since there are so many exciting and exhilarating documents in the collection, but we ultimately got down to a manageable sized group (have 3-6 documents per category). Using this group of documents, we were able to flesh out both the plan for the week and the lesson plans for the Box, developing various activities, lectures, and presentations to get the students thinking about both the documents and artifacts and the historical process.

While putting everything together, we realized that our actions and the process we were following would be helpful to share with the students for their future historical work. This became our philosophy behind the week with the students and the lesson plans. We decided we want to teach them not only how to think historically, but also how to be Mini-Historians. We will have each day reflect a particular step in what we see as the process for doing historical work: the first day will be about discovering interests and choosing topics, the second day will be about brainstorming different types of documents and artifacts that can be used while researching and then gathering these sources together, the third day will be about analyzing and interpreting those sources and understanding how a physical space can also be used for historical research, and the fourth and fifth days will be about presenting the work they have done and discussing how places, items, and parks are preserved and what career paths historians can follow. While doing all this, they will also be learning about the important role Morristown and other National Historical Parks play in the community and the extensive collection that is housed at this site.

We also composed a couple of worksheets pertaining to the anatomy of a history paper and tips we wish we had learned in high school about what to do and what not to do when writing a paper. Coupled with the week's activities and lesson plans, we feel these worksheets will be great tools that the students can continue to use throughout their high school and college careers.

We look forward to meeting all the students on Monday and cannot wait to see what their different personalities and interests add to the program! The week with them should be full of many exciting moments of discovery, in regards to not only the documents, artifacts, and sites, but also the historical process and skills associated with it. We are very eager to share everything we've found and learned with them!