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Farmstead
Living History Museum
Agriculture has played an essential role in the formation of
this community. At the Bement-Billings Farmstead students
explore their connection to the farm through interactive
communications with trained museum guides, the study of 19th
century artifacts and five selected hands-on activities. These
activities may include: churning butter in a real pre-Civil War
kitchen, learning lessons in a one-room school, carding and
spinning wool into yarn, visiting a woodworking shop, learning
about the uses of herbs and wild foods, designing a quilt square
and watching a blacksmith work at the forge. Our program
satisfies the New York State Learning Standards for Social
Studies I, 2, 3, 4, 5; English/Language Arts 1, 4.
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Hints for making the most
of your visit:
- Students should be dressed for outdoor
activities, including warm, waterproof footwear.
- You may wish to bring moist towelettes
for hand washing, a simple first-aid kit, and a cell phone.
If any students require prescription medications, these need
to be carried as well.
- Students should be assigned to smaller
groups of 10-15 before they arrive at the Farmstead. Color
coded name tags or stickers are useful for identifying
groups.
- We suggest that one adult chaperone
accompany each group of students.
- If a scheduled lunch period will be part
of the field trip experience, students should bring labeled
“brown bag” lunches which include beverages. (Include a few
lunches to spare for those who forgot.) We appreciate
efforts to carry out trash.
- Students are welcome to photograph their
day at the farmstead.
- Chewing gum and candy are not
allowed inside any of our historic structures.
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Pre-visit Activities
Pre-visit activity sheets which include puzzles are available
on this Website. These activities are intended to serve as an
introduction to some of the concepts and vocabulary that will be
used during the field trip. You are welcome to copy and
distribute these activity sheets to your students before field
trip day. You can
download Adobe Acrobat Reader free, if needed.
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Suggested Field
Trip Follow-up Activities (appropriate for all
grades)
Create a class scrapbook of your field trip. Each
student can prepare one page which may include a poem,
short story, or essay. Photographs, drawings, and
captions will enhance the project. Encourage your
students to use imagination and creativity.
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Availability
The Bement-Billings Farmstead offers this
program to school groups weekdays during May,
June, September, and through mid-October. We
welcome community groups May through
mid-October. Reservations can be made by calling
the business office at (607) 642-9516. Groups
visiting the Farmstead may extend their stay to
include a lunch period. Please inform our staff
if you choose this option.
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Program
Cost
The cost of our program is $5.00 per
student. We prefer payment in the form
of a check presented on the day of the
tour. Checks should be made payable to
Newark Valley Historical Society.
Teachers scheduling through the BOCES
program may use the procedures set forth
in the BOCES brochure.
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