History Detectives: Primary Source Investigations

Grades 4 – 10, 60 minutes

How do historians learn about the past? What is a primary source? In History Detectives, students will explore and analyze objects from the Museum’s collection to learn how to “read” artifacts, documents, and photographs. Developing skills of historical inquiry is an important way to decode objects, interpret the past and learn about the people who lived it. Content can focus on two main areas of inquiry: New Jersey Industry, which covers several discoveries and inventions from Hoboken that are an important part of our industrial past and contributed to the regional economy; or Notable Historical Figures, where students will be given written narratives about  four historical figures with
ties to Hoboken. Working in small groups, students will use critical thinking skills to
determine which individual might have been the owner of the collection, and will then
be asked to write a persuasive essay explaining how the primary source material led them to their conclusion. This program begins at the fourth grade curriculum level, but can be adapted for groups through the tenth grade.

Reservations: Contact the Education Curator at education@hobokenmuseum.org or call 201.656.2240.

Community and Diversity

Grade 2, 60 minutes

This program focuses on the second grade social studies curriculum standards for Community and Diversity. By examining objects from the Museum’s collection representing celebrations of culture, festivals, and heritage, students will engage with the diverse  cultural history of their community and explore how these cultural traditions are preserved and how they evolve over time.

Reservations: Contact the Education Curator at education@hobokenmuseum.org or call 201.656.2240.

Local History & Architecture Walking Tour

60-90 minutes

Focusing on the link between local architecture and history, our walking tour can be  tailored to fit individual classes and grade levels. After first using visual skills to identify architectural elements in historic photographs, students will then identify and discuss actual buildings’ features as we walk. Discussions will focus on how various structures reflect our local history, and the way in which our community has preserved or changed the built environment over time. 

Tours offered in Summer, Fall and Spring.

Reservations: Contact the Education Curator at education@hobokenmuseum.org or call 201.656.2240.

Our Neighborhood: Shapes and Patterns

Grades K-2, 60 minutes

Shapes and patterns can be found in buildings throughout the city and right outside our doors. Students will explore neighborhood architecture with their eyes, and then go inside to create a community mural based on the design elements of shapes, lines, and patterns. In this program, everyone is an architect!

Reservations: Contact the Education Curator at education@hobokenmuseum.org or call 201.656.2240.

Destination Hoboken: the City and Immigration

Grades 3-5, 60 minutes

From Native Americans over 10,000 years ago, to Dutch settlers of the early 17th century, to  large-scale immigration and migration of the 19th and 20th centuries, Hoboken has always been a community of immigrants – a people in motion. Ship manifests and immigration documents from the Museum’s collection provide primary source evidence of these migration patterns. This program asks students to consider the nature of immigration, who has immigrated, and why Hoboken has served as such an important destination for migrants from around the globe.

Reservations: Contact the Education Curator at education@hobokenmuseum.org or call 201.656.2240.

Traveling Trunk Program

Grades 2-10, 60 minutes

If you’re unable to bring your students to the Museum, we’ll bring the Museum to you! Choose from one of eight “Traveling Trunks” – historic steamship trunks, fully stocked with a complete interactive history workshop and primary source materials, ready to be investigated. Programs are easily adapted for various grade levels.

Reservations: Contact the Education Curator at education@hobokenmuseum.org or call 201.656.2240.

Hoboken Fire Department Museum

213 Bloomfield Street, 45-60 minutes

There’s something for everyone at the Hoboken Fire Department Museum. Young visitors will experience an interactive Storytime program, and get a boost into the driver’s seat of the shiny red Ahrens Fox fire engine, built circa 1932. This “Cadillac” of fire trucks has been meticulously restored and occasionally stars in civic parades. Older visitors can engage in an interactive scavenger hunt and become immersed in the treasure trove of firefighting
equipment and memorabilia documenting the evolution of tools and techniques used by Hoboken’s bravest. 

Reservations: Contact the Education Curator at education@hobokenmuseum.org or call 201.656.2240.

Map It!

Grades 1 – 3, 60 minutes

Working cooperatively, students will be asked to observe their surroundings and then read or create maps and symbols, starting with the museum interior and expanding to their own neighborhood and the city. By following a map of the area around the Museum, students will learn to correlate places on the map with visible landmarks, gain a basic understanding of street gridding and apply that knowledge to Hoboken’s geography. Examining local maps from different eras, will allow them to discern what sorts of information can be uncovered by reading a map, and how the built environment changes over time. This program is centered on the second grade curriculum for local geography, but can be adapted for younger or older classes.

Reservations: Contact the Education Curator at education@hobokenmuseum.org or call 201.656.2240.