Educational Programs

Each Fall and Spring the Heritage Education Program offers special programs to area schools. These programs include activities geared to special events and holidays as well as Discovery Programs designed to meet the curriculum needs of individual classrooms. These programs are available both on-site at the Museums and through presentations by educational staff in your classroom. Area history can become part of your planned curriculum to meet the Standards of Learning of Virginia. With each museum program the SOL's will be outlined and included with follow-up activities for classroom use. Brochures are available from Museum educational staff listing the special programs for each semester.

The Museum Resource Center at the Thomas J. Boyd Museum has a special collection of historical and educational materials for use by teachers and students doing research or working on special projects. Curriculum Guides on area history, Discovery Boxes (hands-on investigation activities for the classroom), and other educational materials may be checked out on a weekly basis.

The Curriculum Guides available are:

1. Wythe County, The First 100 Years
3. Early Schools in Wythe County
5. Battles of Wytheville
7. The Fruits of Their Labor
9. Trade, Barter or Sales
2. A Look At Toys
4. Wythe County's Charcoal Iron Furnaces
6. Wyrick Spring
8. Crockett's Cove Presbyterian Church
10. Through the Years

Discovery Boxes available are:

1. Electrical Connection with 12 hand-operated generators

2. Learn about Weaving

3. Seeds, Seeds and More Seeds

Also available is our Energy Cycle, a bicycle-powered generator. The Museum is pleased to share an outstanding hands-on teaching tool with the schools we serve. It is a great way to teach Virginia Standards of Learning in science, social studies, and math.

If you are interested in any of these education programs, please contact Clayta Bryant, Heritage Education Coordinator by phone: (540) 223-3406 or e-mail: museum@wytheville.org for further information or to schedule a tour.

Discovery Corner
Kindergarten - Fifth Grade

Visit the Discovery Corner, located in the Thomas J. Boyd Museum, and let your child learn about local history. Children will have experience with hands-on activities in ten stations.

Learn About:
The General Store, weigh and measure as storekeepers used to do
This Little Light, activity from candles to electricity
Hackles UP, weave and comb flax and wool to make cloth
Tools of the Trade, try to guess what the different tools are and how they were used

and many more activities that will delight your child while they learn about the past. All of the items found in the Discovery Corner are original and have been donated to the Museum to reflect the lives of people as they were during the 1800-1900s.

The Energy Cycle

Riding the Energy Cycle is a powerful experience. You will be pedaling a bicycle that is attached to a generator, thereby producing electricity. While pedaling the bicycle you will be able to demonstrate a number of science concepts. For example, bike riders will be able to see how many volts they are producing and feel the difference between the energy required to light an incandescent versus a fluorescent bulb.

The Discovery Corner and Energy Cycle are part of the Thomas J. Boyd Museum and are available during the Museum hours. Children's tours can be arranged for school or community groups through the Heritage Education Coordinator by calling (540) 223-3406 or e-mail us at museum@wytheville.org.