Last weekend, I was once again reminded what an important role living history can play making an event both exciting and educational. “The Redcoats Are Coming” was a weekend-long encampment of both British and Continental soldiers on the grounds of Jerusalem Mill Village in Kingsville, MD. We had crowds of about 650 each day (which allowed us to cover our expenses and make some profit too!). Visitors could wander the camps and talk to the re-enactors – the soldiers, as well as their wives, and children. Craftsmen were also on hand to demonstrate their trades. Kids and adults alike learned how to fence and march in line, did laundry by hand, played checkers, helped to cook to stew over the fire, browsed through the sutlers’ colonial wares, and exclaimed over straw mat beds inside each soldier’s tent.
But what really thrilled me was watching the kids watch the battle re-enactment. Every time the Continentals fired a volley, a cheer went up from the kids, and every time the Redcoats gained some ground, there was thunderous booing! Re-enactors in the crowd starting encouraging it with heckles like “I think we’ll have LOBSTER for dinner” which were immediately picked up by the kids. And as the battle concluded, the troops lined up in front of the crowd and everyone was free to mingle, look at the artillery, and have their pictures taken with the troops and horses. Everyone seemed to have had a wonderful time, and I am inclined to believe a large part of that came from the ability to interact with the re-enactors and the colonial lifestyle in a variety of ways.
A recent article in The New York Times discussed this issue when it profiled the Harlem Success Academy’s trip to the Queens County Farm Museum. The school participates in this field trip in pursuit of better test scores, but also acknowledges the benefits of the trips within the broader educational experience. Eva Moskowitz, a leader of the school, commented: “I see nothing mutually exclusive about having fun and having a rich, well-planned, rigorous learning experience. It’s important for kids to know where butter comes from, that corn does not just arrive in the supermarket.”
The children’s comments spoke for themselves:
- “Pumpkins have seeds inside them,” said Omari Eagan, 6.
- Ivan Ramirez, 5, said he had learned that bacon comes from pigs, but that chicken does not.
- “Chickens make eggs,” said Paige Garcia, 5. “I didn’t know that before.”
Living history events function in the same way. Learning about the Revolutionary War in a classroom – memorizing names of generals, names of battles – is extremely different that SEEING a battle re-enacted. Suddenly, kids have a visual to attach to the stories they read in their textbooks, And I bet the kids from the Jerusalem Mill re-enactment’s cheering section will forever remember that the British – the Lobsterbacks – wore red…no memorization required!