Interactive Year-Long Exhibit Tells 300-Year Story of Westport | Kids Out and About Fairfield County, CT <

Interactive Year-Long Exhibit Tells 300-Year Story of Westport


*The event has already taken place on this date: Mon, 04/16/2018
Join us this Monday, April 16 from 4-6 pm for a family-friendly reception with treats, giveaways, and more to kick off The History Of Westport in 100 Objects, our year-long exhibit showcasing the history of our town from first settlement to the present!

Please help us keep this calendar up to date! If this activity is sold out, canceled, or otherwise needs alteration, email mindy@kidsoutandabout.com so we can update it immediately. If you have a question about the activity itself, please contact the organization administrator listed below.

Join us this Monday, April 16 from 4-6 pm for a family-friendly reception with treats, giveaways, and more to kick off The History Of Westport in 100 Objects, our year-long exhibit showcasing the history of our town from first settlement to the present!

 

“This year-long project is a fun way for kids and adults to learn about the history of our wonderful town,” said Ramin Ganeshram, Executive Director of Westport Historical Society. “These objects and artifacts—some of them hundreds of years old and many never before seen by the public – will truly bring the past to life.”

 

Carved out of Fairfield in 1835, Westport’s recorded history of colonial settlement activity dates back to the June 1637 battle with native people at Fairfield Swamp. Over several hundred years, Westport saw successive transformations from farming settlement of ‘long lots’ to incorporated town in 1835 to artist community to suburban residential area.

 

Beginning with a kid-focused (5th to 8th grade) reception from 4:00-6:00 PM on April 16, highlights include:

  • A display case, in Wheeler House’s front hall, changing every two weeks.
  • A mystery object will be on display with every case, and visitors may vote on its identity is by ballot. A winner will be drawn from the correct answer and will receive an item from the gift shop.
  • A passport/online check-in will make the exhibit more interactive for kids. After a certain number of visits to the 100 Objects visit, they will get scrip to make purchases at the gift store.
  • After each case comes off display, its items will go up in a digital exhibit at westporthistory.org.

 

 In partnership with WHS, the Westport Library and Saugatuck StoryFest creators are organizing “100 Objects, 100 Stories” in conjunction with the exhibit. A collaboration between the Library and Staples High School, the project will see 100 writers from across Westport – students, professional writers, prominent community members and others – contributing 500-word pieces of flash fiction, each inspired by an object in the exhibit.

 

These stories will be featured throughout the duration of the Historical Society’s exhibit, and they will be spotlighted in a special program during the Saugatuck StoryFest in October.    

 

The History of Westport in 100 Objects is a great opportunity for visitors to learn about the town in an interactive and stimulating way. At the end of the year of 100 Objects, WHS will ask the town to vote on their favorite objects using the online gallery and to suggest items for a time capsule of modern objects to be buried on WHS property at a Spring 2019 ceremony.

 

The goal will be for WHS curators in 25 years to redo the History of Westport in 100 Objects, adding items from the time capsule.  Special Note: If people have Westport artifacts, the WHS would love to see and hear about them at 100Objects@westporthistory.org


*Times, dates, and prices of any activity posted to our calendars are subject to change. Please be sure to click through directly to the organization’s website to verify.

Location:

25 Avery Place
Westport, CT, 06880
United States

Phone:

203-222-1424
Contact name: 
Barbara
The event has already taken place on this date: 
04/16/2018
Time: 
Mon., April 16, from 4 to 6 pm
Price: 
Free

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