Educational Programming

The Filson offers a variety of educational programs for the 2007-2008 school year. The purpose of these programs is to educate students about history and to allow the past to become an opportunity to learn about the present.

The Great Journey
By viewing a one-man presentation, students are able to identify and describe characters, their relationships, and their settings and environments.  This one-act performance brings to life significant events in our nation’s history.  Listen to William Clark recount the tale of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  Learn of the trials and adventures that were part of the greatest journey in American history.
Cost: Contact The Filson to learn about the chance to view this drama free of charge.

History Trunks
Trunks filled with artifacts and museum reproductions offer a hands-on approach to Kentucky history.  Plan a trip to The Filson for an on-site lesson, or as part of your in-class teaching. Trunks are available for a nominal charge from these historic eras:

Frontier Kentucky

Lewis and Clark

The Civil War

Lewis and Clark - Have Trunk, Will Travel
This trunk is a chance for your students to discover the history of the Expedition with a hands-on approach that will bring the journey to life.  The students will participate in a conversation about this trek and the many encounters along the trail.  Students can compare their hand to a cast of a grizzly bear track or learn how a sextant worked for mapmaking on the journey.  The trunk can be scheduled as part of your classroom experience or as part of a field trip to The Filson, and is an excellent way to prepare for or review the many adventures that will be available as the nation commemorates the bicentennial of the journey.
Contact The Filson for pricing and to schedule a presentation.

Civil War Drama – One Wore Blue, One Wore Gray
A one-act performance about the Civil War.  Hear the true story of two Louisville natives who fought for opposite sides during the Civil War.  This presentation gives a great example of how the war split the country apart, even in the same city.
Cost: $150.00

The Filson Museum
The Filson's museum, located in the Carriage House behind the Ferguson Mansion, is a self-guided tour through the rich and varied history of Kentucky. The artifacts currently on display include a bighorn sheep horn, the only known verifiable animal artifact brought back by the Lewis and Clark expedition, a mid-nineteenth-century firefighting hand-pumper, Jim Porter's seven-foot-nine-inch smoothbore musket, a genuine Kentucky still, Daniel Boone's famous "Kill a Bar" tree carving, handmade quilts, and various Civil War artifacts. In addition to the museum's historical items, The Filson's art collection, which is displayed in the Ferguson Mansion and the museum, contains one of the most extensive collections of antebellum portraiture in Kentucky.

House Tour of the Ferguson Mansion
Elements of culture abound in The Filson’s headquarters and serve to define the Victorian lifestyle and allow students to experience the way of life of an affluent family in the late 19th century.
Cost: Free

The Kentucky Virtual Art Museum - Filson Collection
The Kentucky Virtual Art Museum is a centerpiece of the Visual Arts Toolkit, one of a series of Arts Toolkits created by KET for Kentucky teachers. Each toolkit includes hours of high-quality instructional video clips addressing Kentucky Core Content in the arts and humanities, accompanied by lesson plans keyed to specific curriculum standards, ideas for additional classroom activities, glossaries, handouts, and a binder full of other resources. The Filson has published our section of the CD-ROM on our website.  To view these items, click here.  Each Arts Toolkit also includes bonus resources tied to the specific arts discipline. In addition to the Kentucky Virtual Art Museum CD-ROM, the Visual Arts Toolkit includes transparencies of selected works from this collection and a beautiful 24" X 36" full-color Purposes of Art poster. See the Arts Toolkit web site for more information about this exciting instructional resource.

2007 - 2008 Education Programs Flyer

The Filson Historical Society
1310 South Third Street - Louisville, KY 40208
Phone: (502) 635-5083 Fax: (502) 635-5086