A Living Museum - Williamsburg
5/11/2019
By far, a highlight of the 8th grade Spring Trip was the afternoon spent in Williamsburg touring the living museum of this important colonial town. We began our tour at the colonial capital building, sitting in the seats where the House of Burgesses met and discussed all things important of the day. Our guide, Mary, led us through mock decisions made by the burgesses as well as a trial that came before the high court. Mrs. Henke was found guilty of stealing Lilly’s silver and the jury convicted her because, duh, she sold the silver forgetting that all items with any value back then were marked with the family name. Poor Mrs. Henke was sentenced to 99 years, but since it was her first offence (and she promised to knit Ms. Mariner, the judge, some new socks) she was set free - only after she was marked with a “T” for “thief” on the palm of her hand with a hot branding iron. Such was the brutal reality of keeping people in line back then! Mary continued to fill the tour with stories of crime and punishment. We visited the “haunted” jail and heard stories about the crimes that might land one there. The ghost of the jailhouse made an appearance by making some thumping noises above us and we were ready to get outta there in short order, not wanting to know the horrors of what may have happened to that poor soul. At Williamsburg, 8th graders were also able to try out “Hoop and Stick”, an entertaining colonial child’s game - far superior to the video games of today! They also helped to mix the clay - a step in the fascinating process of making bricks for the construction of houses. Students also solved the hedge maze at the governor’s palace, learned about muskets, saw the daily drum and fife procession, and generally just enjoyed being set back in history. Anna decided that she would attend William and Mary College and become a colonial baker at Williamsburg! We all decided that we could have spent many more days exploring the 550+ buildings, 88 of which are original buildings from the 18th century! Check out more if you have never been there: Colonial Williamsburg. Comments are closed.
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Sarah Mariner
Ms. Mariner earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science from Colorado State University, and was awarded a teaching certificate through the University of Alaska, Southeast. Her varied background includes being an environmental education field instructor in Massachusetts, Colorado, and Baja, Mexico. She also served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. Archives
April 2021
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