EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
School programs at Sandy Spring Museum encourage students to use what they know about history to investigate and imagine what life would have been like during a different time period. It uses resources from the museum’s archives and records to aid students in making conclusions about the past. School groups, home school communities, scouting troops, and other groups of young people are invited to experience 19th century rural life in Sandy Spring.
We also welcome inquiries for customized programs, including teachers and students wishing to do research in primary historical materials, wishing to pursue particular topics or curriculum goals. With sufficient lead time, Museum educators can create exactly the program you are looking for!
Click here to plan & reserve a visit
MSDE Standards-based Trips to Sandy Spring Museum
Grades 1-2
Grades 4-5
Grade 5
Grade 8
Grades 1, 2: “Past and Present”
Download a PDF of the Past and Present learning overview with MSDE standards.
Download a PDF of the Past and Present Learning Packet.
Station 2: In the Blacksmith’s Shop students will learn about the production process by identifying the natural, capital, and human resources used in the blacksmith’s shop (4.A.2). Students will examine the role technology plays in the way the blacksmith works (4.A.3)
Station 1: In the Museum students will identify and discuss goods and services that were available in the past in Sandy Spring from private business and by the government with our Hands-on History Tables (4.A.1, 4.B.2). Students will discover what a market is and what types of markets were available in the town of Sandy Spring over 100 years ago (4.B.1). Students will examine the museum’s kitchen tools and discuss how changes in technology affected the way people lived in the past. Students will identify ways in which modern technology helps people in the present (4.A.3, 5.B.1).
Station 3: In the Dr. Bird Room students will use geographic tools to map the town of Sandy Spring circa 1900 (3.A.1). Studentswill describe the environment of Maryland and of Sandy Spring with physical characteristics and discover human-features that still exist today (3.B.1.). They will use secondary sources like maps, pictures, and graphics to see how the community has changed over time (6.F.1, 6.G.1).
Grades 4-5: Slavery and Freedom: The Sandy Spring Story
PDF of Slavery and Freedom Lesson Outline with MSDE standards
Overview: This program is designed for fourth and fifth graders and reviews the history of how Africans became enslaved and were sold into America. It compares the types of slavery that were present in the colonies, and their geographical differences. It then spotlights Sandy Spring, where Quaker culture influenced early manumission of enslaved people, and then helped to build a foundation for economic independance. The emphasis of this lesson is on the uniqueness of Sandy Spring, the complexity of manumission, and individual journeys to and beyond freedom.
Download PDF of the Machines and Motion learning overview with MSDE standards
Download PDF of the Machines and Motion Learning Packet
Station 1: In the Museum students will tour the gallery and discover how producers provided goods and services to the Sandy Spring community (5.1.5.3). Students will learn how taxes financed some of Sandy Spring’s public services (5.6.5.1). Students will describe the motion of a piece of 19th century kitchen technology using distance traveled, time, and speed (5.5.A.1)
Station 2: In the Blacksmith’s Shop students will see how the blacksmith acts as a producer in his community and provides goods and services to satisfy economic wants (5.5.1.3). Students will explore how changes in technology have impacted the economy and see how specialized work results in trade, interdependence, and economic growth (5.4.5.4, 5.7.5.2). Students will also learn about the role that different types of motion, friction, gravity, and energy (kinetic and potential) play in the forge (5.5.A.1, 5.5.A.2, 5.5.A.4).
Station 3: In the Barn students will identify simple machines and discover how they were used to adapt and modify the natural environment of Sandy Spring through the Civil War time period (5.4.4.1). Students will also discover how changes in farm technology impacted the Sandy Spring economy (5.4.5.4). Students will be able to use and identify different types of simple and complex machines and describe the motion they make and the types of energy they use (5.5.A.1, 5.5.A.4).
Grade 8: Montgomery County and the Civil War
Download PDF with program description and MSDE standards
Download PDF of Example Power Point
Students will use primary sources to explore Maryland’s divided positions on secession and slavery. They will argue in groups about whether to vote for or against secession, and determine how the people of Montgomery County lived within the deeply conflicted atmosphere of a border state. The lesson engages divisions across the county, in the communities of Sandy Spring, and even inside families. Students will interact with each other in a debate format to discover various opinions held in Montgomery County. Additional primary document resources have been assembled for use by the teacher in the classroom, or by students for further study.
This program can be used by teachers in their own classrooms, by a Museum educator visiting the classroom, or during a class visit to the Museum. Please contact Education Director Stephanie Boyle or call the Museum 301-774-0022 to discuss your options. We want to work with teachers to make this a successful program for every group of students.
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17901 Bentley Road • Sandy Spring, Maryland 20860 • 301.774.0022 • electronic mail • sitemap
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