We offer several interactive learning programs that are fun and engaging. From learning about archaeology, early European exploration, and colonial life, these programs make learning history enjoyable. They are perfect for school groups, homeschoolers, intergenerational groups and even adults.
These programs are done at the Coastal Discovery Museum on Hilton Head Island.
Cooperation and Conflict: Native Americans and Europeans in Port Royal Sound (Grades 3-6)
Students will examine the reasons behind French and Spanish settlement attempts in Port Royal Sound during the 16th century and also explore the interactions they had with Native Americans living in the area. Participants will explore how these Europeans and Native Americans cooperated with each other and what drove them to conflict. During the program students will participate in making a red dye from cochineal bugs just as the Spanish did from the bugs acquired from the Native Americans.
Social Studies Standards: 3-2.2, 3-2.3, 4-1.3, 6-4.4, 6-6.5
Students will get an introduction into the field of archaeology by a professional archaeologist. In this program participants will excavate a simulated site in dig boxes using the same methods archaeologists do to uncover and record their finds. They will also have to identify artifacts they discover and figure out who might have lived at their site.
South Carolina Social Studies Standards: 3-1.3, 3-2.2, 3-2.3, 4-2.2, 6-4.4, 8-1.2
Living History with Captain William Hilton(Grades 3-8)
In this program students will meet Captain William Hilton who will tell them about his life and how he explored the Carolina coast in 1663 for a group of men in Barbados who were looking for suitable site to start a colony. He will tell them how he entered Port Royal Sound and noticed a high bluff or headland on an island that could serve as a navigational marker and called it Hilton’s Head. In addition, participants will learn about life aboard a 17th century sailing ship by examining reproduction artifacts such as the chip log (used to determine speed) and the lead line (used to determine water depth). Students will also learn how to tie several different knots on a piece of rope they can take with them.
South Carolina Social Studies Standards: 3-1.1, 3-1.2, 3-2.2, 3-2.3, 3-2.4, 4-1.3, 4-1.4, 4-2.3, 6-6.4, 6-6.5, 8-1.2
Terms: Hilton Head, Santa Elena, Charlesfort, Port Royal, Barbados, Lord Proprietors, astrolabe, compass, cartography
Length: 45 mins
Indigo Tie-Dye (Grades 3-8)
Your students will have a chance to meet either Eliza Lucas Pinckney or her son Charles Cotesworth Pinckney who travelled through time to tell them about the historical importance of indigo and how it became a valuable cash crop in South Carolina. Students will have a chance to interact with Eliza or Charles and ask them questions before they explore the parts of the plant used to make the dye and then tie-dye their own t-shirts in indigo. (T-shirts not provided).
South Carolina Social Studies Standards: 3-2, 3-4, 4-2, 8-1, 8-3
Life was different for people in colonial South Carolina than it is today, but in some ways it was the same. Students will compare and contrast life then and now by examining reproduction artifacts with a costumed presenter. They will also have a chance to play 18th century games and make headache sacks to take with them.
South Carolina Social Studies Standards: 4-2.2, 7-1.1, 7-1.2
Terms: Colony, plantation, cash crop
Length: 1 hour
Colonial Medicine (Grades 4-8)
What was health care like for people in colonial South Carolina? Students will learn how people in the past dealt with sickness and disease by role playing and examining reproduction artifacts. They will then analyze the treatment given to George Washington during his final illness.
