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   Originated In
  1734  

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The Scarsdale Historical Society offers a number of education programs for grades K-5 as well as activities for Brownies, Cub Scouts and Boy and Girl Scouts in support of badge requirements. A two-hour visit to The Scarsdale Historical Society includes a curriculum based lesson as well as games and activities in the gallery, a tour of the Cudner-Hyatt House and a take-home project. The Hyatt House looks today just as it did in the latter part of the 19th century. No TV’s, DVD’s or running water but there is a beautiful cast iron stove in the kitchen and a reed organ in the parlor, among other treasures. This beautiful house makes a lasting impression on everyone who visits. It also offers a wonderful opportunity for students to really see how life used to be lived in Westchester County before the Industrial Revolution created the modern world.

In addition to the traditional two-hour program there is a new format for class visits that is one-hour in length. Our current exhibition, “Ghosts of the Post Road” is an overview of 400 years of history along the Post Road in Scarsdale with specific reference to the time of the Lenape Indians, the colonists, mid- 19th century and late- 19th to early 20th century life. Teachers booking their visit can choose a specific theme such as “Family” or “Community” for their lesson or can choose a specific time period for their focus. The exhibition is interactive and there are a number of games and activities such as “Word Scramble” and “Can You Find It?” based on the exhibition. Along the way students can even learn some Lenape vocabulary words!

In addition to on-site activities The Scarsdale Historical Society offers three “Traveling Trunks” that are delightful treasure chests of facsimile artifacts. “Grandma’s Trunk” is filled with late 19th century life-style items; the Civil War trunk has posters, old newspaper articles and games from that era and our Lenape trunk contains tools, a drum and games of the Native Americans. We also offer a pre-site visit or stand alone school visit by one of our educators on any of the themes mentioned above.

During the past year, we have hosted our annual Halloween “Fright Night at a Historic Site” and a Victorian card-making workshop along with our Candlelight Tour.

The Historical Society offers activities that are open to the public on national holidays such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents' Day and during the Holiday and Winter Recess.