In Schools & the Community
Bring Florida History Into Your Classroom
The Historical Society of Palm Beach County’s Traveling Trunks program offers exciting classroom resources that meet Florida Sunshine State Standards. Traveling Trunks are based on specific themes and contain information, activities, and reproductions of artifacts to enhance students’ understanding of Palm Beach County and Florida history. Teacher Guides are also provided. Most of the trunks are designed for Grade 4 but can be adapted for other levels. The Traveling Trunks are loaned to teachers for three-week periods on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no charge or deposit for their use.
To reserve a trunk
Contact Casey Lipschutz
Education Coordinator
561.832.4164 ext. 106 | clipschutz@pbchistory.org
Traveling Trunks
Students learn about these native tribes of Florida through the items they created. The trunk contains photos, objects, activities, a student handout, and a Teacher’s Guide.
Students will explore how these early people lived prior to and just after the arrival of Europeans in Florida. The trunk includes a teacher’s guide, photographs, prints by Florida artist Theodore Morris, reproduction artifacts, a map, books, a video, suggestions for activities, a student handout, and a Teacher’s Guide.
Students will learn how settlers lived pre-Flagler during Palm Beach County’s pioneer era (1860-1893). The trunk includes a Teacher’s Guide, photos, a large map of Lake Worth showing where the settlers lived, reproduction 19th century artifacts, books, replica fruits and vegetables, deerskin, pioneer girls’ clothing, part of a Barefoot Mailman outfit, and a student handout.
This trunk is designed as a supplement when teaching about the Holocaust and is aligned to the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards and Common Core Standards. The trunk includes books, a classroom set of Jacob’s Rescue, photos of Jewish life from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, posters, DVDs, a map, and a guide to teaching the Holocaust with other lessons.
Students have the opportunity to learn about the Europeans who claimed and explored La Florida, from 1513 when Juan Ponce de Léon claimed Florida for Spain, to the founding of St. Augustine in 1565 by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. Students will also learn how the explorers navigated the oceans through lessons and hands-on navigation tools that sailors used. Pictures, maps, clothing, a teacher’s guide, are included.
This trunk immerses students in the period of 1861-1877 in Florida, during the American Civil War and Reconstruction, with a peek into everyday life, military camp life, and the obstacles and challenges people had to overcome to survive. Included are a Teacher’s Guide, photos, a large map of battles fought in Florida, reproduction 19th century artifacts, pioneer girl’s clothing, and books.
This trunk brings to life the science and development of one of the most foundational parts of our county’s history: agriculture. Teach the agricultural heritage of Palm Beach County and even how to create your own classroom or school garden. Included are a Teacher’s Guide, historical photos, large maps of the agriculture district, replica vegetables and fruits, and books.
This trunk, designed for 4th grade through high school, focuses on Palm Beach County and Florida during Reconstruction. Students take part in activities where they experience how inflation during the Civil War affected life in the country, what decisions newly emancipated people faced, how this era built up Palm Beach County, and how the end of Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, and the onset of the Great Depression affected life in Florida.
The Educator Guide contains background on the periods of Post-Reformation to the onset of the Great Depression.
- The curriculum in this trunk examines the long and arduous fight that led to women winning the right to vote in the United States. Students learn that there were two sides—pro-suffrage and anti-suffrage. Students will explore arguments from both sides. The Women’s Suffrage Trunk provides reproduction artifacts, hands-on activities, photos, books, and other materials for teachers to utilize. The trunk will foster a greater interest in women’s suffrage. This guide is for use in the classroom; however, it has been adapted for online study.
History Delivered
The Historical Society of Palm Beach County has created History Pop-ups that schools, libraries, and other non-commercial users can request for 1-3 months on a first-come, first-served basis. The pop-ups can be used indoors or outdoors. Many of the subjects are segments of Palm Beach County and Florida history that are taught in our schools. There is no charge or deposit for their use.
Contact Casey Lipschutz
Education Coordinator
561.832.4164 ext. 106 | clipschutz@pbchistory.org
Pop-up Exhibits
Florida’s Ancient People provides a brief overview of the first Native Americans that inhabited South Florida.
Spanish Explorers introduces the adventurous men that sailed to Florida in the 16th century in search of riches and land.
Florida in the Civil War explains how Florida residents contributed, fought, and survived the war that divided our nation.
The Pioneer Era provides an understanding of how and why settlers came to Palm Beach County and how they lived.
City of Hope: Resurrection City and the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daring vision for economic justice and opportunity for every U.S. citizen. The poster exhibition examines the Poor People’s Campaign—a grassroots, multiracial movement that drew thousands of people to Washington, D.C. For 43 days between May and June 1968, demonstrators demanded social reforms while living side-by-side on the National Mall in a tent city known as Resurrection City.
City of Hope is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Stories of Palm Beach County women in history who overcame barriers to succeed in many fields.
Deltiology, the hobby of collecting postcards, is the third most popular collecting hobby in the world. The variety of subjects depicted is nearly endless and reflects national and world events as well as the deeply personal feelings of individuals. “Postcards from the Palm Beaches” features a sampling of postcards from the Historical Society of Palm Beach County’s extensive archive.
The story of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Learn how the definition of a shipwreck’s treasure depends on how it is used. See how shipwrecks on the shores of Palm Beach County have provided housing, sustenance, recreation, and yes, even gold, silver, and jewels over the decades to those lucky enough to search.
We are not makers of history. We are made by history.
