Education Resources: Traveling Trunks

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, designed for 4^th 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.

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.

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 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 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 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.

• 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.