Learn About the Museum
education
Virtual School Tours
Take a virtual museum field trip through the museum galleries to learn about the African American experience in Maryland to include their achievements, their pursuit of freedom and their fight for social justice from the colonial period to present day. A museum activity sheet is available for each school tour.
Time: 45 – 60 minutes
Fee:
- Maryland Title I Schools/ Free Lunch Programs – Free
- Other K-12 Schools/Universities – Group rate $125 (up to 50 students). Additional cost for larger groups.
- Community Youth Organizations/Home School Groups – Group Rate $60 (up to 30 students) Pricing considerations may be made for groups with budgetary restrictions. Click below to Request Your Virtual Tour!
Freedom Bound: Runaways of the Chesapeake
Explore stories of resistance to bondage and servitude in the Chesapeake Region from the Colonial Period to the American Civil War (1728-1864) by meeting nine bound workers—slaves, indentured servants, and convict servants— who asserted control over their own lives by running away. Students will analyze their runaway ads from the Maryland Gazette and view recorded living history vignettes during this guided virtual experience.
Grades: 4 – 12
Tell Our Story: A Tribute to Robert Houston
Tell Our Story, A Tribute to Robert Houston is an assemblage of photographs and photographers whose narratives are grounded in empathy yet focused on contemporary social commentary. Houston’s sense of humanity as seen through various portraitures also expands into the photo documentation of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign and Resurrection City where he documented the daily lives and activities he saw on the National Mall. Devin Allen, Dee Dwyer and J.M. Giordano, both Baltimore and Washington DC based photographers, focus on the importance of community and crafting an image as a social statement. Their contributed images document the beauty and struggle of everyday life, the 2018 Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, the Freddie Gray uprising and Black Lives Matter protests in Baltimore and Washington, DC.
Grades: 3-12
Make Good Trouble: Marching for Change
The nation and the world took to the streets this summer to protest the death of George Floyd and system racism in order to activate change. Examine the local protests in Maryland via protest signs, photos and political buttons.
Grades: 4-12
Digital Living History Programs: I, Too, Am America
Experience the cry of freedom, equality and activism through the voices of Maryland African American freedom fighters and trail blazers. Digital living history presentations are portrayed within the backdrop of the museum’s galleries interwoven with historical images. Historical figures include: Harriet Tubman (abolitionist), Benjamin Banneker (abolitionist), Mother Mary Lange (educator), Juanita Jackson Mitchell (legal eagle) and Verda Welcome (politician). An activity sheet on activism and/or a live Q &A with the presenter is available.
Presentation Length: 25 minutes/ 45 minutes with live Q & A
Fee: $60 Viewing; $100 with live Q & A chat. Accessible for up to 1 week.
Click below to Request Your Living History Experience!
Benjamin Banneker
Harriet Tubman
Mother Mary Lange
Juanita Jackson Mitchell
Verda Welcome
Benjamin Banneker, the black father of science in colonial America, used his STEAM contributions to fight the abolishment of slavery. See Banneker come to life by Griot storyteller Bob Smith as he explains why he sent an almanac and letter to Thomas Jefferson to discuss why slavery was wrong in America.
Maryland freedom fighter Harriet Tubman, an important figure to the Underground Railroad network helped over 60 enslaved people escape to freedom. See a compelling dramatic work performed by storyteller, Janice the Griot about this heroine’s life as Harriet reflects on family, freedom and courage.
Mother Mary Lange, the foundress of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, spent her life educating black children during the 1800s. Witness Mother Lange’s journey to creating this religious order of black nuns, providing education for all people and fighting racism in the church through the eyes of Janice the Griot.
Legal eagle and civil rights activist Juanita Jackson Mitchell, the first African American woman to practice law in Maryland, would be instrumental in integrating Baltimore schools, restaurants and swimming pools in the Maryland courts. Join Juanita Jackson Mitchell in spirit as she protests for equality and social justice portrayed by Janice the Griot.
Meet Maryland State Senator Verda Freeman Welcome, the 2nd black woman to be elected to a state senate in the early 1950s. Verda spent 25 years in the Maryland legislature passing laws to include racial discrimination. Hear Senator Welcome portrayed by Janice the Griot champion for laws to eradicate racism in the schools, workplace, public accommodations and interracial relationships.