Adventures in Preservation
Volunteer Vacations for Homeschool Families
Adventures in Preservation was founded by Judith Broeker and Jamie
Donahoe. Inspired by their love of historic buildings, they came up with the
idea for volunteer vacations that focus on historical preservation.
Homeschoolers can benefit from the passion and knowledge of
conservation experts, while helping restore landmarks.
Led by technical experts, workshops give hands-on experience in historic
preservation. Some past projects have included restoration of a small 17th
century stone chapel in Sicily, Italy, the Weisel Bridge in Pennsylvania, and a
grist and saw mill in New Jersey. Participants pay a fee for expenses.
Adventures in Preservation is a 501(c) 3 Non-profit.
These projects can give older homeschoolers a look into the past, and a
chance to give back to the future.
The following is AiP's description of a project in Montana, scheduled for
June 20th - 26th, 2010:
Adventures in Preservation (AiP), a non-profit organization dedicated to
saving the world’s architectural heritage, has developed its first project
designed with homeschool students and their families in mind. Children
aged 11 and up, as well as younger children who would be able to
participate and benefit from this unique educational opportunity, are invited,
along with their parents or teachers, to participate in this hands-on building
conservation workshop to be held in the historic mining town of Nevada
City, Montana, June 20 - 26, 2010.
Less than 100 miles from Yellowstone National Park and a number of other
natural and historic sites, Nevada City was once a thriving town, thanks to
the gold rush of the 1860’s. By 1876, Nevada City was nearly a ghost town
and, over the following decades, gold dredging and highway construction
destroyed most of the town’s original buildings. What you see there today
are the buildings Charles Bovey collected from around the state and moved
to the site in order to save them from demolition. The site and buildings are
now owned and maintained by the Montana Heritage Commission. Families
now have a chance to leave their own mark on Montana history by
volunteering with AiP.
The Nevada City workshop will be a weeklong heritage immersion
experience. Activities include learning how to mix and apply the historic
exterior finishes, including whitewash and linseed oil preservative, that help
the buildings survive the harsh winter weather, as well as practicing
chinking and daubing techniques that keep the wind from blowing through
the log walls. (This is also known as “playing with mud”.) Everyone will also
work with an archaeologist and a blacksmith to learn about their trades, try a
hand at gold panning, and cook meals over an open fire in Dutch ovens, the
way it was done over 100 years ago. What a novel way to bring the
homeschooling experience off-site and outdoors. It’s experiential learning at
its best, an opportunity that neither student nor parent-teacher will forget,
and just the kind of lesson that make homeschoolers choose this model of
education from the very start!
Although this program is intended for children aged 11 and up, based on
previous experience at history camps or other relevant experience, younger
children will also be considered by AiP. The cost of the workshop is
US$1650 per adult and US$950 per child. Workshop fees cover lodging,
breakfast and lunch, one dinner, insurance, workshop materials, and
instruction. Daily activities take place Monday-Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00
p.m., with one or two evening activities also scheduled during the week.
Additional details, including information on assistance making travel
arrangements and registration information, can be found on AiP’s website,
adventuresinpreservation.org. For information regarding local travel and
other arrangements for groups of homeschoolers participating together,
please contact AiP directly.
Homeschool Travel
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