IROQUOIS INDIAN MUSEUM

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EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
THE MUSEUM IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC DURING
JANUARY, FEBRUARY, & MARCH.  WE RE-OPEN ON APRIL 1.

 

"We ask the Creator that we always be available for educating the people of both cultures so that we can better understand each other."
- Jim Sky (1934 - 2000)
Onondaga Iroquois Trustee (1984 - 2000)

 

Jim Sky giving the Thanksgiving Address at the
ground-breaking for the new Museum in 1992.

The Iroquois Indian Museum Education Kit

The Iroquois Museum is pleased to make available to the public a new series of education kits.   The kits are constructed for convenient shipping and can be rented for a 2-4 week period. Alternately, kits may be purchased. The kit is designed to help educators better teach their students about Iroquois culture, history, and art.  It can be used to prepare students for a fieldtrip to the Iroquois Museum, but can also be utilized as a stand-alone resource for teachers unable to bring their students to the Museum. 

RENTAL PRICE = $50 + shipping & handling
PURCHASE PRICE = $175 + shipping & handling

 Each kit contains:
1.) 1 Curriculum Guide.
2.) 1 CD digital image album.
3.) 1 waterdrum and drum stick.
4.) 1 horn rattle.
5.) 1 audio cassette of traditional social dance songs.
6.) 1 CD by a contemporary Iroquois singer.
7.) 1 book, The Iroquois, by Kenneth McIntosh
8.) 1 DVD, Faces of the Iroquois, produced by the Museum
9.) 1 Evaluation form.
To rent or purchase an education kit, please contact the Museum at 518-296-8949 or e-mail us at info@iroquoismuseum.org.  The creation of these kits is made possible in part through support from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.



The Iroquois Indian Museum is an anthropological museum that uses art to educate and inspire.  Our collections of contemporary Iroquois art and archeological artifacts open a window on Iroquois culture and society.  Our educational programs fulfill the NYS Learning Standards for the Arts, Social Studies, and Language Arts. Depending on which programs are taken, students will engage in artistic creation, learn about the Iroquois relationship to nature, learn to identify archeological artifacts, hear stories, or appreciate the art of the living Iroquois.  Many organizations annually choose the Iroquois Museum as a destination for their group fieldtrips.  We invite you to join them, and us.  The Museum provides a stimulating object-based learning environment that engages visitors on visual, tactile, and intellectual levels.  Some of its features include:

MUSEUM HOURS
April 1 through June 30:
Tuesday --- Saturday: 10 - 5; Sunday: 12 - 5.
Monday: CLOSED.
Easter Sunday: CLOSED.

July & August:
Monday - Saturday 10 - 5; Sunday 12 - 5

September - December 31:
Tuesday - Saturday: 10 - 5; Sunday 12 - 5
Monday: CLOSED.
Thanksgiving Day: CLOSED
 December 24 & 25: CLOSED

DIRECTIONS
From Albany: take I-90 west to exit 25a, and then Interstate 88 to exit 22. Go right onto Rte. 7, for a mile. At Caverns Road turn left and go a mile. The Museum will be on the right.

From NYC: NYS Thruway to exit 21 (Catskill). Take Rte. 23 West to Rte. 145 to Rte. 7.  then follow directions above.

From the West: NYS Thruway east to exit 29 (Canajoharie) Take Rte. 5S to Rte. 162 to Rte. 30A.  Turn right on Rte. 7 (heading west) and go to Caverns Rd.  Take a right.  Museum is up Caverns Road on the right.

The Museum is wheelchair accessible.

 

PLANNING YOUR VISIT

Please call ahead to book your group visit.  Reservations are accepted on a first-come/first-served basis, with many groups booking months in advance.  The programs are offered on a three-slot schedule, with programs beginning at 10:00, 11:15, and 12:45. Afternoon reservations are also available.  If you want to do a single program, plan for a seventy-minute visit.

Groups as small as 10 and as large as 90 can be accommodated at the Museum. Larger groups can sometimes be accommodated with advance planning. Groups may choose one, two, or three programs/time slots. Groups larger than 35 are encouraged to choose at least two programs/time slots so that the group can be split into smaller sub-groups.

Each program involves a forty-five minute guided exploration of the Museum, led by either an anthropologist or an Iroquois educator.  This is followed by a question and answer period.  Students and their chaperones then have a chance to explore the Museum and/or the Nature Park on their own, and to visit the Museum Shop.

 HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

We are keeping our program fees as low as possible.  Our programs are BOCES reimbursable.  Prices include admission and all supplies.  For every 10 students, there is one free adult admission.  All other adults are charged a reduced admission fee of $5.

 PROGRAM FEES

 1 PROGRAM: $4.00/STUDENT
2 PROGRAMS: $7.00/STUDENT
3 PROGRAMS: $9.00/STUDENT

PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

Following each description  are codes for each NYS Learning Standard addressed in the Program.  Letters refer to subjects (A=Arts, SS=Social Studies, E=English language arts, N-E=Non-English language arts, M=Math, Science and Technology).  Numbers following the letters refer to specific standards within the assigned subject.  For complete information on the Standards click on the numbers or click here NYSLS

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE IROQUOIS

This program presents an overview of the Iroquois with a focus on their culture before European contact, on changes that occurred after contact, and an introduction to the Iroquois today. The roles of men, women and children will be discussed. Other topics to be covered will include houses, tools, games, clothing styles, family life, government and the changes that took place as the Iroquois interacted with non-Native cultures. Students will have the opportunity to pass around objects that were significant in Iroquois life during the various time periods.

SS1, SS3, NE-1                                     Limited to 25 students per program

 

2. MEET THE IROQUOIS TODAY.medallion.jpg (3839 bytes)

This program uses the arts of contemporary Iroquois people to introduce students to the values important to Iroquois today, such as family, longhouse ways, land issues, environment, traditional governments, and maintaining a Native identity in today’s world. The important role of women in traditional Iroquois society focuses on the Three Sisters, Creation, the significance of Clan Mothers, and the importance of giving thanks. Students will be able to handle one of the most important tools women helped to create – the garden hoe. The transition from bark to clay to metal containers for cooking and storage will be discussed. Using the Museum as the classroom, the students will begin to realize how the arts are the windows into the worldview of the Iroquois.  

 A2, A3, A4, SS1, SS3, E1, N-32                     Limited to 25 students per program

3.ARCHEOLOGY  & TOOLS OF THE HUNT. john.jpg (30741 bytes)
The Iroquois today are related to Native Americans who lived thousands of  years ago. How they provided for and protected themselves can be interpreted through the careful study of artifacts. This is a hands-on program showing how the “Tools of the Hunt” evolved as the animals that were hunted changed over time. Students will learn how cordage was made and be able to handle the first glue stick. The making of stone tools and different types of shelters will be discussed. Weather permitting this program will end with a demonstration of how the atlatl was used to launch spears into animal herds – a 9,000-year-old herd hunting technique. They will learn about the Museum’s discoveries and the need for stewardship of archeological sites and artifacts.

A2,A3, A4, SS1, SS3, SS4              Limited to 25 students per program.
 

4. IROQUOIS STORIES.barkhouse2.jpg (92765 bytes)

The oral traditions of the Iroquois will be shared with students through stories which could include the Creation Story, the story of the No-Face Doll, or the story of the Peacemaker. Educators will emphasize  symbols  important in Iroquois culture such as SkyWoman, Grandmother Moon, the Three Sisters, and the Celestial Tree. They will be invited to relate these stories to their own lives.  They are then presented with Iroquois arts based on the stories and are engaged in their analysis.  Iroquois oral traditions include legends and historical accounts.  Much of the visual art on exhibit is narrative-based, further stimulating students to cross-cultural understanding.   This program is for all ages.
A3, SS5, E1, E2, E3, E4, N-E2      

                                   Drawing by Mohawk artist John Fadden

OTHER GROUP OPTIONS

IROQUOIS  ENVIRONMENTS

Weather permitting, students can take a  self-guided trail walk through our 45 acre Nature Park. Trail maps are available in the Museum. A number of trees are identified on the trail and on the reverse of the Map.

GUIDED TOURS

For those preferring less structured group visits to the Iroquois Museum, we offer guided tours that highlight specific exhibits or topics, and self-guided tours as well. If you are an older group (such as college, or Elder Hostels) or have a specific topic you would like emphasized, we can customize a program that will work best for your group. Admission fees vary according to your group. Call for details.

 CONTACT

For most groups, reservations are required.  These can be made either by phone or via the internet.  The phone # is (518) 296-8949.   The e-mail address is info@iroquoismuseum.org  .   We look forward to serving you and your students. 

 

THE CHILDREN'S IROQUOIS MUSEUM

stairs.jpg (8298 bytes) The Children's Iroquois Museum, located on the ground floor of the Museum, interprets the adult Museum to young people with their parents or teachers.

Descending the stairs, the visitor is reminded of the Iroquois creation story, when Sky Woman falls from a hole in the Sky World and is carried on the wings of water birds to the back of the great turtle. 		kids.jpg (27156 bytes)
sisters.jpg (13409 bytes) The Iroquois relationship to the natural world is emphasized in our live turtle pond.

Visitors are encouraged to try on traditional Iroquois clothing, play the rattles and waterdrums or identify furs. There are a variety of independent exploration exercises such as Find-a-Word and Museum Quizzes as well  coloring pages and rubbings that can be created and taken home.		 wpe51.jpg (8406 bytes)
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Three exhibits in the Children's Iroquois Museum focus on beadwork, cornhusk work and pottery. Visitors learn about stone tools - how they are made and what they were used for by playing the Museum's archeology game.

Children can experience how long it takes to
pound corn into corn meal with a wooden mortar and pestle.

A storytelling exhibit introduces children to some of the incredible characters so popular in Iroquois stories.

 

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