2825 Fish Hatchery Road, Allentown, PA 18103
Email: info@museumofindianculture.org / Phone: 610-797-2121
OPEN Friday through Sunday from 10am-4pm
New Exhibit: Native American Beadwork
Learn Through Our
In House Educational Programs
Step back in time at the Museum of Indian Culture
General Program Information
Regular buisness hours are:
September - May:
Friday thru Sunday, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
June - August:
Thursday thru Sunday, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
All programs are scheduled outside of our regular buisness hours.
Please call for date and time availability!
Our educational program representatives will tailor your program to meet your group’s needs.
Program Fees:
(For In-house programs only)
$10.00 for children,
$5 for chaperones
Please schedule your date at least 2 weeks in advance to your desired program date by calling the Museum of Indian Culture at (610) 797-2121,
or email: info@museumofindiaculture.org.
Please note: Indoor space is limited to 30 people per program. “Round Robins” are used outside for larger groups.* Please dress appropriately.
Raindate is scheduled for groups over 30 people.
Deposit:
A 25% deposit is required within 1 week of making your reservation.
Cancellations:
Please give at least 48 hours notice.
The deposit will be retained to cover lost revenue.
Miscellaneous:
Picnic Area
Fish Hatchery nearby
Northeastern Woodland Program
(Ages 6th Grade through Adult)
Step back in time with the Museum of Indian Culture’s Northeast Woodland program. Focusing on the history and culture of the Lenape/Delaware, this program offers interactive hands-on experiences for children and adults alike.
Our Northeastern Woodland Program includes a general history on the tribes that once lived in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Participants will see a variety of European and Native American goods that were commonly traded, and learn about food sources, tools, jewelry, etc. There is a lecture on family life, social structure, housing, and survival. Participants will see how indigenous peoples made cordage from plants and fire from a bow drill. Our Northeastern Woodland Program also includes demonstrations of various artifacts and an explanation of their uses.
Weather permitting, participants will be instructed on how to use the atlatl (dart thrower) and bow and arrow.
Woodland
Life Skills Program
(Ages 3rd through 5th Grade)
Before Europeans arrived in the New
World, life was very different for Native
Americans. There was no land ownership...
only territories. The need to adapt to their natural surroundings was not only practical but necessary for survival.
The Woodland Life Skills Program offers a practical and hands-on interactive experience into the life-ways of early Native Americans. Children will learn about housing, hunting, gardening ...and yes, CHORES!
Children will also hear Native American stories that were told by the elders.
Weather permitting, children will have the opportunity, with supervision and instruction, to use the atlatl (dart thrower) and bow and arrow.
Lifeways and Lore Program
(Ages Pre K through Second Grade)
So how did the rabbit lose its tail? Through folklore and fun, our Lifeways and Lore Program introduces younger audiences to American Indian cultures.
This interactive hands-on program encourages children to participate by answering questions about early American Indian cultures from food sources to animal pelts.
Children will hear stories that are not only fun but that teach a practical lesson, too!
Evolution and Innovation of the Native Toolkit Program
(Ages 3rd through Adult)
Today we rely on metals and plastics to accomplish daily tasks. Without these things, Native peoples developed their own tools and techniques to “get the job done.” Starting with throwing sticks and hand axes, technology progressed to a range of specialized tools for woodworking, hunting, fire making, and cooking.
This program specifically examines
the use of fire and various joinery methods in woodworking, and equipment evolution for hunting from jabbing spear to atlatl, to bow; fire making from hand spindle, to bow drill, to pump drill; and cooking from stone boiling, to stone pots, to ceramics. The use of different regional materials in these technologies is discussed.
Hands-on activities can be added such as making cordage (string), using the atlatl and bow, or friction fire.
The Way of Peace and the Iroquois Confederacy
Program
(Ages 3rd through Adult)
The Iroquois Confederacy was also known as the "League of Peace" and Power". Founded hundreds of years ago, the Confederacy initially consisted of five tribes: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca tribes, which were known as the Five Nations. A Sixth Nation, the Tuscarora, was added in the early 1700’s. The Peacemaker, who
brought The Great Law of Peace, united these warring nations to form the Haudenosaunee, People of the Longhouse.
This representative form of government not only inspired the US Constitution, but continues to be relevant today. Learn the story of the Great Peacemaker and the symbols that are reminders of the Way of Peace.
This program can be presented in a “Readers Theater” format upon request.
Wondering
About
Wampum
Program
(Ages 6th through Adult)
Although shell beads have been around for thousands of years, the cylindrical white and purple beads we recognize as wampum were
mainly produced after European contact. Steel tools facilitated drilling the long, small diameter holes. These beads held more value than their beauty. Colonists used them as currency. Native communities used them to commemorate important events or send messages.
This program lays out the history of wampum use and production. The historic and current significance of well-known belts including the
William Penn Belt, the Hiawatha Belt, and the Two Row Belt is covered.
Hands-on activities can be added such as belt weaving on a bow loom using the one- or two-needle techniques, and drilling shell beads using a pump drill with a stone bit.
