Brooklyn Historical Society

With one in seven Americans able to trace their roots to Brooklyn, the programs, collections, and exhibitions of the Brooklyn Historical Society attract attention from beyond the borough's immediate boundaries. The Society's library contains a vast collection of research materials on the history of Brooklyn, including the papers of abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher. The BHS Museum Collection holds artifacts ranging from Native American tools, slave deeds, Dodgers and Coney Island memorabilia, and West Indian carnival costumes. The BHS Image Collection is composed of more than 33,000 Brooklyn-related photographs, as well as digitized artwork, which is accessible through a searchable database, available by appointment. Brooklyn Works: 400 Years of Making a Living in Brooklyn, the Society's centerpiece exhibition, examines the experiences of Brooklyn workers and the national significance of the Brooklyn workforce.

On-site programs: Visiting groups take part in age-appropriate explorations of the exhibit in the semipermanent exhibit Brooklyn Works and choose from programs such as Communities of Workers, in which students investigate the lives of Brooklynites in both the rural past and the modern urban era; A City Grows, an exploration of the diverse ethnicities, races, and nationalities that originally populated the borough, as well as issues of industrial growth, technological change, and expansion; and From Farm to Factory, which challenges students to use primary sources to discover Brooklyn's economic development. Self-guided tours may be arranged. (Grades K–12; $)

In-school programs: BHS educators offer 90-minute classroom workshops using Picture This and History Hunters kits as well as visits on subjects such as Emily Roebling—represented by a first-person interpreter—and the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, urbanization and the growth of Brooklyn, a comparative look at community workers a century ago and today, and the development of industry, immigration, and urbanization using primary source materials from the BHS collection. BHS educators model teaching techniques in classroom workshops that incorporate primary materials. The traveling exhibit In Pursuit of Freedom: African Americans in Brooklyn and the Anti-Slavery Movement is available for temporary display at school sites. (Grades 2–12; call for information on grade-specific programs; $)

Classroom materials: Picture This: Curriculum Kits include dozens of laminated images from the BHS collection, image descriptions, more than 40 pages of historical overview, and reproducible worksheets. Topics include transportation, streets, community, urbanization, immigration, and the Brooklyn Bridge. (Grades 2–6; $) For older students, History Hunters kits include primary sources, source descriptions, historical overviews, lesson plans, suggested projects, and activities, as well as a bibliography and Web resources. (Grades 7–12; $)

Professional development: BHS education staff lead workshops that introduce teachers to society resources and model hands-on, inquiry-based teaching methods using both primary and secondary sources. Teachers receive guidance in creating curricula as well as bibliographies and activity sheets. (For teachers of grades 2–12; $)

Additional resources: The BHS library is open by appointment only.

General information: Address: 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201; Phone: (718) 222-4111; Web: www.brooklynhistory.org.

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