Lectures - American Independence Museum

Family friendly event exploring local waterways at the Independence Museum

by jen | Jun 11, 2021 | Events, Family Friendly, For Kids, Human Interest, Lectures

On Saturday, June 26 the American Independence Museum will host an outdoor community event, Our Waterways, exploring the waterways that have drawn people to the Exeter area for thousands of years.

Through presentations and hands-on activities, attendees will discover how different uses such as fishing, water power, and transportation transcend cultures and have different impacts on the waterways.

“Visitors will recreate rivers and dams to see how obstructing the river not only creates falls, but limits fish migration,” said Sarah Jaworski, American Independence Museum Program Manager. Make and take craft kits will also be provided.

The program runs from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m on the lawn at Folsom Tavern. Formal family-friendly presentations will occur at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. From 10:30 to 11:15 a.m., Denise and Paul Pouliot of the Indigenous New Hampshire Collaborative Collective will share the importance of waterways in the daily life of the Pennacook-Abenaki People.

This will be followed from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. by a presentation by the Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum.

“Waterways are an interwoven link to the history, art and traditions of Native people, past and present. This brief discussion will share some insights into canoes and wampum beads, as they relate to Native people and the Waterways of the Northeast,” said Andrew Bullock, Executive Director of Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum.

The entire program takes place outside on the grounds of the American Independence Museum. The cost is $10 a family (up to four individuals) and $5 for an individual. Members attend free.

About the American Independence Museum
The American Independence Museum is a history museum in Exeter, NH that features a collection of 3,000 historic artifacts that shed light on the American Revolution. Many of our programs touch on civics and the fight for independence, while we incorporate inclusivity and diversity into the experiences we create on-site and in digital formats. We feature a variety of things to do for people of all ages, including festivals, an historic tavern, guided tours and our annual American Independence Festival.

American Independence Museum to virtually host Uprooted: Heartache and Hope in New Hampshire

by jen | May 11, 2021 | Events, For Adults, Free, Lectures

On Thursday, May 20, the American Independence Museum will host a virtual screening of the film Uprooted: Heartache and Hope in New Hampshire from 6 to 7 p.m.

Uprooted is a 30-minute documentary based on interviews collected during New Hampshire Humanities’ Fences & Neighbors initiative on immigration.

Telling the story of five refugees who resettled in New Hampshire after leaving war-torn countries, the film examines what it means to be a refugee and how these five individuals made new lives for themselves in a strange place, separated from their families and often without communities, English language skills, or jobs.

These stories of the challenges faced by newcomers to New Hampshire echo the stories of those who crossed the Atlantic seeking new lives during the colonial period: religious persecution, personal freedoms, government oppression, and the promise of opportunity.

“We hope to engage our Museum communities in discussions of belonging and citizenship. Uprooted highlights immigrant experiences and asks us to critically think about and understand the American struggle for freedom,” said Program Assistant, Emma Scheinmann.

The screening, which will take place on Zoom, will include a post-film discussion led by Dr. Sara Withers, the project director and a Senior Lecturer at University of New Hampshire. Dr. Withers is a Cultural Anthropologist studying the lives and experiences of refugees in the Granite State.

This event is sponsored by New Hampshire Humanities’s Humanities to Go Program, which offers over 500 high-quality cultural programs that are free and open to the public.

Registration is required for this free program, which takes place on Thursday, May 20 from 6 to 7 p.m.

To register for this virtual tavern talk, visit independencemuseum.org.

Home to a world-class collection of 3,000 historic artifacts, the museum is currently developing a variety of public and education programs in digital formats to encourage digital inclusion for all ages.