Hands-On History Programs
Imagine waking up one day and finding yourself in slavery. What would you do? Would you stay or escape? What food or supplies would you take? Well wonder no more. Our hands-on history programs present those very challenges, as participants are guided on simulated journeys depicting Plantation Life and Underground Railroad. Slave life, the auction block and journey through the wilderness are all encountered in these rich living-history experiences. Activities are tailored for K-12 students, universities, educators, corporate groups and the general public. Focus on history, science, humanities, environmentalism, team-building and conflict resolution are matched with the participant's needs.BEYOND THE BIG HOUSE EXPERIENCE
Time: 4-hours
Location: Button Farm
Participants arrive at the farm and are led in a hands-on experience of plantation life. This includes plantation chores, implements of slavery, and the notorious slave auction block. The day ends with the "Memory Circle" at the old slave cemetery, where participants connect with ancestral leaders and the wisdom that sustained them for centuries. Click here for prices and availability.
FLIGHT TO FREEDOM EXPERIENCE
Time: 8-Hours
Location: Button Farm
Participants arrive at our 1850s farm to experience a simulated journey from slavery to freedom and are "taken back" in time through and sensory experience of taste, touch, smell, sight and sound. Participants conduct authentic plantation chores experiencing the rigors of plantation life, before making the harrowing journey to freedom marked by night shadows, slave catchers and the great unknown. This real life journey carries them across fields and thickets to secret hideaways along streams and culverts. The journey culminates after dark where participants reach freedom at the "Circle of Light" where their experiences and impressions of the day are revealed. Click here for prices and availability.
THE BRIDGE: The Underground Railroad Immersion Experience
Time: Two Days (10 hrs each day)
Location: Button Farm/Retreat Center
The Bridge is a two day experience based on the immersion experience we designed for Oprah Winfrey, to prepare her for her role as Sethe in the 1998 film Beloved. Participants are blindfolded, changed into slave clothing, and transported to our 19th century farm site where they are taken back in time on a simulated journey from slavery to freedom.
Participants experience a sensory journey through taste, touch, smell, sights and sounds of plantation life as they conduct authentic plantation tasks before making the harrowing journey to freedom marked by night shadows and the great unknown. This real life journey carries them across fields and thickets to secret hideaways along streams and culverts and culminates after dark where participants reach freedom at the "Circle of Light" and the experiences of the day are revealed.
The group is then transported to a nearby retreat facility where the following day they participate in workshop activities that focused on topics from race and identity to group collaboration and problem solving. This program can be tailored to groups with specific organizational or group issues/challenges to tackle. Click here for prices and availability.
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TOURS
Time: (2 to 5 hours)
Location: Montgomery County Locations
Menare offers bus, van and walking tours of Underground Railroad landmarks, homes and history in Montgomery County, MD. Learn about the local anti-slavery movement led by fugitive slaves, free-blacks and Quakers. Tours are designed for leisure as well as educational purposes. Tours include sites in Rockville, Olney, Sandy Spring, Ashton, Brookeville and Mt. Zion. Tours of 2 to 5 hours in length are offered. Click here for prices and availability.
