In The Schools - Aspen Historical Society CLASSic History Complimentary History Education Programs for Regional Schools Aspen Historical Society offers history programs with a focus on the upper Roaring Fork Valley’s exciting past shared through character presentations, interactive lessons, and artifact demonstrations. Field trips, site visits, and in-classroom history education programs are provided free of charge for all grade levels. Transportation stipends are available. A general menu of programs for Kindergarten through high school is outlined below (advance booking is required and based on availability.) To schedule a program or learn about transportation stipends, contact Amy Honey. CONTACT Phone : 970.925.3721 x 104 Email : outreach@aspenhistory.org EMAIL FIELD TRIPS Ashcroft Ghost Town 11 miles up Castle Creek Road outside Aspen 1-1.5 hours depending on class size Explore historical buildings and stories of Ashcroft, the once-booming mining settlement nestled at the headwaters of Castle Creek in the rugged Colorado high country. Includes rotating stations around the site that explore various aspects of the area’s history: Native Ute History Everyday life and commerce in a mining camp Stuart Mace and the Toklat conservation legacy Holden/Marolt Mining & Ranching Museum Marolt Open Space, Aspen 1 hour to 1½  hours, depending on class size Explore the Roaring Fork Valley’s mining industry through multiple exhibits and large machinery. Also on the property, the restored timecapsule McMurchy/Zupancis barn helps tell the story of ranching, farming, and the hard-working families of Aspen’s ‘Quiet Years’. The residents of the barn include life-sized farm animals and a demonstration ‘milk’ cow, Mautzie, who is very popular with students! Includes: Tour of the site, museum, and machinery Tour of the McMurchy/Zupancis barn (demonstration milking cow available upon request) Wheeler/Stallard Museum 620 W. Bleeker St., Aspen 1 hour to 1½  hour tour, depending on class size Different versions are adaptable to different age students Step back in time and explore life in the 1880s in the Victorian mansion built by iconic figure Jerome B. Wheeler. Includes: Tour – Objects Past & Present Exhibition – Decade by Decade: Aspen Revealed Optional activities: Native storytelling and history program with an AHS Educator followed by a conversation with Skyler Lomahaftewa, Northern Ute Tribal Member, discussing life as a modern-day Ute. Butter making Candle making IN-CLASSROOM PROGRAMS Ute and Indigenous History & Culture Conversation with Skyler Lomahaftewa 1 hour program In the tradition of oral history, hear Ute stories, and learn what it was like for the native people of Colorado hundreds of years ago prior to their removal from the area, followed by a conversation with AHS education partner Skyler Lomahaftewa, a Northern Ute Tribal Member, discussing life as a modern-day Ute. Includes: Native storytelling and Ute history with AHS Educator Conversation with Skyler Lomahaftewa, Northern Ute Tribal Member “History on Stage” Museum Theatre Character Presentations 45-minute programs option for different characters to visit each month throughout the school year Step back in time with first-person, costumed presentations of former Aspenites in their own words. Through this engaging series, students will “meet” characters from the past for an exciting experience of local history. Character options include: Native: John Duncan (Ute Tribal Officer) Mining Era: Sarah M. Gillespie, Miner Gus Quiet Years Era: Hildur Anderson Renaissance/Ski Era: Gretl Uhl Storytelling Series 30 minute program, monthly visit throughout the school year Partnership with Roaring Fork Valley Storytellers to share native and stories of the area. SPECIALTY TOURS Hotel Jerome Tour Hotel Jerome, Aspen 1 hour tour Explore the lobby and first floor of the Hotel Jerome, which has been at the center of community life since its doors opened in 1889. Neighborhood Walking Tour: West End West End neighborhood, Aspen 1½ hour tour A stroll through Aspen’s Victorian West End residential neighborhood, with a focus on history and architecture. Learn little-known facts about the neighborhood’s homes and the people who lived in them. Downtown History Tour: Aspen Through the Eras Downtown core, Aspen 1½ hour tour Explore the historical buildings and streetscape in downtown Aspen, with interesting stories around every corner. Red Butte Cemetery Tour Cemetery Lane, Aspen 1 hour tour A walk through one of Aspen’s historical cemeteries, including insight into the lives of the locals who are buried there. EDUCATION TRUNKS Aspen Historical Society’s trunks are filled with reproduction artifacts to touch, hold and use. Each trunk includes a teacher’s guide to help direct activities and bring depth to the materials within the trunk. Fee: Free to schools and non profits with a $50 refundable security deposit Each trunk can be used as a “show and tell,” as a self-contained unit, or as a jumping off point for more extensive avenues of study. Although the kit is devised to be self-contained and is meant for children from 9 – 13 years of age in a classroom setting, it can also be used for adult groups with an accompanying speaker and for younger children with extra supervision. (Ages 8+) Mining Trunk This trunk focuses on mining in Colorado and, more specifically, silver mining in the Aspen area. A variety of related topics are introduced so that the student is exposed to mining from different perspectives, and a variety of projects are included that promote learning in subject areas such as math and science. Prehistoric Peoples Discovery Kit (Ancestral Puebloans) This was Aspen Historical Society’s first traveling educational history trunk! The kit explores the prehistoric peoples of Colorado with a major emphasis on the Ancestral Puebloans from the southwestern part of the state. Users of the kit are able to touch the reproduced artifacts in the kit for a “hands-on” learning experience. The kit also offers a glimpse at the ways of prehistoric people, including their means of survival, their home life and social structure, their religious practices and beliefs, and their interaction with other peoples. Ranching Trunk Along with mining and skiing, ranching and farming shaped our valley, its character and its people. During the “Quiet Years” between 1900 and 1945, farming and ranching were the economic backbone of the Roaring Fork Valley. Without these industries, Aspen might well have become another Colorado ghost town. The Ranching Trunk was designed to help teachers reach as many of the Colorado Model Content Standards in history, geography, and reading and writing as possible. The recent emphasis placed on literacy has also been taken into account, and reading and writing activities have been incorporated wherever possible and appropriate. The Ranching Trunk covers many areas including general history, people of the ranching community, ranching work, community and life. Ski Trunk (coming soon) Ute People Trunk (coming soon) HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCES Mentorships Interested students are invited to work one on one with AHS staff and community volunteers. Please contact AHS if you have a student specifically interested in history. In-Classroom Programs Thank you for your interest in hosting a guest speaker from Aspen Historical Society in your classroom! We are passionate about the power of local histories to engage and educate students throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. We offer a variety of programs for grades 10 – 12; browse the menu below or call us to curate a program of your own! Native People of the Roaring Fork Valley The Mining Boom, Railroads and Early Colorado Immigration and the Roaring Fork Valley Tourism and Leisure in the Roaring Fork Valley: From Health-Seekers to Skiing Farming, Ranching, and the Quiet Years Women’s History in the Roaring Fork Valley Internships Summer and winter internship opportunities are available. Click here for more information. Mentorships Interested students are invited to work one on one with AHS staff and community volunteers. Please contact AHS if you have a student specifically interested in history. Current Schools A list of schools we currently serve is below. Wouldn’t you like to adds yours? Aspen Elementary School Aspen Middle School Aspen Country Day School Aspen Community School Marble Charter School Miss Dawn’s Pre School Wildwood Pre School Red Hill Elementary in Eagle County Sopris Elementary Glenwood Springs Elementary School Glenwood Springs  Middle School Basalt Elementary Carbondale Community School Crystal River Elementary School Ross Montessori Waldorf School Blue Lake Pre School eColoring Book Scroll through the coloring pages below (see arrows on either side of image), choose your favorite, right click to save it, print it out and have fun coloring these historical scenes!