History

Early Egyptians believed in eternity. They recorded the stories of their Pharaohs and people for you to understand 4,000 years later.

Discover how they built massive pyramids to protect the remains of their Pharaohs against time and thieves. They included models of all the comforts of life forever. Build a Pyramid to house the tomb and place the Sphinx outside to guard it. 

Explore the ancient history and challenging mechanics of catapults. Rubber bands power this model. Experiment with the concepts of force and motion and test your projects out with varying degrees of power by changing the amount of rubber bands used and position of the ping pong balls. 

Safe for people and places when used with the ping pong ball provided.

Use the Charles W. Morgan, (a 19th c. whaling ship now preserved at Mystic Seaport) as a model to understand the Whaling industry. Learn how and why Whaling Ships flourished in New England’s history from the 1700s until the 1930s. Discuss how Whaling took place, why it existed, and how it diminished. Build a Whaling Ship with sails, rigging, barrels, and a whale.

The legacy of the Museum begins in 1798 When Eli Whitney first chose a site on the Mill River to build his Armory. Chosen for its access to a strong current of water, Whitney intended to use this as a power source for the machines he would use to produce the parts of his contract musket. Whitney, however, was not the first to see the potential of this site as a grist mill had been located on the grounds previously. Over time the site has taken on new residencies and has physically changed as well.

Canal boats tell the story of the first bold man-made trade network, of community cooperation, of the ingenious use of water power. Construct a boat, its mules, people and canal bed in 1/4th" scale. Operate a model lock. With the rich illustrations of Peter Spier's Erie Canal ©1970

Connecticut History for the canal communities: New Haven, Hamden, Cheshire, Southington, Plainville

Each student constructs half inch scale figures and a traditional dwelling of northeastern indigenous peoples. We refer to the Quinnipiac who once lived in the region around the museum. Adapting contemporary materials with the resourcefulness once applied to barks, skins, and shells, students create a diorama of Indigenous Native American life in the past.