From the Desk of Jan Hommel, Director of the American Freedom Museum.

Over the past 12 months, the American Freedom Museum’s focus and programming has moved us in the direction of being defined and shaped as a “Teaching Museum”.

You might wonder, what is a “Teaching Museum”? A “Teaching Museum” is a museum that aligns its tours and programming with curriculum based activities that will engage students in the disciplines of Humanities, Language Arts, Mathematics, Sciences and Fine Arts. It is an extension of the classroom. As students come through the Museum, it is our desire that they will develop a greater interest in history, by infusing it with what they are learning in all areas.

Robin Bynum is serving as the Museum’s Academic Coordinator and we are creating lesson plans based on gallery time periods, stories and artifacts. Our Museum tours provide a practical application and hands on activity for ALL subjects. Teachers will find real life application of the skills their students are learning from the basics to higher level academics in all areas. The following student tours are now available in the Museum:

• Meet the Presidents……………Focuses on letter and number recognition for kindergarten and history and geography for grades 1st – 3rd.
• I Spy……………Focuses on basic math for grades K – 2nd and Level I Spanish for older students.
• How Do You Measure Freedom? ……………Focuses on measurement, mental math, fractions and formulas for grades 3rd – 8th.
• Stories You Wish You Knew……………Focus on history for grades 2nd – 4th.
• We Are Texans……………Focuses on Texas History for 4^th and 7^th graders.
• Extra! Extra! Read All About It! ……………Focuses on writing and grammar for grades 4^th and 5^th or Level II Spanish.
• Who Am I? ……………Focuses on history for grades 6^th – 8^th.
• A Moment In Time ……………Focuses on sociology, geography and writing for grades 8^th – 10^th.
• Spies, Lies and Oh My’s ……………Focuses on history for grades 9^th – 12^th.
• The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword ……………Focuses on art, speech and journalism.
• If I Could Have A Word, Mr. President ……………Focuses on government, economics, writing, journalism and speech for grades 11^th and 12^th.
• Ready, Aim, Fire ……………Focuses on physics and chemistry for grades 11^th and 12^th.
• Team America ……………this tour is designed for building unity within a team for MS, JV, Varsity Athletic Teams and Cheer Squads.

As we look towards the future, the American Freedom Museum is striving to support the high academic goals of Brook Hill.  We believe we have created an ideal learning environment for all elementary, middle school, and high school students, through the role of a true “Teaching Museum”.