Educational Resource Program

Program History

In 2004, Trail End developed an educational resource program entitled Home Is Where the History Is: The Story of Trail End, the Kendrick Family, and Life in Sheridan, 1913-1933. The purpose of the program is to acquaint teachers and students with the Trail End State Historic Site, the people who lived there, and its relationship with the local, regional and national community. It focuses primarily on the history of Trail End's structures and grounds, the Kendrick family, and the domestic staff residing in the house between 1913 and 1933. Additional attention is paid to daily life in Sheridan and across America during the same time period.

In September 2004, Trail End's success in using the program in the promotion and preservation of Wyoming history was recognized by the Wyoming State Historical Society with a first place award for Best Activities Program. Later that month, through the generous support of the Sheridan Retired School Employees Association and First Interstate Bank, the CD-based educational resource program and accompanying handbook were distributed free of charge to over 400 elementary schools throughout Wyoming.

In 2007, Trail End's educational resource program was updated to include classroom and hands-on exhibits in two more areas of study:

The impact of electricity in early 20th-Century America

150 years of changing trends in children's clothing

Both utilize Trail End and the Kendrick Family as examples of homes and families impacted by these changes.

Home Is Where the History Is

The Home Is Where the History Is educational resource program includes:

	Site visit information and background materials for teachers and students
	Pre- and post-visit readings, projects, vocabulary, exercises and testing materials with related Wyoming content & performance standards & benchmarks for grades three and four
	Over fifty illustrations and historic photographs
	Evaluation materials

The Fashionable Child

In 2008, Trail End opened a new exhibit entitled "Youngsters to Be Proud Of: The Changing Nature of Childhood as Seen Through Three Generations of Kendrick Family Children." Using members of the extended Kendrick family, the exhibit focuses on the changing role of children in the American household.

As part of the exhibit, our curatorial staff has developed an in-class hands-on program featuring 150 years of changing trends in children's clothing. Through electronic media and object-based presentations, students can compare and contrast how clothing has been made and used, and how styles have changed over the years.

The program is designed to meet Wyoming's Social Studies Content Standard 4: Time, Continuity and Change.

Miscellaneous Activities

As part of their research, Trail End staff have run across a few puzzles and games from the early 20th Century that might be of interest to today's students. As we finish working them out ourselves, we'll add them to the website.

	"B" On the Lookout! A 1922 Picture Puzzle
	Penning Pretty Poems for Plants and Posies

Anticipated Results

Through the use of the above materials, it is anticipated that students will gain:

	An increased understanding of the construction and design features of Trail End and its environs
	A clear understanding of the Kendrick family and their relationship with their home
	A better understanding of domestic service from the viewpoint of both the server and the served
	An understanding of everyday life in Sheridan and other Wyoming towns between 1913 and 1933
	An increased understanding of changing technologies and their impact on the lives of everyday people
	The ability to compare and contrast their lifestyle to that of the Kendrick family
	The ability to evaluate objects and structures and understand their importance as both objects of use and historic artifacts
	A familiarity with the concepts of context, historic preservation, adaptive use and public ownership

Photograph, School Tours - 1999 (Trail End Collection) Use of Materials

The materials provided are centered around an actual visit to the Trail End State Historic Site. Pre-visit materials and activities will help to prepare students for their visit. Post-visit activities will reinforce their experience at the museum. No exercises are designed specifically for use during the site visit – we want students to listen carefully to their tour guide while simultaneously enjoying their visit to the facility.

Each section is designed to address one or more of the Wyoming State Standards in Social Studies, Language Arts, Mathematics, Fine Arts, Science, and/or Career/Vocational Education.

Materials can be used in a variety of educational settings:

	Regular classrooms
	Home-school programs
	Independent study/extra credit

All materials can be adapted to the needs of the individual student or class. Several components are stand-alone activities that can be utilized even without a visit to Trail End.