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DISCOVER THE PAST: INDEPENDENCE DAY

TAMPA –Discover the Past this July with Cracker Country’s Independence Day celebration. The 19th century holiday experience will include games and competitions, patriotic ceremonies and a big slice of Florida history.

Cracker Country’s Discover the Past event is held the first Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (except in February). Visitors can explore the museum grounds and participate in hands-on activities such as churning butter, making rope, spinning wool and helping care for field crops. The event is a great way for families to spend time together while learning new things.

The next Discover the Past event will be held on Saturday, July 4th and will focus on how Independence Day was celebrated in the late 19th century. “Just because it was a holiday didn’t mean there weren’t regular chores to do, but holidays were also a chance to socialize,” said Dan Marshall, Museum Experiences Manager.  Staying true to history, the regular museum hands-on activities and chores will take place. In addition, visitors can participate in sack races, hoop rolling and watermelon eating contests throughout the day. 

Adult admission for the event is $6, children ages six to 12 years old and senior citizen admission is $5 and children five and under are admitted free. Parking is free when visitors enter the Fairgrounds through the Orient Road entrance. For more information visit www.crackercountry.org or call 813-627-4225.

CRACKER COUNTRY ANNOUNCES ELECTRONIC FIELD TRIP PROGRAMS

TAMPA – Cracker Country, an outdoor living history museum, announced a plan today to launch Electronic Field Trip (EFT) programs based on 1890s rural Florida history. Currently, the museum hosts field trips for local elementary school children, but the EFT program is designed to reach children from all over the state. “We are excited about all the possibilities to share the Cracker Country experience with students throughout Florida,” said Rip Stalvey, Museum Director.

Founded in 1978 by Mildred W. and Doyle E. Carlton Jr., Cracker Country documents, preserves and interprets rural Florida history from the period of 1870-1912. Visiting students tour the 13 original buildings, guided by a historical interpreter, and participate in hands-on activities. “The EFTs will use pre-recorded video segments coupled with live interpretation, streamed in real time to elementary schools all across the state,” Stalvey said.

The museum plans to produce six EFTs each year to educate students about the lives, customs and material culture of early rural Floridians. Teachers utilizing the EFTs will have access to a wide variety of resources to facilitate classroom learning. “The EFTs are not designed to replace our existing elementary school field trips program, but rather to complement them with a more in-depth look at subjects we don’t have time to cover during school visits,” Stalvey said. Online lesson plans, interactive components, games and puzzles are being designed that enhance the learning experience while meeting both state and national educational standards.

Currently, the EFTs will be offered on a fee basis. Cracker Country, however, is working to obtain financial underwriting to cover production and distribution costs so that the EFTs can be provided free of charge to more than 1.2 million students statewide. The museum is scheduled to begin shooting the first episode of the inaugural series, titled “School Days,” on July 6, 2009. The first broadcast is scheduled for late winter 2010.

For more information, visit www.crackercountry.org or call 813-627-4225.