About this Site

The museum educators from five historic sites and museums in Columbia County in the Hudson River Valley in upstate New York created an interdisciplinary kit for middle school students and teachers focused on land use from pre-contact to the present. The kit features a website and hands-on resources that include social studies, language arts, math, science and art lessons, based on NYS standards. Materials were developed with the aid of local middle school teachers, including a special education teacher and a curriculum specialist. Local students and teachers piloted the program in their classrooms.

The website features well-known county residents Robert Livingston, Frederic Church, and Martin Van Buren, as well as many others, including a contemporary farming family. Each individual's view of land use is supported by primary documents that include diaries, paintings, advertisements and posters. The hands-on materials include stencils, looms, hand tools, and election advertisements, all contained in a kit available for loan from Martin Van Buren National Historic Site at 518-758-9689 or at mava_info@nps.gov.