School Programs
Colonial Life
Artisans and Apprentices
By becoming apprentices for a day, students learn how early Americans lived and worked in South Carolina and elsewhere.
Students observe and analyze the colonial 18th-century plantation house to identify construction skills and describe the contributions of artisans, free and enslaved.
At hands-on stations, they lay brick patterns, examine shingles, pour plaster molds, and carve pilasters. Through such experiences, they evaluate and make interpretive conclusions about the connection between the building arts of the 18th century and the crafts necessary today for historic preservation.
A Day in the Life of a Plantation
This program enables students to evaluate and make interpretive conclusions about daily life on Southern plantations.
They learn about geography, identify the influence of European and African traditions, and describe the interactions between European and African Americans.
As Drayton Hall educators introduce students to historical individuals of Drayton Hall, students compare and contrast the lives and routines of the enslaved people with with those of the plantation owners.
As they rotate between different stations, students observe and/or participate in practices illustrative of historical daily life, such as cooking, blacksmithing, coopering, rice agriculture, and period children's games.
Through hands-on activities and by examining the tools and equipment in each area, students learn to describe and interpret the diversity of life of the enslaved people and the rich African-American culture and Gullah language that developed on Lowcountry plantations.
Plantation Games Day
Drayton Hall Games Day enables elementary students to identify and interpret their cultural heritage through the experience of 18th- and 19th-century games and pastimes.
These games have survived in various forms to this day. Several have their roots in Europe; some originated in West Africa; and many are native to the South Carolina Low Country.
Games Day is organized like a regular sports field day with designated stations on the grounds of Drayton Hall. Emphasis is put on the excitement of learning and
participating rather than competition or the drive to win.
Parents learn the games in a pre-event workshop and teach the games to the students at Drayton Hall. Together adults and students bridge the gap between past and present.
This program is for students from kindergarten through third grade.
"The field trip was the culmination of our unit on plantation life and provided 'real-life' esperiences for the students. History really came alive for them!
-- Lori Essenberg, Memminger Elementary School
SC Curriculum Standards
