Chortles and shouts. Racing feet. Sticky fingers. These sights and sounds might seem unexpected in standard house museum environments. But this summer the Jekyll Island Museum aims to engage the youngest members of the community in the wonders of the past. Whether racing with barrel hoops, becoming stained glass artists, or jumping on pony hops, they are discovering Jekyll Island’s historic district as an active learning environment.

The Jekyll Island Museum offers children’s programs every Wednesday morning at 9:30 and 11:00 am. Designed for children 6-12, the 60-minute programs each shed light on the history of Jekyll Island. Museum interpreters lead children and their adult companions on a guided learning adventure through segments on Jekyll Island’s past.

“The programs are a fun way to excite children at a young age about history,” says Phyllis Gaska, a former elementary school teacher on the Jekyll Island Museum tour staff. “They are very concrete, and hands on, and active.

The Hands on History segments include the following:

Old-Fashioned Butter-Making: Take a whirlwind tour of a late 1800s southern kitchen at Club Cottage. Inspect and handle original kitchen items before heading outdoors for a lesson in old-fashioned butter-making. July 2, 2008, 9:30 am.

Colonial Games: Have fun learning the games the English, French, and African-American children of Jekyll Island might have played during the Colonial Period. July 2 & 30, 2008, 11:00 am.

Young Inventors’ Workshop: Discover a few of the famous inventors who vacationed on Jekyll Island in the Club Era, then replicate the island’s experiment in “green energy.” July 9, 2008, 9:30 am.

Club Era Games: View rare archival images of Jekyll Island Club Members at play, then try the sports that were popular in their day. July 9 and 23, 2008 at 11:00 am.

Architectural Scavenger Hunt: Follow a series of clues, searching the historic district for notable architectural details. July 16, 2008, 9:30 am

Stained Glass Studio: View two important works of American stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany, David Maitland Armstrong and Helen Armstrong inside of historic Faith Chapel. Be inspired to make your own masterpiece! July 16, 2008, 11:00 am.

Bridge Building: Visit Hollybourne Cottage, a mansion built for Charles Stewart Maurice, a partner in a bridge building company. Discover how houses can be like bridges, learn about different kinds of bridges, and create your own bridge. July 23, 2008, 9:30 am.

Native American Life: Jekyll Island has been a seasonal retreat for over 4,500 years. Learn about Native American culture on Jekyll Island, through such engaging supervised activities as atlatl target practice, pottery stamping, and bow drill fire-making. July 30, 2008, 9:30 am.

Program offerings are subject to change. Reservations are required. Admission for participants is $5 per person. Young children should be accompanied by an adult. Please call or visit the Jekyll Island Museum on Stable Road for details or for information about its
other tour offerings, 912-635-4036.

Tags: arts and crafts, club era, colonial games, faith chapel, historic disctric, Hollybourne Cottage, Jekyll Island History Museum, kids programs
Posted in July 2008 | No Comments »

As a partner of Kellogg & Maurice and the Union Bridge Company, Charles Stewart Maurice helped to construct many road and railway bridges that became part of the historic fabric of their communities.

Hollybourne Cottage, the vacation retreat Maurice built on Jekyll Island in 1890 with the help of architect William Day, was designed to be an architectural wonder of its own. This May, in honor of Historic Preservation Month, the Jekyll Island Museum will be opening the bridge-builder’s island mansion up for a limited number of exclusive tours.

Kellogg & Maurice, the company Maurice co-founded in 1871 with partner Charles Kellogg, was a pioneer in iron bridge construction and the second company in the country to build a steel bridge. The company constructed the 3rd Avenue Elevated Railway in New York City (1878), the Smithfield Street Bridge across the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh (1883), as well as bridges in Nova Scotia and Brazil.
In 1884, Kellogg & Maurice merged with other companies to form the Union Bridge Company. This firm constructed many notable spans of the day, including a cantilever bridge crossing the Niagara Gorge. By the time Maurice retired in 1895, he had helped traverse many of the nation’s major waterways and had been instrumental in the construction of major landmarks around the country.

Hollybourne Cottage, the unique vacation retreat Maurice built on Jekyll Island, is just as noteworthy, but it is in need of preservation. That is why Hollybourne Cottage is the focus of the “Reclaiming Past Glories” tour offered by the Jekyll Island Museum this May in celebration of Historic Preservation Month.

“Of all of the cottages in Jekyll Island’s historic district, Hollybourne Cottage currently offers the most challenges to preservation,” remarked John Hunter, the Director of the Jekyll Island Museum. Hunter points out that remarkable progress has been made recently in stabilizing the building’s exterior. “From the shutters, to the porches, to the front door, to the roof, we have tackled some major projects in establishing the long-term stability of the structure. But on the inside we still have a long way to go. That’s why we normally do not allow public access to the interior of this really special cottage.”

Jekyll Island Museum Curator Gretchen Greminger, one of the guides leading the behind the scenes tours, agrees that it is exciting to be able to share this unique structure with the public. But she warned that guests should not expect to see a restored and furnished interior like the cottages that are part of other tours of the historic district. Greminger said that this Historic Preservation Month tour will proceed through the fabulous leaded glass doors of Hollybourne Cottage into the main foyer. Guests will visit the front parlor, the dining room, the gunroom, the kitchen, and the butler’s pantry.

The tour will focus on the preservation efforts that have gone into the building over the last 20 years and on the unique design of the cottage, which was influenced a great deal by Maurice’s background in bridge engineering. While learning about the problems affecting the home’s current condition, visitors will also have the opportunity to view historic photographs of the vacation retreat that will help to envision what it looked like in its original condition when it was a much-loved haven for Mr. and Mrs. Maurice and their nine children.

The “Reclaiming Past Glories” tour departs from the Jekyll Island Museum on Stable Road each Saturday from May 3-31, 2008 at 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm. The cost of the program is $10 for Adults, $5 for Children 6-12, and Free under 6. For more information, call the Jekyll Island Museum at 912-635-4036.

Tags: Hollybourne Cottage, jekyll island history tours, jekyll island museum, National Historic Preservation month, Reclaiming Past Glories, Stable Road
Posted in Beachscape, May 2008 | 1 Comment »