As a collaborative institution, Hearthstone is continually looking to partner with like-minded entities. Our current collaborative initiatives include the following.

Revitalized Grade school Curricula and on-line Tours with Appleton Area and other local School Districts

Hearthstone has a number of new initiatives focused on grade school education.

1. Hearthstone has revitalized its early grades curriculum to feature inquiry-based, experiential learning. Our first through third grade curriculum, which has been a mainstay of AASD coursework for the past 30 years, covers the Basics of Electricity and Insights into Appleton’s History.

2. The museum’s tour for fourth through sixth grade students covers Hydroelectricity and the Inventions of Hearthstone. It is also inquiry-based and features hands-on and demonstration exhibits throughout the museum.

3. The seventh and eighth grade tours cover Hearthstone and its Place in History and feature information on the residence’s place in history, technology, and art.

Please see our Resources page for educators for links to tour outlines and information on reserving a time slot.

Because field trips to the museum are not always possible (health concerns, cost concerns, and distances involved), Hearthstone provides its 2nd-3rd and 4th-6th grade tours virtually through Zoom and Google Meet/Classroom. The tours are live and interactive with students being able to ask questions throughout the tour. Reservations are limited. Classes are encouraged to sign up for virtual tours at least two weeks in advance using this reservation form.

Both the revised curricula and virtual tours are provided entirely free of charge.

Modules for other grades are under development. These modules, which also employ inquiry-based, experiential learning, teach science and social studies topics by using the progress made during the Victorian Era as a backdrop to teach the science of food preparation, the science of fighting disease, the history of women’s suffrage, and the history of migration to Wisconsin.

For information on these tours or on these other modules, please contact Lauren Kelly, museum educator at information@hearthstonemuseum.org

A MONUMENT TO THE SACRIFICES OF OUR MILITARY AND THEIR FAMILIES - Every Soldier’s Square Project

The current monument in Soldier’s Square in Appleton, Wisconsin was dedicated by Albert Priest, the second owner of Hearthstone, in 1911 to the memory of his brother James, who died during the Civil War, and to all those who served in the Army and Navy during that conflict.  Hearthstone intends to extend the meaning of the monument and its surrounding area to honor all United States veterans and active duty and reserve service members, regardless of their branch of service, the conflicts they have fought in, or whether they are living or passed through a new project. The project will also help revitalize the long neglected Soldier’s Square memorial.

A donation of $40 will create a monument to a veteran, active duty, or reserve service member by having an historic paving brick engraved with her or his name, branch of service, and conflict (if applicable). Each engraved brick will be incorporated into the redesigned Soldier’s Square to honor all those who serve our country. Although the name will not be officially be changed, the project will recast Appleton’s “Soldier’s Square” into “Every Soldier’s Square” - a monument to the sacrifices of those who serve our country and their families.

The bricks for the project are historic pavers dating from as early as 1890 that once lined the electric trolley lines that ran through Appleton and then served as Hearthstone’s driveway. Last year, Hearthstone needed to remove many of the bricks to accommodate installation of its new parking lot.   Instead of having a salvage company cart them off to Madison or Milwaukee, where they would lose all of their historical significance and become just another commodity, Hearthstone volunteers removed over 13,000 of the nine pound bricks one-by-one and by hand.  They pried out of the ground and palletized 53 tons of bricks in anticipation of this project.

In addition to helping Hearthstone, donations will raise funds for the John H. Bradley VA clinic in Appleton and Sculpture Valley, a local non-profit that has worked to restore area military memorials.

For additional information and to donate for a brick to honor a service member, please visit www.everysoldierssquare.org.

Curation and other Internships with Lawrence University

Lawrence University students are conducting longer-term curation work under the guidance of our Curation Director. Students are gaining vital, real-world experience doing restoration research and employing the latest techniques to preserve and interpret Hearthstone’s collections. The first areas to receive extensive attention are our extensive Victorian textiles and clothing collections, art holdings, book collection, and furniture collection.

Lawrence students are also filling roles such as the Volunteer Coordinator Internship, Event Coordinator Internship, and other types of internships to get real-world experience in all aspects of public history and museum work.

All internships are conducted under Hearthstone’s Career Choice Program. Using Hearthstone Historic House Museum as a vehicle, CCP provides a rich breadth of experience to college students or recent graduates that imparts the following:

- Sufficient understanding of museum operations to consider and evaluate a career in public history, museums, and in non-profit and for-profit organizations.

- Meaningful, hands-on experience in a real-world environment to gain a thorough appreciation of skills/work required for the field.

- New, market-valued skills that will increase hire-ability and likelihood of graduate school admission.

Students participating in CCP may have the opportunity to receive class credits with advisor approval and per school procedures and requirements.