Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino recently announced that historic Raynham Hall Museum in Oyster Bay will continue to offer virtual field trips for classes for many schools in the area to continue to highlight the stories of resiliency during the Revolutionary War from Robert Townsend and his compatriots as members of George Washington’s spy ring. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Raynham Hall Museum has presented more than 100 virtual programs, and reached more than 3,000 students across Long Island.
(Photo by Alex Nuñez)
“Oyster Bay Hamlet’s history is chock full of historical importance that many of our younger residents may not be aware of, and that is why I am so delighted to see that Raynham Hall Museum has found a creative solution in virtual field trips to still be able to fulfill their important mission to preserve our history and educate our children on the past,” Saladino said. “Virtual field trips will be held throughout the school year and will serve as an important educational supplement as faculty and students alike adapt to the ‘new normal’ we all find ourselves in.”
Raynham Hall Museum in Oyster Bay is currently offering virtual field trips for $4 per student for each program, with no more than two classes per virtual program. Virtual field trips have become a proven commodity to help ease educators burden coping with new distance learning options. The program is available to libraries as well, and is designed for youngsters from grades 2 through 11.
The programs available at present are as follow:
• The Townsends in the Revolution (fourth and fifth graders, 1 hour)
• Spy Craft (fourth-seventh graders, one-hour long or an expanded version told in five sessions, one hour each)
• Standing Where They Stood: Learning About Slavery in Oyster Bay (fifth grade, seventh grade, eighth grade and 11th grade, one hour each)
• Samuel Townsend: Colonial Merchant (second grade, 45 minutes)
Interested educators should reach out to Claire Bellerjeau at cbellerjeau@raynhamhallmuseum.org to schedule a program and for more information regarding virtual field trips offered by Raynham Hall.
—Submitted by the Town of Oyster Bay
