Drew Central Fourth Graders Serve as Pint-sized White House Curators
March 16th, 2021 by
Lt to rt: Mallori Veasey, Cole Reed, and Aquira Johnson
Who takes care of the thousands of historic artifacts in the White House, cataloguing and preserving everything from presidential portraits to presidential china? And how does that person balance the needs of a building that is both a museum and symbol of American democracy, as well as a family home? Drew Central fourth grade students engaged in historically-based literacy lessons while learning the history of building the Present’s House or as it’s known today the White House. Students’ started their research with the 1792 contest to select an architect with the best design to build a president’s home to be built in the new capital city and research ended with the job responsibilities of the White House curator.
This position was established by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961 to help collect and exhibit artifacts; before this, presidents could throw away or take anything they wished. Now it’s all accounted by a team of professionals. To culminate and celebrate their learning, students engaged in real-world experiences as curators. Students filled out a security clearance application, received a Boarding Pass to enter White House to work, researched Interior & Decorative artifacts available from the permanent White House Collection, and used the process of cataloguing.
Next, as they entered the doors of the White House (classrooms) dressed in formal attire, they went straight to work balancing the needs of a building that is both a museum and symbol of American democracy. They eagerly partnered and designed a concept board to show off and project their design creativity skills. Then miniature 3D White House rooms containing artifacts as décor were crafted to exhibit the best artifacts of American history and culture.
These historically-based literacy lessons were created by a team of teachers from across the nation working at the White House alongside White House curator, Lydia Tederick. Drew Central fourth grade teacher Eva Arrington was one of the teachers selected by the White House Historical Association and attended the weeklong White House History Teacher Institute in Washington, D.C.
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