Museum Day
September 26, 2009
In 2009, Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest will once again participate in Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day. On September 26, visitors can enjoy free general admission to hundreds of museums and cultural venues nationwide. Visit the Museum Day website for additional information.
Hands on History Center
11 am to 3 pm, admission ticket required
Bring the entire family to experience the Hands-On-History Pavilion, open from 11 am to 3 pm. Kids can learn more about life in the early 18th-century life by carding wool, breaking flax, screening artifacts, cross-mending and learning to write with a quill pen.
During this time, visitors can also interact with historic interpreters in Jefferson's kitchen and learn more about life in the early 19th century. The kitchen at Poplar Forest was designed with three stew stoves for French cooking and a set kettle for instant hot water, making it very modern for the time.
Finishing the Curtilage Fence
10 am to Noon, free
Join with staff and volunteers to put the finishing touches on the reproduction of Jefferson’s curtilage fence. A split-rail “snake” fence, the fence served as the boundary of the ornamental core of Jefferson’s retreat. In addition to containing the retreat house and ornamental grounds, the “curtilage” contained gardens, orchards, outbuildings and slave quarters.
Participants who want to help reconstruct the fence are required to wear long sleeves, long pants and substantial shoes. Each rail weighs 40 pounds and is 11 feet long. Please bring protective eyewear, heavy-duty gloves and bug spray. Pre-registration is requested. Please contact Octavia Starbuck at (434) 534-8108 or octavia@poplarforest.org for more information and to register. Images of the fence are also available.
Handhelds Unveiled
All day, admission ticket required
Beginning on September 26th visitors to Poplar Forest will be the first to walk the grounds with hand-held electronic devices that provide audio and visual information about the landscape and plantation community at Poplar Forest. At twenty points of interest, triggered by GPS (Global Positioning System) visitors will be able to access data about the retreat landscape, the plantation and Jefferson’s designs for the space.
With the handheld tours, visitors can step into Jefferson’s landscape in its pre-restoration stage— and begin to understand just how big it was and what documentary research and archaeology have uncovered so far about it. Handheld tours are included in the price of admission to Poplar Forest.
Poplar Forest will be open for tours from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For a list of additional Virginia museums that are participating in Museum Day, or for additional information about this nationwide program, visit the Museum Day website at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/.