VISITORS FLOCK TO HISTORY TENT
Poplar Forest Newsletter, Fall 2000

Poplar Forest’s new interactive exhibit proved extremely popular its first year, drawing 4,076 visitors during the summer when it was open to the general public.

Most people touring the house visited the tent. This spring, when the tent was reserved for school groups, it was in use nearly every day, helping more than 1,500 students learn about life in Jefferson’s time.

Adults as well as children are taking advantage of the opportunities to learn more about life in Jefferson’s time with the hands-on activities.

 "On any day you can see the adults making bricks, playing colonial games, and writing with quill pens," says Education Coordinator Shawne Farmer of the summer visitors.

Wrote one visitor in the guest book, "Thank you for the fun time. The children did not stop long enough to realize that all their good time was educational!" Another family said, "Wonderful, an excellent hands-on learning activity that has brought Poplar Forest to life! Our 15-year-old daughter wants to be an archaeologist." One youngster spent an hour spinning wool.

The tent is sponsored by Barr Laboratories, Inc. and One Valley Bank – Central Virginia.

During the spring and fall, the tent is reserved for elementary school groups. From spring through mid-July, the tent attracted 1,515 students and 340 chaperones. One Campbell County teacher said that "on a scale of 1 to 10, (with 10 being the top), we’d give the tent 10+."

School groups receive special structured programming at the tent to cover specific requirements in social studies required by Virginia. Favorite activities, says Farmer, are making bricks, quill pen writing, carding wool, wearing period clothing, making a bucket, writing with a reproduction of Jefferson’s copying machine called a polygraph, and shooting marbles.

"It’s wonderful to see people of all ages excited about Poplar Forest," Farmer says. "Once visitors make a brick in the tent, we tell them they have only 239,999 more to go to build Jefferson’s house and privies. That gives people a greater appreciation for what it took to build in Jefferson’s time."