Adventures in Learning The Central New York Region is a Home School Haven!

The classroom isn’t the only place where learning happens: The Central New York Region is rich in educational places ideal for home-schooled children and their parents. While textbooks are important, there’s no replacement for hands-on, real-life learning! Parents and pupils alike will appreciate the high level of interactivity at our region’s educational venues – from museums and historic properties to discovery centers. Don’t let the cold weather stop you; the following hand-selected venues operate all winter long!

Chenango County

Rev up your engines and head out to the Northeast Classic Car Museum in Chenango County. There, your child can explore the impact of the automobile on American culture and society. The Museum’s goal is to use various automobiles to pique students’ interest in history, literature, math, and technology. A guided tour customized to the educational level of your children is available. The tour incorporates lessons such as the economic effects of the automobile’s invention, how the automobile has contributed to technological and scientific developments, and what mechanisms and variables impact fuel efficiency. Energy issues such as alternative sources and green power are also touched upon. Switch gears to a “wilder” learning experience at the Wolf Mountain Nature Center in Smyrna. At the Center, wolves live as they do in the wild: giving students a rare opportunity to learn about wolf-related issues, biology, behavior and more in their natural setting. The Center aims to educate visitors on the role wolves play in our ecosystem and encourage an accurate understanding of the wolf.

Greater Binghamton

Children of all ages will benefit from a trip to the Discovery Center of the Southern Tier. There, you’ll find interactive exhibits that are both fun and educational. For career exploration, children can step into a plane cockpit, be a live anchor in the television studio (complete with weather maps for budding meteorologists!), and even step into a simulated hospital and dentist office. Budding artists can spend time in Studio 60: a working art space. The Broome County Public Library is an excellent stop for an education in philanthropy: the library was founded with a generous gift from Andrew Carnegie in 1904. Today the library houses over 300,000 books and also features the latest technology (computers, research software, etc.) available for the community. The Roberson Museum and Science Center is another Binghamton educational hot spot. Share the wonders of the sky with a visit to the planetarium, or, discover local archaeology at an exhibit focused on findings from a dig site right in downtown Binghamton!  To discover the performing arts, take your children to a play held at the Cider Mill Playhouse in Endicott.

Madison County

History is a vital part of the educational process as studying the past allows us to better understand our present and future. Get one step closer to history with a visit to the Oneida Community Mansion House. Between 1848 and 1880, this sprawling brick mansion was home to over 300 people who were part of the Oneida Community, a communal-living society that subscribed to a utopian philosophy. Today, the Mansion House is committed to providing educational opportunities. There are two established programs offered: one for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders and another for high school students of U.S. History that utilizes the Mansion House to illustrate such subjects as gender, reform, religion, and utopian philosophy. The Mansion House will assist in customizing an educational program to any grade level. Travel back even farther in time with a trip to the Museum of Curiosities in Cazenovia. There you’ll find an ancient Egyptian mummy as well as early Native American tools and beadwork– ideal for beginning lessons on ancient civilization. The Museum also showcases extinct and rare bird specimens, antique books and maps, and paintings of local areas. Perhaps your child is interested in architecture; Madison County boasts stunning examples of classic structures and styles. Visit www.madisoncountytourism.com to download the Madison County Architectural Heritage Trail Guide, hop in the car, and head out to study the sixteen architectural wonders highlighted in the guide!

Montgomery County

There’s a story behind each of the 25,000 artifacts housed in the Walter Elwood Museum at the Guy Park Manor in Amsterdam, NY. The artifacts fall under four categories: multicultural, Victorian, natural history, or local Mohawk Valley industrial history. “Using the past to illuminate the present” is the objective of the museum, especially as it relates to students. Exhibits are frequently updated, guest lecturers present their insights, and creative activities are planned to bring the artifacts to life. To enrich the creative side of your child, a trip to the Arkell Museum at Canajoharie is a must. Paintings by such important and influential artists as Georgia O’Keefe, Winslow Homer, Norman Rockwell, and Mary Cassatt are on permanent display. There is also an extensive gallery devoted to the history of the Beech Nut Factory, with a recent exhibit focusing on Beech Nut’s integration of art into advertising. In the attached Canajoharie Library, a wealth of educational resources are waiting to be discovered along with thousands of books. The Local History Room can be used to research genealogy or local history using primary sources. Technology literacy through hands-on instruction (online research, audio book usage, and more) is a major focus at the Library. Have you worked up an appetite with all the art and literature at your fingertips in Canajoharie? Head to Palatine Valley Dairy for a tasty lesson in cheese production. With over 25 flavors of cheddar and 7 flavors of fresh curd, Palatine Valley is the only Northeast dairy to produce so many varieties. Palatine welcomes visitors, and an educational tour can be arranged to accommodate you!

Schoharie County

Travel to the NY Power Authority’s Blenheim-Bilboa Visitors Center Power for a triple play of educational opportunities: History, energy science, and nature are all waiting to be explored here. The Center itself is housed in a restored 19th century dairy barn, yet cutting-edge technology brings the story of power generation – including “green” processes like solar and wind – to life through interactive displays. For a natural experience, hike the 2.5 mile Bluebird Trail and view the just-renovated Lansing Manor on the grounds for an authentic peek into colonial life. For a thrilling geology lesson, travel 156 feet down into Howe Caverns. Get close to cave features such as stalagmites and an underwater lake. Above ground, visit the gem mining and geode cutting center. Just minutes away is a fascinating portal into Native American life at the Iroquois Indian Museum. Utilizing authentic Iroquois art, crafts, and artifacts, the Museum meets its objective of “fostering understanding of the Iroquois culture.” Even the architecture of the Museum conveys a cultural message: It is shaped like the 400-year-old Iroquois longhouse. Another educational gem is the Old Stone Fort Museum. Originally constructed as a church in 1772, the church was used as a stockade in the Revolutionary War and an armory in the Civil War. Today, the property houses a museum loaded with artifacts, a refurnished one-room schoolhouse, the Scribner Exhibit of 20th century communications, and a genealogy research area.

Cooperstown/Otsego County

There’s plenty of learning locations that lie ahead, just waiting to be explored in Otsego County! Stop at the Fenimore Art Gallery for an enlightening look at American folk art and American Indian art, as well as photography and 20th century art. Be sure to check out the onsite 1750 American Indian Bark House on Otsego Lake’s shores. In Oneonta, the Yager Museum of Art & Culture provides another opportunity for artistic learning with history mixed in. In addition to fine art from the 15th through the 20th centuries, the Museum features an extensive collection of Native American archaeological artifacts from 10,000 B.C.E. through the 1900s. Open through December, the Fly Creek Cider Mill & Orchard is a great place to learn about how cider is made and apples are harvested. It’s truly an educational (and tasty) adventure! Another creative educational idea is to have your children read James Fenimore’s Leatherstocking Tales and to visit the real sites that inspired his stories (such as Otsego Lake, known as the fictional Glimmerglass Lake in the Tales).

Utica/Rome/Oneida

For some reason, folks tend to forget that most zoos are open year-round in the Central New York Region! The Utica Zoo has awesome attractions – both indoor and outdoor – that provide children an opportunity to learn about animals all year long. For example, the outdoor Siberian Tiger exhibit showcases the animals in their natural habitat and the snow leopards don’t mind the cold either! Indoors you’ll find reptiles, birds, and other mammals. While you’re bundled up, visit the Oriskany Monument in Rome; it was erected on the spot of the Revolutionary War Battle of Oriskany. This is the last of fourteen monuments placed to mark locations where General Herkimer and his men stopped en route to Fort Stanwix.  Nearby, Fort Stanwix is another must-see history site. Playing a major role in the Revolutionary War, this Fort contributed to the 1777 American victory at the Battle of Saratoga. Today, the Fort has been completely reconstructed by the National Park Service. Be sure to visit the Marinus Willett Collections Management and Education Center on the Fort grounds. There’s an exhibit timeline, audiovisual presentations, a bookstore and a museum collection boasting 450,000 objects that tell the story of Fort Stanwix and life at the time of the Revolutionary War. Explore four floors of hands-on exhibits with your children at the Children’s Museum of History, Natural History, Science & Technology!  

Herkimer County

Head to Herkimer County where history comes alive for students. The Town of Webb Historical Society’s Goodsell Museum is a must-visit. It’s an excellent introduction to Adirondack-related history, commerce, and wildlife. Then, visit the historic Dolgeville Mill for a lesson in electricity! There, Thomas Edison built his first hydroelectric dynamo to provide electric lighting to the manufacturing plant. Today the site is home to one of the largest antique centers in New York State. Take time to browse antiques with your children; there is a history lesson behind each object. While you can’t drive through it, stop to see the famous Salisbury Covered Bridge and use it as a talking point for transportation methods of the past. A trip to the Remington Firearms Museum reveals a typewriter used by Mark Twain as well as many firearms of historic significance (like Annie Oakley’s rifle and rifles used in our nation’s wars). Finally, no educational expedition to the area is complete without at stop at the Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners which includes the 1884 Herkimer County Historical Society Suiter Building Museum, the 1834 Herkimer County Jail, 1873 Herkimer County Courthouse, and the 1834 Herkimer Reformed Church, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places.