June 29, 2015
JAMESTOWN, Va. – Jamestown Rediscovery at Historic Jamestowne has openedn an Ed Shed to house fun activities for the whole family and will debut the newest version of the Jamestown Adventure game booklet for young visitors.
The new educational shelter just outside the western palisade of the James Fort area will be an interactive space where kids and families can share in the moment of discovery. Young visitors will be able to help Jamestown Rediscovery staff sift through millions of potential finds at a Sorting N' Picking station. They can also dig in to Discovery Boxes to find 3D printed replicas of various artifacts recovered throughout our 20 year history, each playing a role in telling the incredible story of the first permanent English settlement in North America. Or people can see 3D scanning and printing in action and learn how the technology is being used to preserve the past and to share our collection beyond the walls of our archaeology museum. The Ed Shed was funded in part by a grant from James City County.
Coming early in July, we will introduce the fourth edition of the popular Jamestown Adventure treasure hunt game. Previous versions helped children explore the world of Pocahontas and hunt for a Spanish spy. This year’s booklet features the Jamestown Rediscovery archaeology team in the present day and explains some of the science they do to uncover the lost mysteries of Jamestown.
Young visitors also enjoy meeting some of Jamestown’s early settlers in person and asking them questions about their lives at the fort. This summer’s lineup of living history presentations includes:
William Strachey, “A True Report of a Wreck and Redemption” Saturday, July 11, 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Meet one of the most quoted eyewitnesses to early Jamestown who will relate the shipwreck and survival that changed the course of the 17th century and inspired Shakespeare to write “The Tempest.”
Joan Pierce, “An Honest and Industrious Woman” Saturday, July 18, 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. This dauntless Englishwoman of early Jamestown will describe the challenges of being one of the first women in colonial Virginia.
First Assembly Day Saturday, July 25, 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. In this annual commemoration of the first meeting of the first representative government in English North America, visitors can meet with some of those first representatives and participate in lawmaking on the very site where the General Assembly began in 1619.
These programs are free with paid Historic Jamestowne admission, which is $14 for adults and includes access to Yorktown Battlefield. Interagency passes and Preservation Virginia memberships are accepted, but a $5 fee may apply. Youth under age 16 receive free admission to Historic Jamestowne. For more information, visit www.historicjamestowne.org or telephone 757-229-4997.
Historic Jamestowne is jointly administered by the National Park Service and Jamestown Rediscovery (on behalf of Preservation Virginia) and preserves the original site of the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Guests share the moment of discovery with archaeologists and witness archaeology in action at the 1607 James Fort excavation April-October; learn about the Jamestown Rediscovery excavation at the Nathalie P. and Alan M. Voorhees Archaearium, the site's archaeology museum; tour the original 17th-century church tower and reconstructed 17th-century Jamestown Memorial Church; and take a walking tour with a Park Ranger through the New Towne area along the scenic James River. Guests can also enjoy lunch or a snack by the James River at the Dale House Café.
Preservation Virginia, a private nonprofit organization and statewide historic preservation leader founded in 1889, is dedicated to perpetuating and revitalizing Virginia's cultural, architectural and historic heritage thereby ensuring that historic places are integral parts of the lives of present and future generations.
