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Kid’s Day at the Old State House Museum
by Senator Richard T. Moore February 6, 2007...For those parents who want to give their children an enjoyable educational experience, or who are reaching their stress point by the end of February school vacation week, the Old State House Museum is hosting “Kid’s Day on Friday, February 23, 2007. The Old State House Museum is located at 206 Washington Street at the corner of State Street in Boston, and there is no admission charge. Activities are scheduled from 11am to 4pm. The Bostonian Society, which operates the museum, is hosting this fun and educational day to give young people and their families an opportunity to experience their new interactive, family-oriented exhibition, “The Old State House: A Hands-on History.” It’s a chance to find out what kids did for fun in the 18th and 19th centuries. Make and take home toys and crafts, try your hand with the cup and ball, play jacks, and a whole lot more! Visitors can tour the Old State House tower, try one of the fun and challenging scavenger hunts. Light snacks will also be provided. For those who don’t want to drive into Boston, the State Street Station of "The Orange & Blue Lines" are just outside the building entrance, The "Green Line" is one Block away at Government Center Station, and the Commuter Rail Lines at North Station & The Fleet Center are within walking distance. The Old State House is a building of unique historical significance. It was built in 1713, as the seat of government for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and was the center of Boston’s political and commercial life. Within its walls, founding fathers like Samuel Adams first articulated the ideas of representative democracy. In 1761, for example, James Otis memorably argued against the Writs of Assistance, prompting John Adams to observe that “then and there the child Independence was born.” On March 5, 1770, British soldiers fired into a crowd outside the Old State House doors, killing five men, in what became known, through Paul Revere’s famous engraving, as “the Boston Massacre.” From its balcony, on July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was first read to the people of Boston, including Abigail Adams, who wrote movingly to her husband about the occasion. John Hancock later served in the building as the state’s first governor. Today the Old State House stands as the oldest surviving public building in Boston, a landmark that is part of every American’s heritage. More information can be found at http://www.bostonhistory.org/events.php |
