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Lean in to Learning in Huntsville

EarlyWorks Family of Museums

Students can dip candles, card cotton and stoke the fires in the blacksmith shop at the Alabama Constitution Village. Part of the EarlyWorks Family of Museums, this living-history museum transports guests back to the early days of Alabama’s statehood, which became official on the museum’s grounds in 1819.

“You are treated to a glimpse of what urban life was like in Huntsville in 1900s,” said Williams. “They talk about how Alabama became a state. Our statehood bicentennial is in 2019, but we’re starting to celebrate this year because it’s the anniversary of when Alabama became a territory. So it will really be a two-and-a-half-year celebration starting this August.”

The open-air museum uses costumed interpreters to re-enact life in 1819 inside eight buildings, including a law office, a post office and a blacksmith shop. During the Village Living History program, students can not only ask interpreters questions as they watch them work, but also participate in various activities during the two-hour course.

The nearby Historic Huntsville Depot, also part of the EarlyWorks Family of Museums, focuses on the Civil War history of Huntsville. Built in 1860, the depot remains one of the nation’s oldest railroad structures.

Groups can climb aboard locomotives and experience the Civil War through interactive exhibits and guided programs. Tours reveal intriguing graffiti left in the building by Confederate soldiers held there as prisoners during the war.

HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology

Diagnosing genetic abnormalities sounds like challenging work for even the brightest minds. But when the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology combines this serious science with scavenger hunts and detective kits, the important research becomes a fun way to spend an afternoon. The nonprofit genome research institute strives to present the material in an engaging way for a specific goal.

“One of their main reasons for being in existence is youth outreach,” said Williams. “They are trying to cultivate the next generation of students who might be able to cure cancer.”

Programs at HudsonAlpha not only offer entertaining science-based activities, but also provide a glimpse into tangible genetic research careers. The site has a research component as well as a business incubator. Once the research labs discover something new, the facility’s business operation takes over to market the product to the masses.

Groups can learn the intricacies of this process while enjoying the site’s hands-on, lab-based field trips. Students can spend an hour or a day learning to operate high-tech biotechnology tools to solve the given genetic problem.

For more information contact Huntsville-Madison Co. CVB at 866-372-2478 or go to www.huntsville.org.