Monday, February 01 - Sunday, February 28, 2010 9:00am - 5:00pm

The culture of the first known Africans in Virginia, from the kingdom of Ndongo in Angola, and the experience of Africans in 17th-century Virginia is a focus of interpretive programs throughout the month of February at Jamestown Settlement, a history museum operated by the state's Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.

The theme "From Africa to Virginia" is reflected in a printed family guide of the museum's expansive gallery exhibits and in guided tours of three outdoor living-history areas.

Electronic Field Trip:  Jamestown Unearthed

Thursday, December 10th, 2009 10 AM -11 AM

Take a look at how history is written and reevaluated as new methods of study are introduced. Using the example of Jamestown in 1607, explore the myths and misconceptions of that era. Colonial Williamsburg's Electronic Field Trips are interactive history lessons, presented as live television and Internet events, and broadcast via satellite to schools around the nation. This dramatic and compelling learning experience enhances history and social studies curricula while supporting national and state Standards of Learning. The program takes place at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., EST, in the Bruton Heights School Lane Auditorium, and is free and open to the public. Colonial Williamsburg's award-winning programs also are available nationally on many PBS stations.
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Virginia foodways are featured during this three-day event beginning on Thanksgiving Day. At Jamestown Settlement, learn how food was gathered, preserved and prepared on land and at sea by Virginia's English colonists and Powhatan Indians.  At the Yorktown Victory Center, learn about typical soldiers' fare during the American Revolution and trace the bounty of a 1780's farm from field to kitchen.

Virginia Archaeology Month Special Program

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Visitors are invited to join in the moment of discovery as archaeologists unearth the original 1607 James Fort site and observe collections staff as they process recent finds.

Children can make a pinch pot, participate in the process of archaeology in a simulated dig-box and take an Artifact Quest to track down interesting artifacts on display in the Voorhees Archaearium Museum.

National Park Service rangers and Preservation Virginia archaeologists conduct walking tours and relate the current Jamestown Rediscovery archaeological project to the history of England's first permanent settlement in the New World.

This event is jointly sponsored by the National Park Service and APVA Preservation Virginia.

Cost: Entrance Fee
Historic Jamestowne
1368 Colonial Parkway
Jamestown, VA 23081
Contact: (757) 229-1733 or (757) 229-0412
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National Public Lands Day at Historic Jamestowne

Saturday, September 26, 2009

As part of National Public Lands Day, Historic Jamestowne will offer free admission on Saturday, September 26th. 

Historic Jamestowne is a place for everone to have fun, reconnect with history and nature, and build a sense of ownership and stewardship toward the park and the environment. Come and enjoy a Saturday at Historic Jamestowne for free!

Entertainment is such an important aspect of life. Throughout the ages, people have explored ways to enliven the mundane activities of every day life. The ancient Greeks explored poetry and drama; the people of the Middle Ages loved to joust; the nineteenth century was characterized by salons and balls. Entertainment has infiltrated every generation of human life. Indeed, I fear we would be a rather dull and uninteresting species without the ability to amuse ourselves.

Today, we have so many kinds of entertainment. The television, video games, impressive technological toys, cars, theme parks, boats, and extensive other options for spending time consume modern Americans. Because I live two blocks from downtown Colonial Williamsburg, I frequently wonder how the colonials lived without all of these extravagant pieces of entertainment equipment. Could I have done it myself? I suppose so, as at that point in time, I wouldn't have known any differently.

Throughout August, Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center are offering a way to understand the pastimes of times past. Hands-on activities and interpretive programs will show the games, storytelling, and other various diversions of the 17th and 18th Century. You'll see things like playing corncob darts, ninepins, mancala and quoits...what exactly is quoits?

Interesting Fact: Quoits (Pronunciation: "k-waits") is a traditional lawn game involving the throwing of a metal or rubber ring over a set distance to land over a pin (called a hob or mott) in the centre of a patch of clay. It is closely related to horseshoe pitching and the fairground game hoopla. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries in the United States, the original Quoit Club was a group of men that met on Saturdays during the spring and summer seasons at Buchanan's Spring in Richmond, Virginia. The club was also known as the Richmond Sociable Club, or the Barbecue Club, and included members such as Chief Justice John Marshall, William Wirt, Benjamin Watkins Leigh, John Buchanan and John Blair. The Quoit Club still exists today and is currently the social arm of Historic Richmond Foundation.