It happened on the evening of Saturday April 9 during a special birthday party for a handful of young kids over at the Plymouth Historical Museum in Plymouth, Michigan. You see, one of the really cool things the Museum has that I have not seen elsewhere around these parts is their "Night at the Museum" birthday party for children, based on the very successful movies of the same name. This is something that really gets the young ones involved in history in a very up close manner:
Kids begin the delightful evening in the lower level meeting room, where they gather and socialize before sitting down for a dinner of pizza or subs and drinks while watching one of the "Night at the Museum" movies. When the show ends, a reenactor meets them and their magical journey begins. They are greeted on the pretense of touring the Museum, but when presented with a personalized "Tablet of Akmenrah," they discover that not all is as it seems. This tablet is a recreation of the Egyptian tablet used in the movies that brings the Museum characters to life, which the children soon realize seemingly works in this Museum as well.
The Museum is filled with reenactors silently waiting for the kids to bring them to life with the tablet. Kids could discover a Roman soldier dressed in full battle gear or Civil War soldiers preparing for war, or women wearing big hoop skirts and fancy dresses. There may even be a teenager from the 1950s hanging about, waiting to be awakened so she can dance and sing to her favorite rock and roll music. Anyone can be discovered at the Museum, and children will enjoy the living history. Each character chats with the kids about a slice of history so they might learn a thing or two while they are having fun at the party.
So dare we visit the museum...?
The Plymouth Historical Museum staff created this magical evening, where children discover that the characters within the Museum come alive after hours.
But not in a scary way.
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| This group of nine-year-olds was certainly happy to have a historic birthday party, especially the young girl in the center holding up the Ben Franklin hundred dollar bill, for it was she who's birthday it was! The spirits of America past stood right behind them. |
Well, as you can see, I gladly help out as time (and gas - the museum is located nearly an hour from where I live) permits. The kids were roughly in the single-digit-age group and most had little knowledge of history beyond the "this stuff is old" mentality (pretty much anything is old to one who is only that young, wouldn't you say?).
You would think we reenactors would have little impact on such a young group.
You would be wrong.
Oh, to have such an opportunity as a youngster as this!
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| First off the young ladies got to meet Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. |
Before it became the world's second-largest fast-food chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken was the brainchild of a man named Harland Sanders, who cooked up simple country dishes at a roadside gas station. Even after his death in 1980, Sanders is still the instantly recognizable face of the company. And the Colonel was there to explain it all.
I, as Paul Revere, was second on the list.
I know in today's society in order to get and keep attention you have to reach out and grab it - when the girls came up to me I came "alive" and immediately began shouting on how the "Regulars were coming out! The Regulars were on the march!" They jumped back, a couple let out a scream as well as a few giggles. I gave them an extreme abridged version of my most famous of rides, as well as about the occurrences at Lexington and then at Concord as well as "my" role in it.
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| None of the girls knew who Paul Revere was, though one said her father's name was Paul (lol). |
I asked if they knew anything about the 4th of July, of which they all exclaimed about the fireworks. I asked if they knew why we had fireworks on that date...and gave them one hint: "Declaration..." and they all yelled out "of Independence!!"
That was cool.
That was cool.
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| I also told them that the United States of America was a great country and that they themselves could make history of their own. One girl said she wanted to be President, and I, of course, told her to work at it and maybe she will. |
Phineas Taylor (PT) Barnum was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus with James Anthony Bailey.
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| So, yes, P. T. Barnum was there as well! |
P. T. Barnum did not invent the modern circus, but, in partnership with the retiring, efficient James Bailey, he did give it its gigantic size, its most memorable attractions, and its widest popularity, attempting to make it what he called The Greatest Show on Earth.
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| Without P.T. Barnum the world would not have known about Tom Thumb, Jenny Lind, Jumbo the Elephant, or even Madison Square Garden. |
Now look who we have here - - -
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| With the resurgence of interest in Benjamin Franklin due to the Ken Burns biography on TV recently, the great inventor stopped by as well! |
In the 1740s, Franklin conducted experiments that contributed to the understanding of electricity, and invented the lightning rod, which protected buildings from fires caused by lightning. In 1752, he conducted his famous kite experiment and demonstrated that lightning is electricity.
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| When he greeted the girls, I heard one exclaim that he was Ben Franklin. It's pretty good when youngsters can guess who you portray! |
Two from the founding generation in one birthday setting!
Next we have a Civil War reenacting friend who, I must admit, I've never seen in any other clothing but 1860s fashions, so I wasn't 100% sure if it was her initially.
And for this party - - - - -
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| Well, whaddaya know - - the "Unsinkable Molly Brown" was there to tell her story! |
Margaret Brown, known as Maggie---not Molly (which actually came from Hollywood)---was an American socialite and philanthropist.
Though surviving the sinking of the Titanic was her biggest claim to fame. she was so much more...
Margaret once said, “It isn’t who you are, nor what you have, but what you are that counts.” She is also remembered for her courage, social activism, and generosity to others.
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| It is unfortunate that I did not get to hear much of what was said about Margaret Brown, but knowing the presenter here, I am certain her life was covered as best as could be done in the ten minutes time she had! |
And finally we have something a little different:
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| The girls met a Civil War drummer, who had the youngsters marching through the museum to the beat of his drum! |
He explained to them just how the different rat-a-tat-tats were signals to the men out fighting in the fields and on the march during the Civil War.
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| Imagine how these kids felt marching behind a Civil War drummer! They loved it! |
Just before the kids came upstairs to the museum...
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| ~Paul Revere and Ben Franklin~ I've never heard of these two patriots actually meeting in real life, but they certainly did on this day! |
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| All of us who took part in helping to bring the past to life for a few very excited little girls. From left: Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, Colonel Sanders, Civil War Drummer Boy, P.T. Barnum, and Margaret Brown. |
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| So...we took a few nicely posed picture for posterity...until I spoke and said, "On the count of three, I want everyone to jump in the air and raise their hands up." I got a couple of "seriously?" looks from one or two spirits of America past, but, as you can see, everyone took part. I love how it turned out! |
The "Night at the Museum" had once again come to Plymouth, and the children experienced a birthday party they will never forget. The premise is a wonderful one and I like to think that we have helped to spur an interest in the past with these kids.
At least I hope so.
With that, until next time, see you in time.
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