Day 11

This morning’s trip to the National Baseball Hall of fame and museum was one of the most useful and entertaining of the entire trip.  We started off in the Bullpen Theater where Anna Wade of the museum’s educational department gave us a quick overview of the Hall of Fame itself and the requirements for induction.  I could have guessed some of the basics, but learning about the voting process was very interesting, and I can now see why some players’ admission is so controversial.  Anna turned us on to the amazing amount of resources they offer on their website including information, lesson plans, and even video conferencing opportunities.  I only hope that Pueblo City Schools will offer us the technology resources needed (and the paper copying requirements) we will need to utilize these tools.  After seeing an assortment of lesson plans on such topics as history, geography, math, and character development, I can’t wait to start planning some instruction for the upcoming school year.

When we were finally released to wander the museum on our own, the toughest decision was picking a place to begin.  A few of us started off on the third floor with the intention of working our way down.  This may have been a mistake, as the top floor provided so many great baseball artifacts that I spent over half of the allotted time there.  Filled with no hitter balls, championship rings, baseball cards and more, the third floor captivated my attention and soaked up a good portion of the day.  My favorite part of this section was probably the baseball card collection, where I found not only a 1909 Honus Wagner and other rare and ancient pieces, but also some great cards that I recognized from the 1980s that reminded me of my childhood and summers spent trading cards with my friends.  The second floor contained many great exhibits, such as “Viva Baseball!” a display revolving around Latinos players in the Majors, and rooms dedicated to Babe Ruth and Roberto Clemente.  The first floor was where most people start, filled with plaques from every hall of fame inductee, whether player, manager, or umpire.  The wealth of information found in this museum and its relation to American History in general will be both fun and useful as I head back to school in the fall.

Lunch at an overpriced deli and a stroll through the streets of Cooperstown occupied my time before we headed to the Fenimore Art Museum on the outskirts of town.  Here, we found a great collection of artwork pertaining not only to James Fenimore Cooper and his family, but to other artists of “Americana” working in all sorts of mediums as well.  The building itself was another work of art, with beautiful wood floors and intricate architectural detail throughout.  Two of my favorite exhibitions were the Watermark Collection by Michele Harvey and In Our Time: The World as Seen by Magnum Photographers.  Both gave powerful interpretations of the world around us, and I even purchased the companion book to In Our Time to help my students better understand American History through photographs.

The Cooperstown Farmers’ Museum was also a lot of fun.  We were able to watch a blacksmith and printer in action, and I got a tour of an early 19^th Century farmhouse.  The tavern was another great source of hands-on history, but nothing compared to the baby animals at the kids’ petting zoo.  If there’s anything cuter than a goat baby, I’d love to see it!