The Wayland Museum & Historical Society (WM&HS) sponsors an array of educational opportunities from history lessons in the elementary school to rotating museum exhibits to community events.
Teaching young children
History has a unique way of sparking curiosity and engaging critical thinking skills. This was evident recently when the “Museum in a Box” Wayland Path to Revolution program visited Happy Hollow third-graders. In addition to learning about Wayland’s Revolutionary history, students explored replica maps, looking for their present-day street as well as and museum objects. When examining a metal and wood foot warmer, they offered imaginative guesses including a mailbox, a lock, something for fish or something for birds.
WM&HS has long offered third-grade field trips about the Revolution and town history. I fondly remember tagging along on my siblings’ trip to the Grout-Heard House and North Cemetery decades ago. Presently, third-graders are studying “Massachusetts, Home to Many Different People” through the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework, with a major topic being Massachusetts in the 18th century up through the American Revolution. WM&HS’s Path to Revolution program aligns with this, thanks to invaluable volunteers who have helped create and iterate our educational offerings over the years. When students are able to explore local history and discover that a home they pass by daily was a witness to the American Revolution 250 years ago, it can spark a meaningful connection across time.
Learn more about our volunteers and programs by visiting www.waylandmuseum.org and subscribing to our newsletter.
Museum exhibits
With Pride Month winding up, it’s the perfect time to highlight a little-known Wayland connection. In 1882, Evangeline Marrs, 27, married Michael Simpson, 72, who built her an exquisite mansion on Dudley Pond (later called The Mansion Inn, source of the museum’s lion statue). Evangeline’s life had many layers, with one being a lifelong romantic relationship with Rose Cleveland, sister of President Grover Cleveland. Their love is documented in letters published as The Love Letters of Rose Cleveland and Evangeline Simpson Whipple, 1890-1918 (2019). Editor Tilly Laskey will discuss Evangeline’s extraordinary life at the museum next year.
Our shared local history also extends beyond Wayland to Waveland, Miss., which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina 20 years ago this August. The museum’s exhibit in August through September will recognize “Wayland to Waveland,” our town’s response coordinated by local leaders like Michael Tichnor, Cindy Lombardo, and others who mobilized emergency relief and student trips, and offered longer lasting support in the years following. This community exhibit will feature information from Waveland’s Ground Zero Hurricane Museum.
Community events
Come visit the museum this summer or find us in the community at events including Dudley Pond Ice Cream Social (July 12), and Plein Air Painting with ArtsWayland (August 2). These events invite all ages to explore our local history — see details on our website at
waylandmuseum.org.
Do you have program questions or ideas or a Wayland to Waveland story to share? Please email director@waylandmuseum.org.
Scarlett Hoey is the executive director of the Wayland Museum.
