Hands-on History

Visitors making corn husk dolls.

NPS/Tim Ervin

Hands-on crafts and activities are a great way for people of all ages to connect to people throughout history! Hampton NHS's history spans almost two hundred years for you to explore. Get in the mindset of an enslaved child who misses out on the luxury of toys, or find out how workers in the dairy labored to produce butter. All the activities are available in printable pdf format for distribution in a classroom, or from home!

 

A living historian helps kids make a corn husk doll.

NPS/Tim Ervin

Corn Husk Dolls

Supplies needed: Corn Husks (8-10), Scissors and String

A craft that has been made for hundreds of years; we encourage you to make your own version of the doll that many children have played with throughout history. In this activity you will learn about the enslaved children of Hampton, and how and why they would have made these same types of dolls.

Printable Corn Husk Doll Instructions

 

A completed yarn doll.

NPS

Yarn Doll

Supplies needed: yarn, scissors, book

Enslaved children would have access to fabric and yarn scraps from work done on the Hampton Estate. They could collect these scraps and use these techniques to make a doll for entertainment. Follow these instructions to find out how to make your own yarn doll!

Printable Yarn Doll Instructions

 

A living historian demonstrates how to make butter in a jar.

NPS/Tim Ervin

Butter in a Jar

Supplies: Heavy Cream, small jar, (optional) salt

As a plantation, Hampton was a place that profited from enslaved labor by selling cash crops or other goods, one of which was butter. Before the Civil War enslaved dairymaids would have been making butter on the property, one woman who we know a lot about is Caroline Davis Brown, renowned in the area for making the best butter, we encourage you to think of her story and other enslaved peoples stories who lived and worked at Hampton while doing this activity!

Printable Homemade Butter Instructions