December 1, 2014
The Akin House and Education
The Akin House along with the proposed adjacent visitor center will become one of Dartmouth’s main attractions for teaching and learning. The property will serve as a venue for the DHPT and other groups, such as the Dartmouth Historical and Arts Society to offer innovative ways to teach local history with hands-on workshops and other programming to provide a living history experience.
As a rare example of the post-and-beam construction of the 18th century, the Akin House will be maintained as a working classroom for area residents and visitors alike. The house itself will be designed for self-guided tours with fixed and revolving exhibits.
Educational offerings will include programs about the region’s history and heritage, archaeology, architecture, social and economic achievements, narrating the lives and contributions of our founders and others who settled in Dartmouth over the centuries until the present time.
Partners in Education
DHPT has been fortunate to have a partner in Roger Williams University’s Community Partnerships Center.
So far, we have worked with the University’s education department’s social studies class of eight students training to become elementary education teachers. These students developed unit plans for teachers and children in grades 3, 4, and 5 to fulfill DHPT’s goals to offer Living History Programming at the Akin House.
Students enrolled in Roger Williams’s Small Business Institute are currently developing a Business Plan including a feasibility study for the viability and sustainability of our proposed cultural heritage center.
