LEARN
Programs and Exhibits
Educational Programs
Thank you for your interest in educational programs at the Slate Valley Museum.
We offer a wide array of program opportunities for public schools, colleges and universities, homeschooling, and those interested in using the Museum for after school projects.
We can explore the history, science, and other subjects through the exploration of the people and technology that has powered the slate industry of the Slate Valley region in New York and Vermont.
We welcome your visit to the Slate Valley Museum or would be willing to tailor a program for your “classroom” environment.
Outreach Programs for Seniors:
We offer programming for local senior centers, nursing homes, and by on-site visits, where appropriate, to highlight the cultural, historical, and geological background to the Slate Valley. Through discussion, demonstration, hands-on activities, and the Museum's online collections and database participants will learn more about the industry, the people, and the stone.
Request Program or Borrow Tablet Kit
Request Our Digital Outreach Kits!
Let us bring the Slate Valley Museum to your facility in a safe, socially distanced way!
Contact us to arrange for your facility to borrow a loanable tablet kit. These kits bring our programs to senior centers, nursing homes, and other elder care facilities via temporary use of pre-loaded, wi-fi capable tablets that come with digitally recorded museum talks, lectures, and performances and allow access to the Museum's website and searchable collections database. Both Apple and Android devices available.
This program was supported by Washington County Home for Aged Women and a Humanities New York CARES Grant with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal CARES Act.
School Programs & Programs for Youth
Museum-based programs and/or class and school visitations support curriculum and standards for your class or grade level. Programs are flexible in nature and are offered both in-person at the museum and in the classroom, or via virtual platform such as Zoom.
Most programs are offered free of charge thanks to funding from several organizations.
We are currently accepting requests for the 2025 - 2026 school year.
Education Programs are made possible by support from the following funders:
Stewart's Shops Holiday Match Grant
Price Chopper's Golub Foundation
Public Program Virtual Library:
Beginning in 2021, the museum began recording live public programs, including, lectures, discussions, and performances. These programs have been edited for optimal viewing and are available via our YouTube Channel.
Visit Our YouTube Channel
This project was made possible by the Slate Valley Museum’s participation in the Museum Association of New York’s “Building Capacity, Creating Sustainability, Growing Accessibility Project,” which is funded in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Collection Database
Explore our online database.
The Slate Valley Museum celebrates the history and culture of the quarrying community that was established along the New York-Vermont border in the 1800s. Many of the Slate Valley quarries are still in operation, producing most of the colored roofing slate sold throughout the United States today.
RESEARCH DATABASE
The Dream and the Reality:
Immigration and Assimilation in the Slate Valley of New York and Vermont, 1840 to Present.
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Examine why immigrants left their homeland; why there was so much disparity in income among new immigrants; what beliefs encouraged assimilation or cohesion; what role religion played in the relationships between immigrant groups; why some descendants stayed in the boom and bust slate industry while others moved away; and, finally, why for some the difference between the dream and the reality was acceptable.
