New-York Historical Society Teen Historians

By Randolph Higgins and Hannah Feldman A little less than 240 years ago, the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence. With the completion of this document, the fight for American Independence had officially begun. Nearly 13 years later, the new country laid out a new system of laws and guiding principles for itself: the…

By Micaela Arena, Tristan Genetta, Finn Clarke, and Rosalyn Bradshaw We met Mr. Roper, history teacher at York Preparatory School, at Bowling Green outside the National Museum of the American Indian. My first impression: he’s kind of old to lead a walking tour of lower Manhattan in 90-degree summer heat. This idea was quickly dispelled…

As we wrap up our internship this week, we documented a typical day in the Student Historian Program to give you a behind-the-scenes look at our work! By Julie Effron, Evani Ricaldi, Melissa Cepeda, Fariha Jeny, and Ben Farrell 10:19 am There’s no time for rest during the Student Historians’ mornings! Luckily, we are surrounded…

Have you ever been to an amusement park and then returned home with your favorite roller coaster ride in mind? Well that is how the N-YHS Summer 2015 Student Historian program felt to me personally. Before the program, I would rarely be found in a museum, especially in the summer when I could be home…

The Summer 2015 Student Historians have been on a touring frenzy over the past couple of weeks. We’ve been on tours, talked about tours, and given tours.  We toured the New-York Historical Society, the American Museum of Natural History, and even traversed the busy streets of Lower Manhattan. We practiced our own tours highlighting the…

Last weekend marked the start of New-York Historical Society’s third consecutive summer pop-up exhibition on Governors Island! The teen-curated exhibition, Revolution: NYC & the War for Independence, welcomed nearly 800 visitors over the weekend. People of all ages greatly enjoyed the experience! In addition to the thought-provoking content presented in the free exhibition, the success…

Our first week with the summer 2015 Student Historians has come and gone! We accomplished a lot—ranging from icebreakers and getting to know each other to meeting N-YHS staff members who helped us get to know the institution and how each of our roles contribute to the institutional goal of “making history matter.” We definitely…

For the past few months, the New-York Historical Society has displayed a marvelous collection of historical street style photography in the Bill Cunningham: Facades exhibit. From 1968 to 1976, the world-renowned photographer staged models in period costume in front of iconic New York streets and buildings, simultaneously invoking the vestiges of the past while documenting…

Fernando Wood is not the most common name associated with the Civil War, but, he was, and should be known for his “southern states-rights” sentiments.  Wood was the Mayor of New York City from 1859 until 1865.  He is known as a man of contradictions.  According to Horace Greeley’s Tribune “no man ever went into…