OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma History Center Museum is organizing a free professional development program that focuses on teaching history through STEAM. On Saturday, February 21, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., educators are invited to “Cultivating a Nation: George Washington, Agriculture, and the 250th,” held in partnership with George Washington’s Mount Vernon and the Oklahoma History Center Museum’s Learning and Engagement Department.
Educators will explore George Washington’s application of scientific methods to improve farming and the shift from tobacco to wheat as the primary cash crop. Educators will examine Washington’s expansion of landholdings and the complex labor system at Mount Vernon, including his evolving views on enslaved labor. These activities will focus on teaching STEAM concepts in history education, making the past tangible and engaging for students. Educators will leave this professional development with multiple ready-to-implement classroom activities that incorporate hands-on learning. The two speakers are Virginia Conerly and Carrie Fox.
Conerly received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Auburn University. She has taught elementary school for 16 years, with 15 of those years as a fifth-grade teacher. She currently teaches math, science and social studies in Alabama, which allows her to focus on her love for early American history. She is passionate about building relationships with students and creating historically accurate lessons that engage students with primary sources.
Fox, a student and teacher educator for the Oklahoma History Center Museum’s Learning and Engagement Department, will share STEAM ideas that utilize the OHCM’s newly updated colonial education trunks, as well as other relevant resources from the Oklahoma Historical Society. The OHCM also has more than two dozen free educational trunks that are cross-curricular and standards-aligned, with more trunks on the way! The newly updated colonial education trunks were made possible by a grant from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation through the Friends of the Oklahoma History Center.
Fox is an educator, historian and curriculum developer with more than 20 years of experience teaching, creating professional development and supporting teachers across Oklahoma. She currently works at the Oklahoma History Center Museum, where she designs inquiry-based curriculum, educator professional development and classroom resources aligned to Oklahoma Social Studies standards, with a focus on primary sources, hard history and inclusive narratives. A former middle school teacher and long-term adjunct instructor at the University of Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma City Community College, Fox brings deep classroom experience to her work with educators. Fox is a frequent conference presenter, AP U.S. History reader and advocate for practical, teacher-friendly strategies that help students think critically about history and their role in the present.
This free event at the Oklahoma History Center Museum is only open to educators who teach in a formal K-12 classroom or school setting. Those interested in attending should register online in advance to reserve their spot. The program is limited to 50 teachers. Breakfast, lunch and classroom swag are included.
The Oklahoma History Center Museum is located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Dr. in Oklahoma City. It is open to the public Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
The Oklahoma History Center is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, National Archives and is an accredited member of the American Alliance of Museums. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications, the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit okhistory.org.