Students at Littlebrook School and Riverside School in Princeton have assembled an exhibition of Revolutionary War-era New Jersey as part of the Princeton University’s Cotsen Children’s Library’s Young Curators program.
"Tea Today, Burn Tomorrow: The Story of the Greenwich Tea Party" was curated by students in Bryan McKenna’s fourth grade at Littlebrook School.
"If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from Prince Town 1775-1783" is the work of Betty Ann Birbeck’s third grade at Riverside School.
"Tea Today" reviews the issues and events leading up to the Greenwich rebellion. Maps, interactive displays and dioramas help visitors imagine the tea party, in which protesters burned British tea rather than pay taxes on it, and the two trials that followed, in which the tea burners were acquitted.
The grand opening of "If These Walls Could Talk" took place in the Cotsen Children’s Library on Thursday, coinciding with the 227th anniversary of Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride.
Mrs. Birbeck’s Young Curators began their tour with a lantern procession, then docents walked visitors down the streets of revolutionary Prince Town, and inside the walls of six buildings that stood witness to events leading to the Battle of Princeton in 1777 and on through 1783, when Prince Town became the provisional capital of the Continental Congress.
Student Betsy Sweemer enjoyed giving tours and "getting to share the work of my class with other students in the school and seeing how they would like it."
According to Robby Harwood, "The most rewarding part is when everyone’s saying, ‘Wow, cool, I never knew that!’ because you worked on it so long and finally finished it and they liked it."
For Amanda D’Angeli, the highlight of the project was "our opening at Cotsen, because finally the work was over and we could show off to our parents."
The Young Curators program is sponsored by the Cotsen Children’s Library in cooperation with the Historical Society of Princeton, the Princeton Public Library and the Princeton Regional Schools.
The two exhibits will be on display through Saturday in the Cotsen Children’s Library, located on the main floor of Princeton University’s Firestone Library.
The gallery is open to the public on weekdays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday from noon-5 p.m..
