Jan. 18, 2008

Mackinaw City, Mich. - During the months of January through April, a British Redcoat and French Voyageur will visit elementary schools throughout Michigan, bringing 18th-century Mackinac to students through authentic music, dance, costumes, skits and props.

"We make history come alive," said Mackinac State Historic Parks program presenter, Jim Evans.  "It's a different way of teaching students than just using a textbook."  Evans, who plays the "pesky" British Redcoat during presentations, is also the lead interpreter at Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City.

"Historic Mackinac on Tour," the hour-long program by Mackinac State Historic Parks, introduces students from across Michigan to Mackinac history through interactive and entertaining activities.  Students will learn about the fur trade by trading a bale of fur for a voyageur coat.  A few brave student volunteers will try on authentic period clothing and then lead the class in the group paddle dance, where two students join hands and skip between rows of their peers while live fiddle music is played.  Other high-energy activities include fire starting with flint and steel and, if permitted, the firing of a shoulder-mounted cannon.

"During this age, the kids are wide-eyed and full of wonder," said program presenter Dennis Havlena.  "The kids are thinking they'll get a history lecture, but we come in with a trunk full of fiddles, furs, bagpipes, clothing to dress up in, flint and steel to light fires, and we expose them to one thing after another. You can't find a wandering eye among them."  Havlena, who plays the French Voyageur during presentations, created the program in 1989, and has over 28 years of experience with the parks, including many years as the lead interpreter at Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island.

The musical time bridge between songs is also demonstrated during the program on a historic musical instrument commonly called the jaw harp.  Havlena begins by playing a song from the mid-1700s called "The Rose Tree."  By the mid-1800s, the song had sped up and was known as "Turkey in the Straw."  By 2008, the song had eventually evolved into two versions that are known by many children and adults today.  One version is called "Do Your Ears Hang Low," featured on the popular children's program Barney and Friends, and the other is a recent popular rap song titled "Chain Hang Low" by Jibbs, both of which have roots in the slower-beat song of the 18th century.

"It's the same song as ‘The Rose Tree,'" Havlena commented.  "It's the same melody.  I present the musical time bridge to make the connection between past and present.  I relate something they know well to something they don't recognize, and that connection is made."

"Historic Mackinac on Tour" is part of a larger Mackinac State Historic Parks education outreach program series, which also includes the nature program "Water, Woods and Wildlife."  Mackinac State Historic Parks' education outreach programs have reached over 159,000 Michigan students since the creation of "Historic Mackinac on Tour" in 1989.  These programs are partially funded by Mackinac Associates, Mackinac State Historic Parks' non-profit friends group whose mission is to preserve Mackinac's heritage.

Mackinac State Historic Parks, a family of living history museums and parks in northern Michigan's Straits of Mackinac, is an agency within the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Its sites-which are accredited by the American Association of Museums-include Fort Mackinac, Mackinac Island State Park and Historic Downtown on Mackinac Island, and Colonial Michilimackinac, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park in Mackinaw City.  Mackinac State Historic Parks is governed by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, established in 1895 to protect, preserve and present the parks' rich historic and natural resources for the education and recreation of future generations.  Visitor information is available at (231) 436-4100 or on the Web at www.MackinacParks.com.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).