A monthly serving of illuminating programs for all Granite Staters

Our featured program: American Independence Museum

Family Saturdays! The 5 Freedoms

It's never too early – or too late – to start learning about our founding documents! Supported in part by a grant from New Hampshire Humanities, the American Independence Museum in Exeter is offering a series of fun, civic educational programs for children and families. Exploring the five freedoms outlined in the First Amendment using hands-on, family-friendly activities geared toward younger children, the series continues this weekend!

TOMORROW Saturday, July 16, 10 am - 2 pm

Freedom to Peaceably Assemble

Do you really know what happened at the Boston Tea party? Learn about the country's most famous tea party while recreating a peaceful alternative to dumping tea in the harbor, take photos with "No Taxation Without Representation" signs, and make liberty tea!

Saturday, August 20, 10 am - 2 pm

Freedom to Petition

After listening to the story “Mumbet’s Declaration of Independence,” learn how to create a real petition about an issue important to you – using a quill pen!

Saturday, September 17, 10 am - 2 pm

Freedom of Religion

Activities will be announced in late summer.

All programs take place on the Folsom Lawn at the American Independence Museum,

One Governor's Lane, Exeter. More information

NHH Grant-Supported Events

One River Many Views Exhibit Opening & Artists' Talk

Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, Saturday, July 23, 4:30 pm

Artists Nancy Diessner, Brenda Garand, and Janet Pritchard work in a variety of media and often use the Connecticut River water, its soil, and its flora as part of their creative process. Join us for the artists' talk and view the exhibit that also includes reflections written by ten members of the Upper Valley community who live, work, and engage with the Connecticut River.

Details

Gather 'Round: Telling Our History Through Food: Herb Walk with Lynn Clowes

Kimball Lake Cabins, Hopkinton, Sunday, July 31, 10 am

Native American herbalist Lynn Clowes will lead a trail walk around Hopkinton's Kimball Lake Cabins, where she'll identify various plants in their native habitats and discuss how they were used by Native Americans and early colonists. You'll also learn about harvesting, storing for later use, medicinal preparatons, and the symptoms for which each herb is indicated.

Details

Conversation with an Abenaki Poet

John Hay Estate at The Fells, Wednesday, August 3, 2 pm

Author and poet Cheryl Savageau, whose work is inspired by the landscape and ecology of New England, will read selected works of her poetry and from her recent memoir. Siobhan Senier, a UNH Professor of English specializing in Native American history and literature, will lead a conversation with the author about her work.

Details

August events in the Gather 'Round Series: Telling Our History Through Food

Food connects us with the past, present, and future—our family, friends, community; our culture and other cultures; the people who grow our food; and the Earth. Join us as we explore our history through culinary connections:

Native Plants & Food: Connecting with Plants Through Time

Thursday, Aug. 4, 6:30 pm

Details

Cooking Fry Bread with Darryl Peasely

August 11, 7 pm (Zoom)

Details

History Alive: Travel Through 250 Years

Hillsborough Historical Society, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 20 - 21, 9 am

History comes to life during this annual interactive living history event, which is also part of the year-long 250th birthday celebration of Hillsborough, NH which focuses on changes in transportation through the centuries and its effect on the state. Sessions include:

Life During Wartimes

Travelling Through 250 Years Along the River at Kemp Park

Travelling Through 250 Years in Historic Hillsboro

Details

Imagine That! The Power of Picture Books 

Portsmouth Historical Society, 10 Middle St., Portsmouth, 10 am - 5 pm, through Sept. 25



Visit the Portsmouth Historical Society’s exhibit, Imagine That, which spans a century of creativity and features over hundred artworks by illustrators from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

More than a hundred illustrations offer a springboard for children and adults to explore the creative process of imagining new worlds and the pleasures of shared reading.

Details

Perspectives book groups

Host a book group in your community!

Perspectives  offers facilitated group book discussions in virtual or in-person settings. We welcome applications from all New Hampshire libraries, established book groups, or community organizations. New Hampshire Humanities provides expert facilitators and copies of books – you provide the eager readers! 

For more information, visit our website.

We support teachers!

Here are several summer professional development opportunities for educators supported by grants from New Hampshire Humanities:

Cartoon Civics: Professional Development for Grades 7-12

Hosted Hosted by NH Civics, Wednesday, August 3rd, 9 am - 3 pm in Plymouth: Middle and high school teachers will learn how to use comics and cartooning to engage students with complex topics. Register by July 19. Details

The Remedial Herstory Project: Summer Educators Retreat

Hosted by The Remedial Herstory Project, Monday, August 8, 8:30 am in Plymouth: The Remedial Herstory Project is hosting its second annual Summer Educators Retreat to help teachers integrate more women's history and literature into their curriculum. Details

Educating for Our Constitutional Democracy: Structuring Respectful Conversations in the Classroom PD for Grades 7-12

Hosted by NH Civics, Wednesday, August 10, 9 am - 3 pm in Keene: Paula McAvoy, co-author of The Political Classroom, and Mary Ellen Daneels of the Illinois Civics Hub lead a full-day, in-person workshop about structuring respectful conversations in the classroom, giving students the skills to hear and consider both sides of a topic. Details

Major Community Project Grant proposals are due today, but there's more...

If you recently submitted a draft proposal for a Major Community Project Grant, this is a reminder that the final application is due today. Mini Grants (of up to $2,000 are accepted on a rolling basis). Learn more about applying for either level of Community Project Grants HERE.

Enjoy this recording of our recent Ideas on Tap!

If you weren't able to join us for our most recent Ideas on Tap program, "This Post Has Been Flagged: Free Speech & Social Media," held at Feathered Friend Brewery in Concord, please enjoy this video produced by our partners at Concord TV! Watch for updates about future Ideas on Tap in your New Hampshire Humanities e-news.

Call for new programs!

New Hampshire Humanities invites proposals for new programs in Humanities to Go (HTG), our statewide speakers bureau. Speakers applying to HTG typically hold an advanced degree (M.A. or Ph.D.) in one of the humanities disciplines; however, New Hampshire Humanities respects a variety of training and experience. We strongly prefer applicants who have public speaking or teaching experience, and subject matter expertise in the area of their proposed program. HTG presenters receive a stipend for each presentation, which are hosted by libraries, historical societies, museums, and civic and community groups. Through Humanities@Work, we also provide humanities programming in the workplace. Please upload a brief description of your proposed program and submit HERE by October 31, or contact programs@nhhumanities.org with questions.

Staff pick of the month

The Wild Iris by Louise Glück

Recommended by Harry Hawkins, UNH Fellow at New Hampshire Humanities

In The Wild Iris, 2020 Nobel Prize winning poet Louise Glück takes you on a journey through the seasons with intertwined poems that are each so beautifully emotional in their own way, using nature as a medium for tackling difficult challenges we see in humanity. This poem makes me appreciate nature greatly every time I read it. I make sure to read it every year in the spring because reading it outside and feeling the change of the seasons is an amazing experience. This is surely my favorite poetry book I have ever read, in large part due to Glück’s stunning analogies, and the cohesion she creates between each poem.

Harry Hawkins is a rising senior at UNH, studying Analytical Economics and Philosophy, and is a fellow in the UNH Global Racial and Social Inequality Lab. Harry's work this spring at New Hampshire Humanities focused on analyzing recent survey data and developing an improved data collection survey system that will help NHH create more accessible humanities programs across the state. Read more about this project in our Fall Engage! newsletter.

Small monthly gifts have a BIG impact

Please consider joining our family of sustaining donors!

A small monthly gift of $5, $10, or $15 helps New Hampshire Humanities provide programs that inspire Granite Staters to ask questions and think critically and creatively about the challenging issues of the day. Please click HERE to set up a secure monthly donation.

For even more programs and events happening across New Hampshire, visit our online calendar. If you haven't yet seen our spring Engage! news, you can read more about our work here! Please forward to a friend so they can subscribe too!

Thank you to the following Partner Sponsors who

provide year-round support for our work:

LEAD PARTNER

BRONZE PARTNERS

MEDIA PARTNERS