Summer Scholar designs an informal history education programs for Long Island teens
How did the Jolly Green Giant and Gettysburg battlefield inspire a love of history?
Samantha Jennings’ family vacations often included visits to curiosities and historic sites like these.
“I love history because I love stories,” said Jennings, “and when you’re able to travel to these places, or transport yourself in your mind to those places, history becomes a story, and it’s not boring.”
Her passion for history and for sharing it with others has been the focus of Jennings’ self-driven Community Engagement Summer Scholar project for the past two summers.
As a high school student, Jennings–now a senior World Scholar double majoring in history education and Italian Studies–participated in the National History Day competition and worked at her local public library in Levittown, NY.
Working with Program Coordinator Lois Stoehr, Jennings designed a project based on her experiences that allowed her to return to Levittown and explore informal avenues for history education.
In summer 2023, Jennings started by assessing the Levittown Public Library’s ongoing programming aimed at students in sixth through twelfth grade. She also produced a list of BIPOC book recommendations and drafted questions for the library’s “Are you smarter than a librarian?” program.
“She had several historical questions, which is in her wheelhouse,” said Teen Services Librarian Jessica Carruba, “she’s able to use her education to come up with questions that will challenge the team.”
This summer, Jennings has concentrated on taking the next steps, writing proposals for engaging, history-focused library programs.
Her ideas include an Oregon Trail-themed live action role playing experience, an escape room based on the World War II Bletchley Park codebreakers who cracked the Nazi Enigma machine, and a historical cooking program.
“Cooking programs fill up quickly,” said Carruba. “It’s great to add an educational component to that. And she’s allowing us to think outside of the box. I don’t think that we have ever considered using history in that way to bring the teens in.”
The last leg of Jennings’ project aims to build a stronger foundation for local student participation in National History Day.
Jennings is compiling a handbook with topics ranging from how to develop an argument to how to use community resources like the library and local museums.
“[In middle school,] I didn’t really know how to use a database. I didn’t know what journal article was. It was really difficult to try and figure that out on my own,” she said. “Librarians are professional researchers.”
To inform her efforts, Jennings has talked with state coordinators for National History Day from New York, Kentucky and Delaware, as well as museum educators and archivists working in Levittown.
She is also reaching out to coordinators at the school district, to bring their attention to the guide.