Hall of Fame Welcomes Young Learners Experiencing History through Field Trips

(COOPERSTOWN, NY) – With school back in session throughout the northeast, the National Baseball Hall of Fame is preparing to welcome students who will experience the intersection of baseball and American culture via memorable field trips to Cooperstown.

Thanks to a two-year support commitment from NBT Bank, more than 1,000 elementary school children from 14 schools throughout Upstate New York will spend a day at the Museum this fall. These day-long events at the Hall of Fame include chartered transportation, a tour of the Museum by Hall of Fame educators, a presentation of one of the Museum’s education lessons, lunches for the students and a goodie bag filled with items to continue their learning journey at home.

These visits to Cooperstown are part of the Hall of Fame’s Black Baseball Initiative that includes additional outreach programs, educational materials, virtual programming and the Museum’s new exhibit The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball, which debuted in the spring of 2024. The groundbreaking exhibit, made possible by the Yawkey Foundation with additional support from Bill Janetschek in honor of his siblings Robert and Ann, the Anthony A. Yoseloff Foundation and the Bisignano Family, tells the stories and impact of the Black baseball experience, including the deep connections between baseball and Black America.

Interested educators and community program leaders can email education@baseballhall.org for more information on Hall of Fame visits.

For students and educators looking for additional opportunities, the Museum is offering School Resource Kits as part of the Black Baseball Initiative. Materials in the School Resource Kits support the delivery of the Museum’s Civil Rights History curriculum in a classroom setting.

The curriculum aligns with national learning standards, and the kit include all the materials necessary to complete two activities, including creating a timeline of important events in Black baseball history prior to Jackie Robinson’s National League debut in 1947; and researching and creating baseball cards for Hall of Famers who played in the Negro Leagues.

School Resource Kits are available for Rookie Level (Grades 3-5) and Intermediate Level (Grades 6-8) classrooms and feature books, Library and Archive collection facsimiles, school supplies, printed material and lesson plans, virtual resources and a 3-D replica artifact.

Organizations in 35 of the 50 states have already requested School Resource Kits from the Museum, with nearly 300 kits being shipped to schools during the 2024 spring semester. Public elementary and middle schools are encouraged to request a School Resource Kit at no cost. The Museum’s Education Department Team will review all requests, and priority will be given to Title I schools.

To request School Resource Kits or to support the program, please visit baseballhall.org/resource-kits.

For more information about the Museum’s Black Baseball Initiative, click here.