Educational Programs

The primary mission of the McWhiney Foundation is history education. To that end, the foundation is dedicated to making history education a part of every facet of the organization. It drives our interpretation at the Buffalo Gap Historic Village, our publishing decisions with the State House Press and the McWhiney Foundation Press, and our presentation of the McWhiney Collection and Archives.

Education was a major motive in the aquisition of the Buffalo Gap Historic Village in 1999. This collection of historic buildings and artifacts, dating from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries, constitutes a virtual history laboratory for this period of the life of West Texas. Open to the public, it has been the venue for numerous special events and living history demonstrations. Especially popular has been the recreation of a 1925 one-room school house experience, with 1925-style classes, which many local children have attended on special field trips from their regular schools. 2007 saw our first Summer Writing Camp for high school-age students, which was continued in the following year.

The Village has been home to the Buffalo Gap Chips, a vintage 1880s-style base ball (not “baseball”) team.

Teachers wishing to use the Village as a teaching tool are invited to make use of a free teacher’s curriculum guide with class activities based on the Village facilities. It can be accessed and downloaded from the Village webpage.

More recently, we have begun the Chautauqua Learning Series, modeled on the Chautauqua movement which spread throughout the rural United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua provided educational lectures and entertainment for average Americans before the advent of mass media like radio and television. The lectures are held in the remodeled Village Gallery of the Buffalo Gap Historic Village. Upcoming lectures can be found by clicking on the Special Events page of the Village.

As a final component of our educational programming, the McWhiney Foundation is proud to be hosted by McMurry University. Because of our proximity to so many college students, we make it a fundamental part of our mission to train students in the applied history we do at the foundation. Student interns work in every facet of the foundation, learning the history profession inside and out. This will remain a fundamental part of our education operations.

For questions about the education mission
of the McWhiney Foundation,
please contact

Dr. Robert Maberry, Vice President and C.O.O.

Call his office at (325) 793-4698
Or e-mail him at rmaberry@mcm.edu

For more information about current educational programs
at the Buffalo Gap Historic Village,
click here.


Home \| Our Mission and Goals \| Texas Frontier Heritage and Cultural Center
Buffalo Gap Historic Village \| McWhiney / State House Press \| McWhiney Collection
Educational Programs \| Links \| McWhiney Prize \| Support \| Contact Us

The primary mission of the McWhiney Foundation is history education. To that end, the foundation is dedicated to making history education a part of every facet of the organization. It drives our interpretation at the Buffalo Gap Historic Village, our publishing decisions with the State House Press and the McWhiney Foundation Press, and our presentation of the McWhiney Collection and Archives. Education was a major motive in the aquisition of the Buffalo Gap Historic Village in 1999. This collection of historic buildings and artifacts, dating from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries, constitutes a virtual history laboratory for this period of the life of West Texas. Open to the public, it has been the venue for numerous special events and living history demonstrations. Especially popular has been the recreation of a 1925 one-room school house experience, with 1925-style classes, which many local children have attended on special field trips from their regular schools. 2007 saw our first Summer Writing Camp for high school-age students, which was continued in the following year. The Village has been home to the Buffalo Gap Chips, a vintage 1880s-style base ball (not “baseball”) team. Teachers wishing to use the Village as a teaching tool are invited to make use of a free teacher’s curriculum guide with class activities based on the Village facilities. It can be accessed and downloaded from the Village webpage. More recently, we have begun the Chautauqua Learning Series, modeled on the Chautauqua movement which spread throughout the rural United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua provided educational lectures and entertainment for average Americans before the advent of mass media like radio and television. The lectures are held in the remodeled Village Gallery of the Buffalo Gap Historic Village. Upcoming lectures can be found by clicking on the Special Events page of the Village. As a final component of our educational programming, the McWhiney Foundation is proud to be hosted by McMurry University. Because of our proximity to so many college students, we make it a fundamental part of our mission to train students in the applied history we do at the foundation. Student interns work in every facet of the foundation, learning the history profession inside and out. This will remain a fundamental part of our education operations.
For questions about the education mission of the McWhiney Foundation, please contact Dr. Robert Maberry, Vice President and C.O.O. Call his office at (325) 793-4698 Or e-mail him at rmaberry@mcm.edu For more information about current educational programs at the Buffalo Gap Historic Village, click here.