No Tories allowed!
Kids and their families got a fun lesson in our nation’s past during the History of the American Revolution event at Marine Park on April 11, where park rangers introduce tots to classic 17th-century Dutch games, all while rocking very stylish tri-corner hats.
Activities, as per the event’s theme, featured games popular in the 17th century, which were brought to the Hudson River Valley by Dutch immigrants and included nine-pin, a bowling game still popular in Europe today; graces, where two players toss hoops at each other using two sticks.
Another fun passtime was hoop and stick, a very exciting race, where players see who can guide a rolling hoop to the finish line the quickest.
Of course, there’s no such thing as a proper history event without some stylish period clothing.
Park rangers brought the obligatory tri-corner hats and rebel American army uniforms for the kids to try on — which were a tad big for the pint size attendees, but still looked snappy.
Ranger Anne Reid, who organized the event, wore a snazzy period dress along with a mob hat, which is similar in appearance to a chef’s hat, only a tad shorter.
To top everything off, kids did arts and crafts and drew flags of countries — any real country, or a country they made up.
All in all, the day was a success.
“For us, if the kids have fun and learn something, it’s a good program,” said associate urban park ranger Howard Kreft, who attended the event.
“You see the smiles on their faces and you feel like they’ve learned something, and you can usually gauge that by the questions their asking, their comments, and their participation,” she said. “So, it was a success and certainly something we’ll consider doing in the future.”
Reach reporter Colin MIxson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.
