In 2025, the Education & Scholarship Committee, under the leadership of Past President General Rebecca Madsen, awarded three grants, totaling $15,000. Each year, the committee receives project proposals from a number of worthy institutions, detailing plans for student fellowships, education initiatives, program expansion, and much more! While the proposals are all worthwhile, the Committee works to award available funds to those projects most in line with the CDA mission, with emphasis on historical education, preservation, and scholarship. We are very excited to showcase the recipients of this year’s grants, not only as admirable causes, but as museums worth a visit for any CDA member.

Plimoth Patuxet Museum of Plymouth

Students in the 17th century village

Replicating the original Plymouth Colony, Plimoth Patuxet is a complex of living history museums representing daily life in 1627. Begun in 1947 with two English cottages and a fort, Plimoth Patuxet has since expanded to include Mayflower II, the English Village, the Wampanoag Homesite, and much more! Plimoth Patuxet Museums reported that the 2025 grant went to support 333 children from 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades from all across Massachusetts, allowing these children the opportunity to visit the 17th Century English Village and Historic Patuxet Homesite. There, students took part in typical colonial activities, carrying firewood (see below), playing with period toys, and interacting with items in the home, while at the Homesite they experienced life inside a wetu (traditional house), explored the making of a dugout canoe, and learned about animal skins. The program was also made accessible to those schools who couldn’t visit, bringing the Museum’s educators directly to the students, allowing them to take part in opportunities that otherwise would have been out of reach.

Daily chores in the village

Delightfully, the Museum shared thank-you notes written by the students, complete with colorful illustrations of their experiences. Teachers also shared their experience, noting that the students “gained a deeper understanding of early American history, learned about cooperation and community, and saw firsthand the importance of respecting different cultures” while another noted that, “Even weeks after the field trip, they continued to reference their visit in connection with what they were reading in class.”

Slice of early-American life

They also noted how important trips like this are for economically disadvantaged students, who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to visit sites like Plimoth, and experience history firsthand. As one teacher wrote, “many of our students have never been to zoos, museums, or cultural venues, and they reflect back to us how incredible these experiences are. As they come from economically marginalized families, this opportunity allowed them to experience a culturally rich environment they may never have encountered otherwise.”

Equally as important is the ability to reconcile the past with what it means to be an American today, with one teacher from a dual-language Spanish-English immersion program shared that, “for some of our new [American students], a trip to the museum is foundational as they shape and grow their identity as Americans, as Massachusetts citizens, and as kids trying to preserve language and culture from their families. Together they experienced something novel, outside their comfort zone, and stimulating.”

Jamestown Rediscovery

The Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to uncovering, preserving, and sharing Jamestown’s diverse history and its contributions to the foundations of America. CDA funding supported The Powhatan Indians educational program. Presented by Daniel FireHawk Abbot of the Nanticoke people, the program is a beloved part of the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation, seeking to educate visitors about Algonquian culture and daily life, including clothing, tool, histories and interactions with the English at Jamestown.

Jamestown Rediscovery reports that Abott’s presentation is one of the most frequently cited as a favorite, engaging with visitors of all ages and offering a one-of-a-kind perspective into the Tidewater Algonquian way of life. CDA’s funding allowed the Jamestown Education Department to offer The Powhatan Indians demonstration year-round, expanding the narratives taught by the museum, and continue a storied tradition of historic storytelling for all visitors. 

American Village

Evoking America’s founding, American Village is a space emblematic of America’s heritage of liberty and self-government, using structures not only as classrooms and theaters, but as symbols themselves. The immersive atmosphere puts visitors in the shoes of our nation’s founders, allowing them to consider what it meant to make those choices, and what impact those decisions have today.

The CDA grant enabled the completion of phase two of the Independence Hall Education Project. Dedicated exhibit and gallery spaces were built, modeled after the original Independence Hall in Philadelphia, with phase one of the project completing the foyer and 104-seat theater. Phase two expanded on the learning capabilities, with a portrait gallery of notable figures engaged in lively debates and dramatizations of the events surrounding the Declaration of Independence. The second floor of the building has the House and Senate chambers, allowing civics simulations and programming for high school students.

In addition, the grant supported the development of interpretive materials and hands-on activities that allow students to vote for or against independence and sign their own copy of the Declaration with a quill pen—making history tangible, personal, and meaningful. American Village seeks to educate visitors on the significance of those founding events 250 years ago, inspiring patriotic behavior, deeper understanding, and thoughtful consideration of what it means to be an American.