Programs
TRAVELING EXHIBIT
Want to share the history and legacy of this national historic figure with your community? Our traveling exhibit on “The Life & Legacy of Frances Perkins” presents an overview of the life of Frances Perkins, highlighting her accomplishments alongside historic photographs and context.
We hope to make Frances Perkins’ story and accomplishments accessible to more people by providing this opportunity to install the exhibit in your space or community.
This exhibit is made free for community centers, classrooms, conventions, museums, municipalities, libraries, and more, by donations from FPC supporters. Organizations hosting the exhibit are responsible for shipping fees and/or traveling arrangements.
Topics Include:
- Her Maine Roots and Patriot Ancestry
- Mount Holyoke: Her Activist Roots
- From Triangle Fire to New Deal
- Confronting the Truth: An Unemployment Crisis
- America Before the New Deal
- The New Deal: Secretary of Labor 1933-45
- Social Security: Her Greatest Achievement
- 1945 and Beyond: A Proud Legacy
Creation of this exhibit was made possible by the Maine Community Foundation, Maine Humanities Council, Historic New England, Katharine J. Watson, and Newman’s Own Foundation.
Note on shipping and placement: The exhibit comprises 5 – 6 panels, each measuring 3 feet wide and 7 feet tall.
DOCUMENTARY SCREENING
Frances Perkins Center’s 2019, 30-minute documentary, Highlights from the Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins, is an educational tool that can be screened on its own or paired with our Traveling Exhibit or a guest speaker.
We hope to make Frances Perkins’ story and accomplishments accessible to more people by providing this opportunity to screen our documentary in your classroom or community.
This documentary is made free for community centers, classrooms, conventions, museums, municipalities, libraries, and more, by donations from FPC supporters.
Creation of this documentary was made possible by the Maine Community Foundation, Maine Humanities Council, Historic New England, Katharine J. Watson, and Newman’s Own Foundation.
SPEAKERS BUREAU & CONVENING
The Frances Perkins Center staff and Board of Directors include historians, labor specialists, heritage preservationists, and more. These experts bring extensive knowledge about the life and legacy of Frances Perkins, as well as experience in many of the areas in which Frances Perkins worked.
Speakers have visited classrooms, led senior college courses, presented at libraries, participated in panel conversations, sat for audio and video interviews, and more. The Frances Perkins Center has also convened national elected and appointed officials, local politicians, labor leaders, academics, national major grant funders, local non-profit leaders, and more to discuss issues and challenges important to our mission.
The Frances Perkins Center has led conversations on:
- The life and legacy of Frances Perkins
- New Deal-era history and women leaders
- Unfinished business of the New Deal
- Problem-solving and policy achievements in the New Deal
- Civic engagement and public service
- Frances Perkins and faith
- Worker and labor issues
- Historical and contemporary issues of gendered labor
- Caregiving and care economies
- Social security
- …and more!
FIELD TRIPS
The Frances Perkins Center has limited capacity to host student groups in the Brick House due to the size and delicacy of the space as well as ongoing preservation and archival work. Only groups with 10 or fewer total students (additional space for teachers/chaperones) are invited to a staff-led tour of the interior of the home at this time.
Student groups of all sizes are invited to explore and experience the place that shaped Frances Perkins’ character by visiting the Frances Perkins Homestead National Historic Landmark in Newcastle, Maine. Here, students can explore the outdoor property and have a private viewing of the self-guided tour in the Homestead Barn (seasonally in September-October or April-May). Summer groups can visit on days we are not open to the public.
Teachers should plan approximately 45 minutes for the educational, staff-led portion of the field trip; and you are welcome to stay longer to explore the trails or have a picnic lunch!
During the visit, students and teachers will:
- Hear about the significance of the property and Frances Perkins’ legacy from Frances Perkins Center staff, including time for a Q&A
- View the self-guided exhibit on the “Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins” and select memorabilia in the Homestead Barn. Optional: find facts throughout the exhibit with our Barn Scavenger Hunt!
- Participate in a guided walk of the property, learning about the places important to Frances Perkins and offering students a chance for rest and reflection–much like Frances did when she visited the Homestead throughout her life!
Can’t make it in person? Bring the Frances Perkins Center to your classroom by requesting a virtual field trip! FPC Staff can help you design the “field trip,” which usually includes screening our 30-minute documentary and virtual property tour, as well as a staff Q&A.
The Frances Perkins Center can also help teachers identify resources to include in lessons before or after the visit, including our 30-minute documentary.
REQUEST A PROGRAM