Inside Jamestown Unboxed

• Find out why the colonists of Jamestown dined on rats and then try (a slightly more delicious) snack yourself
• Discover the truth about John Smith and Pocahontas and make a corn husk doll, just like Pocahontas would have played with
• Recreate an essential classroom item from colonial times: a horn book
• Learn about how a truly incredible coincidence was all that kept the Jamestown colony from failure

…and more!

Our high-quality hands-on history kits bring American history to life for learners of all ages.  Each history box has everything you need for engaging history lessons. Our boxes can serve as a stand-alone American history curriculum or pair with traditional social studies curricula.  Looking for group lessons? Check out our history-to-go kits!

Looking for more information on Jamestown?  Our Pinterest boards have additional activities, books, and learning resources: https://www.pinterest.com/historyu/jamestown-unboxed/

Jamestown Unboxed Excerpts:

“Jamestown holds its place in history as the first permanent English settlement in North America, and as the legendary meeting place of Captain John Smith and Pocahontas.  While films depict a romantic relationship between the two, she was actually only eleven years old when he arrived in 1607, and may have been acting on her father’s wishes when she “rescued” him from execution.”

“Before the 1607 voyage to Jamestown, the English had tried to start a colony further south in Virginia called Roanoke.  The colonists included women and children, but the 115 inhabitants of the colony vanished between 1587 and 1590.  Roanoke Colony is often called the Lost Colony.  Perhaps because of this failure, the first voyage to Jamestown organized by the Virginia Company included only men and four boys.  The boys were probably about fourteen years old and were servants to the gentlemen.  The second voyage carried just two women: Mistress Forrest, who came to be with her husband, and her maidservant. The maid married a carpenter, and she likely gave birth to the first English baby born in Jamestown: Virginia Laydon (the first English baby born in the colony was born in Roanoke and named Virginia Dare). A fourteen year old boy named Thomas Savage was on the voyage as well.  He came to be a laborer, but Christopher Newport gave him to Wahunsonacock, whom they called by his title of Powhatan.”

Check out our Jamestown resources on Pinterest!