Published October 23. 2026 09:18AM
Orefield Middle School eighth grade social studies students received a hands-on history lesson Oct. 8 when they examined replica artifacts from the American Revolutionary War. The artifacts arrived in a traveling trunk, which helped protect them from environmental damage and rough handling.
Students in each class viewed the items and wrote short descriptions identifying the artifacts and explaining how they benefited soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
Andy McGinnis, an eighth grade social studies teacher, joined colleagues and students in examining the collection, which included uniform pieces, currency, Native American artifacts and food-related items.
PRESS PHOTOS BY LOU WHEELANDAndy McGinnis, an eighth grade social studies teacher at Orefield Middle School, explains a hands-on history activity to students during a live history demonstration featuring replica artifacts, uniforms and primary source materials from an American Battlefield Trust Traveling Trunk on Oct. 8.
Kanav Subraananian (center) describes the value of the coats worn by Colonial Era soldiers during the American Revolution. Blue distinguished the Americans from the British and also kept the soldiers warm. Also pictured are Rishaan Pandya and Anika Pondey.
Orefield Middle School eighth grade social studies students gather together to take part in the school’s hands-on history project, provided by the American Battlefield Trust Oct. 8.
Brennan Hahn holds a bag of rice, one of the staples used by American Revolutionary soldiers at Valley Forge during the school’s hands-on history project.
Orefield Middle School eighth graders Maci Lewis, Caylee Keating and Emily Dugan hold a 16-shilling note used as money during the American Revolutionary War.
