Ward Melville Heritage Organization Ltd

THE ORGANIZATION DEVELOPS AND FOSTERS COMMUNITY ENRICHMENT THROUGH EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL PROGRAMS AT ITS HISTORIC PROPERTIES, NATURAL RESOURCE PROPERTIES AND ITS EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL CENTER.

BY ENHANCING AND INTERPRETING ITS PROPERTIES, THE WARD MELVILLE HERITAGE ORGANIZATION (WMHO) CREATES EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EXPERIENCES THAT INTEGRATE ECOLOGY, HISTORY, ART, THEATER, MUSIC, DANCE AND TECHNOLOGY. THE WMHO PRESENTS OVER 70 MULTIDISCIPLINARY PERFORMANCES AND PROGRAMS YEAR-ROUND AT ITS HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROPERTIES AS WELL AS THE EDUCATIONAL & CULTURAL CENTER (ECC), A TWO-STORY COLONIAL STYLE 8,800 SQ. FT. CENTER WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY. IN ADDITION TO THE ECC, THE WMHO MAINTAINS REVOLUTIONARY WAR STRUCTURES THAT WERE PIVOTAL TO GEORGE WASHINGTON'S CULPER SPY RING. THESE PROPERTIES WERE LISTED ON THE NATIONAL & STATE REGISTRY OF HISTORIC PLACES AND INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING THREE (3) REVOLUTIONARY WAR HISTORIC STRUCTURES: THE BREWSTER HOUSE (C.1665), THE THOMPSON HOUSE (C.1709), AND THE GRIST MILL (C.1751). MANY OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS THE WMHO OFFERS TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS ARE THROUGH DISTANCE-LEARNING, A TYPE OF EDUCATIONAL PROCESS THAT ALLOWS FOR ONLINE VIDEO NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN THE WMHO AND SCHOOLS WHO OTHERWISE COULD NOT TRAVEL TO VISIT THE WMHO'S PROPERTIES IN PERSON. DISTANCE LEARNING TECHNOLOGY IS INSTALLED AT ALL OF THE WMHO'S PROPERTIES AND IT IS AN ASSET THAT ALLOWS THE WMHO TO REACH AUDIENCES AND STUDENTS AROUND THE GLOBE. ANOTHER FASCINATING WAY TO DISCOVER THE WONDERS OF THE WMHO'S ENVIRONMENTAL TREASURES IS THE DISCOVERY WETLANDS CRUISE. THE WMHO'S 27-PASSENGER PONTOON BOAT TAKES PEOPLE ON A JOURNEY THROUGH THE ORGANIZATION'S 88 ACRE WETLANDS PRESERVE. WHILE ON BOARD THE CRUISE, VISITORS SEE SOME OF THE UNIQUE SPECIES EXCLUSIVE TO THE WETLANDS SUCH AS EGRETS AND HORSESHOE CRABS, AS WELL AS THE WMHO'S ERNST MARINE CONSERVATION CENTER (MCC). THE MCC HOUSES TWO CLASSROOMS, TOUCH TANKS, AND SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT PIVOTAL TO THE MARINE SPECIES INVENTORY PROGRAM (MSIP) CURRENTLY BEING CONDUCTED BY THE WARD MELVILLE HERITAGE ORGANIZATIONS'S VOLUNTEER YOUTH CORPS MEMBERS. THE MSIP EDUCATES THE GENERAL PUBLIC ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSERVING THIS AS A MARINE HABITAT FOR THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES INCLUDING SEA TURTLES, HORSESHOE CRABS AND MORE. IN TOTAL, MORE THAN 18,000 PEOPLE ATTEND THE WMHO'S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND PERFORMANCES, AS WELL AS MANY EXHIBITIONS, LECTURES AND CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THESE INCLUDE BOTH FREE AND PAID ADMISSIONS.