Eli Whitney Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Eli Whitney Gun Factory
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1827 painting of the Gun Factory by William Giles Munson
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 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
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| Location | 915-940 Whitney Ave., Hamden, Connecticut |
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| Area | 9.9 acres (4.0 ha) |
| Built | 1798 |
| NRHP reference No. | 74002049 |
| Added to NRHP | August 13, 1974 |
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| Established | 1979 |
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| Location | Hamden, Connecticut |
The Eli Whitney Museum in Hamden, Connecticut is a fun place where students, teachers, and families can learn by doing! It's an experimental workshop. The museum's main building is actually part of the old Eli Whitney Gun Factory, which was built by the famous inventor Eli Whitney way back in 1798. The museum helps you discover the ideas behind design and invention. You can enjoy hands-on building projects and learn about Eli Whitney and another cool inventor, A. C. Gilbert.
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The Old Gun Factory: A Look Back
The museum sits on land that Eli Whitney bought on September 17, 1798. He wanted to build a factory there to make muskets (a type of gun) for the United States government. The factory used water power from the Mill River to run its machines.
Building the Factory and Making Muskets
Eli Whitney signed a contract on June 14, 1798. He promised to make 10,000 muskets in just over two years for $134,000. But when he signed, Whitney didn't have a factory, workers, or any experience making guns! It actually took him ten years to finish the order.
Whitney wrote to his friend Oliver Wolcott, who was the Secretary of the Treasury. He said that machines powered by water would make the work much easier. He believed machines could help with forging, rolling, boring, grinding, and polishing the gun parts.
A Step into the Industrial Revolution
Whitney's factory was a very important part of the early American Industrial Revolution. This was a time when new machines changed how things were made. His factory used water-powered machines. It was also one of the first places to use interchangeable parts. This meant that if a part broke, you could easily replace it with another identical part.
The Village of Whitneyville
The area around the museum was once called Whitneyville. This was a manufacturing village built along the Mill River. It provided homes for the workers at Whitney's Armory (gun factory). The village became famous because of painter William Giles Munson. He sketched the Armory in 1826, a year after Whitney passed away. Munson later created at least three paintings from these sketches.
The Armory made firearms for 90 years. But in the late 1880s, it started losing business to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. In 1888, Eli Whitney Jr., the inventor's son, sold the factory to Winchester. Winchester then closed it down.
Historic Buildings Still Standing
The museum grounds are on both sides of Whitney Avenue and cross the Mill River. You can still see some old buildings from the Whitneyville days. These include an old barn, a stone coal shed, and a boarding house. There's also a rebuilt Ithiel Town's lattice truss covered bridge. This bridge stands on the original supports of one of the two bridges that served the Eli Whitney Armory.
The museum itself is in a brick factory building built in 1890. It's located between Whitney Avenue and the Mill River. The barn and boarding house, which are west of Whitney Avenue, are now used by other non-profit groups.
Museum Exhibits and Activities
The Eli Whitney Museum has cool exhibits about Eli Whitney and his most famous invention, the cotton gin. Other exhibits teach you about the historic factory site. You can also learn about A. C. Gilbert, the inventor and toy maker. He's best known for inventing the erector set!
The museum is a hands-on workshop for design. It's great for building projects that mix science and invention. The museum is right next to a dam that Eli Whitney first built to power his factory. Later, Eli Whitney Blake made the dam taller for even more power.
The museum also has water tables with canal locks, which are fun to play with. It's next to a water reservoir and hiking trails too. Besides regular visiting hours, the museum offers summer and holiday programs. You can even have birthday parties there! The museum also hosts the annual Leonardo Challenge. This event invites artists and designers to create amazing inventions from everyday objects. It all ends with an exhibition of their creative work.
Apprenticeship Program
The museum offers longer-term, paid, hands-on experience for about 60 apprentices at a time. These apprentices are usually between 13 and 18 years old. They typically work 200 hours during the school year and 400 hours in the summer.
Apprentices learn important skills like design, building things, and teaching. They use these skills to help develop and teach museum exhibitions and projects. Some famous people who were once apprentices here include Jennifer Oxley, an Emmy Award-winning children's TV creator, and Emily Oster, an economist. Joshua Revkin, a Star World Champion sailor, also started here!
See also
