VIRTUAL PROGRAMS
Highlighting archaeology, paleontology, material culture, and colonial foodways, we invite you to explore our virtual programming.
Sugar, Slavery, and Revolution: The Real History of White Gold
Join Stratford Hall’s Director of Collections and Visitor Engagement, Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz, for a lecture on the history of sugar in the Atlantic world. Deetz will discuss the cultural and political history of one of the most profitable crops in the colonial era. Focusing on material culture and culinary history, this lecture will highlight the role of enslaved laborers, abolitionists, and planters as they battled over this controversial ingredient. Join us for this Black History Month lecture to learn more about Sugar, Slavery, and Revolution in the Atlantic World.
Science Saturday at Stratford Hall: Understanding Deep Time
To understand the geological concept of Deep time, humans must think of time scales in unimaginable larger units than those that define our lives. What is Deep time? Who is James Hutton and why is he so important in understanding what Deep time. How do we begin to visualize this geological chronology? Join Education & Outreach Manager, Jon Bachman, as he answers these questions and more in a search for the deepest of Earth timelines.
Science Saturday at Stratford Hall: Monsters of the Miocene
Stratford Hall’s Education & Outreach Manager, Jon Bachman, as he explores the world of ancient sea creatures of Westmoreland County. From giant sharks, toothed whales, sea going crocodiles, giant birds, massive sea turtles and a host of other prehistoric predators both large and small. The fossils of these ancient animals are evidence that the oceans of the Miocene Epoch were extremely dangerous environments in the history of sea life.
Science Saturday at Stratford Hall: Birding the Miocene
Are you interested in birding and our feathered neighbors? Join Stratford Hall’s Education & Outreach Manager Jon Bachman in this Science Saturday episode as he takes us on a fossil-filled journey to a time 16 million years ago and learn about the wonderful and amazing birds that lived and flew in the prehistoric skies and gathered along the shore. These extraordinary fossils offer glimpses into avian life, habitats and evolution.
Stratford at the Crossroads: Atlantic Cultures & the Creation of America Sneak Peek
Stratford Hall’s Director of Collections and Visitor Engagement, Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz, and Curator, Amy Connolly, hosts a behind the scenes tour of Stratford Hall’s forthcoming exhibition, Stratford at the Crossroads: Atlantic Cultures & the Creation of America, highlighting objects from the Lee family, enslaved Africans, and Virginia Indians.
Science Saturday: Archaeology at Stratford Hall
Stratford Hall’s Director of Collections & Visitor Engagement, Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz, leads a fun program on archaeology at Stratford Hall. During this program, Dr. Deetz highlights some of the amazing artifacts we have in our collections and introduces some of the important elements of archaeological research.
Caribbean Rum & the Making of the Atlantic World
Director of Collections & Visitor Engagement, Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz, hosted Dr. Fred Smith, author of Caribbean Rum: A Social and Economic History, for a lecture and discussion on one of the most popular alcohols in the world. Rum was very popular at Stratford Hall! The Lees kept a large supply of Caribbean rum in their cellar, and consumed it, gifted it, and celebrated the spirit at any occasion. But what is the larger history of rum, and how does it connect Stratford to the Atlantic World?
Science Saturday at Stratford Hall: How Old Is this Fossil?
In this Science Saturday episode, Stratford Hall’s Manager of Education & Public Outreach, Jon Bachman, explores how to determine the age of a fossil, the fossil’s environment, and its characteristics. Jon shares his research and findings on fossils that were submitted by the community and those in his personal collection.
Thomas Lee, Stratford Hall and the Ohio Company
Join historian Jason Cherry as he discusses Thomas Lee’s central role in the establishment of The Ohio Company. At Stratford Hall, the Lee family organized the world’s most powerful land company and helped establish English control of the Ohio Valley.
Chocolate and Soul Food, from Colonia Virginia to Contemporary Kitchens
Join us as Stratford Hall’s Director of Collections & Visitor Engagement, Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz, is joined by YouTube star Cheyney McKnight, historian/interpreter Nicole Moore, historian Ramin Ganeshram, and there is appearance from celebrity chef Tanya Holland. With a cooking demonstration in Stratford Hall’s historic kitchen, this program will demonstrate historical chocolate recipes and discuss how chocolate made its way into historical and contemporary African American cuisine.
Funded by Forrest E. Mars, Jr. Chocolate History Research Grant, Mars Wrigley
Science Saturday at Stratford Hall: Oysters and the Chesapeake Bay
The Virginia Oyster is a keystone species for the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Oyster production in the Chesapeake and elsewhere has experienced a dramatic decline over the last several decade, however, there is hope through reef restoration, oyster seeding and aquaculture. Join Education & Outreach Manager, Jon Bachman, as he explores the history and ecology of this quintessential element of our natural community.
Science Saturday at Stratford Hall: The Stratford Hall Whale and the Fossil Record
]Stratford Hall’s Education and Outreach Manager, Jon Bachman, shared the discovery of an extinct baleen whale skeleton found in the cliffs at Stratford Hall in 2013 and how this discovery offers a glimpse into the vast fossil record of the Earth. Fossils of whales now provide one of the most complete examples of ongoing evolution. The Stratford Hall whale has provided another piece in the pageant of life on Earth.
Science Saturday at Stratford Hall: When Dinosaurs Roamed Fredericksburg
Join Stratford Hall’s Education and Outreach Coordinator, Jon Bachman, for the next Science Saturday at Stratford Hall. During this month’s program, Jon talks local dinosaurs. The Fredericksburg area has produced the greatest collection of dinosaur types in Virginia, and they all lived in our backyard! From giant sauropods to miniature T-Rex’s, the proof is in the footprint! What do these footprints tell us about a distant time?
Hidden in the Walls: Secrets of the Enslaved Community at Stratford Hall
In March of 2021, a reevaluation of Stratford’s existing collections revealed evidence that illuminate the stories of the enslaved African and African Americans who built, labored, and lived at Stratford Hall. Stratford Hall’s Director of Collections & Visitor Engagement, Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz led a lecture and discussion focusing on the recent findings, the forthcoming exhibit, and the importance of reevaluating evidence to help render the stories of the enslaved.
Science Saturday: They Mystery of Sharks
The media has portrayed sharks as ruthless solitary predators. Though there is no doubt that sharks have a fearsome presence in the oceans of the world, this is a fraction of the reality for these wonderful animals. There is something truly amazing and a little mysterious about sharks and how they have survived 455 million years and five global extinctions. Join us for another Science Saturday at Stratford Hall as Manager of Education & Public Outreach, Jon Bachman, takes a closer look at the mystery and wonders of sharks.
Science Saturday: How are Fossils Formed?
In this Science Saturday episode, Stratford Hall’s Manager of Education & Public Outreach, Jon Bachman, explores how to determine the age of a fossil, the fossil’s environment, and its characteristics. Jon shares his research and findings on fossils that were submitted by the community and those in his personal collection.