Lafayette Teen Audio Tour At New York Museum

The society will offer a special audio tour by teenagers for teenagers to accompany the landmark exhibition French Founding Father: Lafayette's Return to Washington's America running through August 10, 2008.

The audio tour was developed by New York City high school student-interns and produced by the New-York Historical Society with the teens voicing many of the parts. From red carpet commentary to amusing historical reenactments, the audio tour has thirteen stops in the exhibit, providing a fun way to learn about one of America's lesser-known founding fathers.

"While the Historical Society offers a wide range of educational programs for junior high and high school groups that help them understand our exhibitions and collections, the general admissions, teen visitor sometimes finds it challenging to make connections to topics and objects from American history", said Chris Catanese, Manager of High School Programs who co-produced the tour with long-time audio producer and Peabody Award winner Lou Giansante. "The Lafayette Teen Audio Tour is a fun way for young visitors to make connections between Lafayette and their own lives. And it sneaks in a little history at the same time."

"I didn't know who Lafayette was before I started. Now I know how important he was and why he's a founding father, even though he's French," said one high school intern. The tour highlights objects and paintings that stood out to the teen interns. "The big portrait of Lafayette is my favorite thing in the exhibition. It makes me feel like he's standing here with us—and I like his shoes." -- www.nyhistory.org