The Renaissance Living History Center

The Renaissance Living History Center presents a unique and diverse programs to school and youth groups, families, and adults. Our most visible program is our School Day Program at the Louisiana Renaissance Festival. Our School Day Program offers a wide variety of educational shows and hands-on demonstrations. Others invite our staff members to visit their school or group meeting places. Our historic interpreters have brought the story of Renaissance daily life to schools and summer camps across Louisiana and Mississippi. Our popular outreach programs include visits to classrooms by "Renaissance Villagers" and our Peasant court show, traveling music and games workshops, and historical dramas. Each year we conduct a workshop for teachers to help them improve the quality of their instruction.

Imagine a place where your children or grandchildren could learn about history first hand. In such a world, unlike conventional museums, they could interact with the tools and technology in their proper context. They could learn spinning as an apprentice to a spinner, weaving as an apprentice to a weaver, or candle making as an apprentice to a chandler. They could learn about the politics and culture of the past by interacting with common people of the past and directly observing these people as they go about their daily lives. Imagine the power of learning the importance of average people to the course of history.

At the Renaissance Living History Center, we dream of fostering this appreciation of history by creating a unique interactive environment for our children and grandchildren to learn about history. Our current partnership with the Louisiana Renaissance Festival in Hammond is our first step in achieving this goal. On space provided by the festival we are working to create a living history area where explorers of all ages can interact with the technology and average folk from the past. To promote quality education at schools we are working with the festival to organize a student day where teachers can bring their students on an interactive field trip and we are putting together programs to take directly to schools.

If you have a love of history, would like to learn Renaissance period crafts and would like to pass on your knowledge to others, we need your help! We provide training to anyone interested in the living history of the Renaissance period. In exchange, we ask that you help us with our interpretive programs. Assistance can come in many forms: helping with construction of our pavilion at the Louisiana Renaissance festival, teaching a craft to other people, assisting with fundraising events, or participating in interpretive programs. Volunteers become members of our volunteer auxiliary, The Renaissance Living History Society.

The Renaissance Living History Center is a not-for-profit corporation whose primary mission is education on the history and daily life of pre-industrial society. The RLHC was formally incorporated as non-profit corporation in Louisiana on January 6, 2003. We received formal recognition of our 501 (C) (3) status from the IRS on April 1, 2004. Our primary mission is education on the literature, arts, culture, history and daily life of pre-industrial societies. The core of this mission is to present science, literature and the arts in their proper social and historical contexts.

Creating a realistic interactive environment for learning is very expensive. Items such as a loom, a spinning wheel, tools, costumes, and consumable supplies need to be purchased. Buildings need to be built. Volunteers need to be trained. In short we need your help to make this dream a reality. Please consider helping us build a bridge to the past by making a tax-deductible contribution to the non-profit Renaissance Living History Center. No contribution is too small in helping bring the past to life!

The Renaissance Living History Center, Inc.
PO Box 42
Robert, LA 70455

Kenn Dickson, President
renlivinghistory@yahoo.com
504-301-8805