Tsongas Industrial History Center

12/01/2023

Fan mail is the best! We love to receive student letters and art showing what they learned on their field trips!

11/27/2023

Our staff had a wonderful time at the Lowell City of Lights Parade with our colleagues from Lowell National Historical Park! The crowds were great and enthusiastic!

11/24/2023

As the temperatures drop and the long nights set in, it's time to celebrate those sparks of light around the city. Join Lowell National Historical Park in celebrating the Lowell City of Lights this Saturday, November 25th.

Be sure to catch the Holly Jolly Trolley at the Boott Cotton Mills Museum, be astounded by a magic show, and wave hello during the parade. Check out https://www.lowellcityoflights.org/ to learn more about these and many other fun ways to welcome in the winter to Lowell.

11/21/2023

Classroom teachers, curriculum coordinators, and content specialists: Join us next March, 2024 for a four-part workshop using Lowell as a case study to teach about climate science and justice across the curriculum. Learn more about this workshop taking place in-person and online:

Using Lowell as a case study of industrialization and urbanization, this four-part workshop will explore teaching climate science and justice across the curriculum to promote student agency. In the workshop we will:

11/20/2023

Check out these great photos from the 1949 Lowell Christmas parade posted by Lowell Historic Board. We are looking forward to being part of the Lowell City of Lights with our colleagues from Lowell National Historical Park! Hope someone takes our photo this Saturday, November 25th at the parade and posts it many years from now!

11/16/2023

We love to get student letters and hearing what students learned on their field trip! Here are a few letters we received after students experienced our Power to Production field trip program.

11/14/2023

In this short video, explore what life was like for the mill girls who lived in company boardinghouses during the mid-19th century. The boardinghouse became a home away from home for the young women who lived there.

This short video shows a brief introduction to "A Day in the Boardinghouse." It explores what life was like for the Mill Girls who lived in company boardingh...

11/08/2023

In honor of , the Boott Cotton Mills Museum will waive the fee for all visitors on Saturday, November 11th. The museum will be open from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Visit the working weave room and watch looms weave cloth right before you.

11/07/2023

Teachers: Have you booked a field trip yet for this school year? In our programs, students participate in hands-on learning activities and visit sites where history was made. The hands-on experience makes learning both meaningful and exciting, and the power of place deepens student understanding of not only history but science, engineering, and technology, too. Come see us!

11/02/2023

Thanks again State Representative Vanna Howard for visiting us and participating in our hands-on learning activities here at the TIHC!

10/30/2023

The Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies Fall 2023 Statewide Conference continues on November 7th. There are additional site visits including here at the Tsongas Industrial History Center. We are excited to host teachers on November 7th for a workshop about “Teaching Immigration.” Registration link is in the comments.

10/16/2023

Recently, classroom teachers, UMass Lowell faculty, and local climate activists participated in a meeting to advise us on the development of a new program on how industrialization and urbanization have affected the environment and the connection to climate change. In addition to a lively discussion, participants engaged in an experiment involving “polluting” and “filtering” water and a tour of Lowell National Historical Park's natural and cultural resources. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to develop our new field trip program!

10/15/2023

Happy 32nd Birthday to the Tsongas Industrial History Center! On October 15, 1991, we opened our doors for our first visiting field trips! Here's a scan of The Sun News article from that historic day! Today, the Center continues to be THE place for teaching and learning about Lowell's industrial past, present, and future as inspiration for creating a better world. Have you come here on a field trip? What was your favorite part?

10/13/2023

We were delighted that State Representative Vanna Howard was able to visit the Tsongas Industrial History Center today and learn more about our UMass Lowell and Lowell National Historical Park partnership. We were also able to thank her in person for her continued support of the Mass Cultural Council, which provides funding to the Center through the Cultural Investment Portfolio program.

Representative Howard popped into four workshops in full swing, observing students from Newton weaving cloth, engineering vehicles, working on an assembly line, and building mill-and-canal systems or testing waterwheels. In the Boott Cotton Mills Museum, she observed students learning about enslaved people using a new interactive element. Throughout the visit, she witnessed the excitement of young learners in the TIHC’s experiential programs. (She even wove a few rows in our weave room!)

Pictured: TIHC Director Sheila Kirschbaum, State Representative Vanna Howard, Acting Education Supervisory Park Ranger MaryBeth Faucher, and College of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at UMass Lowell Associate Dean of Online Education, Accreditation, and Licensure Stacy Szczesiul

10/12/2023

The Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies Fall 2023 Statewide Conference in Hyannis, MA, is coming up on Oct. 22 and 23 with two full days of sessions related to the theme “Preparing Students to Become Critical Consumers of Information and Learning.” Two weeks later on November 7th there will be additional site visits including here at the Tsongas Industrial History Center. We are excited to host teachers on November 7th for a workshop about “Teaching Immigration.” More information about all of the MCSS sessions and registration is available at

Students must be critical consumers of information and learning because it helps them develop essential skills for academic and personal success.

10/11/2023

We are excited to announce that the Tsongas Industrial History Center received a grant from Mass Humanities with funding made possible by the Mass Cultural Council! We’ll be creating a suite of resources for high school students and teachers: a teacher workshop, virtual field trip, and online resources—all focused on antebellum connections between Lowell’s cotton textile industry and the enslavement of Black people on cotton plantations. Follow Mass Humanities to learn more about the work they’re doing across the Commonwealth!

Mass Humanities' blog, The Public Humanist, and featured funded grants.

10/10/2023

Join the team at Lowell National Historical Park for the 2024 Summer Season!

Have you ever wondered what working for the National Park Service might be like? Do you have the perfect head shape for a ranger flat hat? Want to have one of the coolest summer jobs ever?

We have great news if you answered yes to any of the above! Lowell National Historical Park is hiring seasonal positions for this coming summer! Be sure to get your applications in as soon as possible before the announcements fill up. Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/Results?a=IN10&wt=15322&wt=15318&hp=public&p=1 to apply today!

10/05/2023

Partnerships are key to getting things done in ! Check out this article showing the many UMass Lowell connections to help create the new Lowell National Historical Park exhibit "One City, Many Cultures." We were grateful to be part of the process and look forward to sharing this new exhibit with our visiting school groups!

UML and Others Collaborate With National Park on Exhibit "One City, Many Cultures" exhibit at Mogan Cultural Center. 10/02/2023 By Marlon Pitter Celebrating the history and diversity of Lowell, the Lowell National Historical Park recently launched the “One City, Many Cultures” exhibit at the Mog...

10/04/2023

Thank you to State Senator Ed Kennedy and the entire Massachusetts Legislature for continued support of the Mass Cultural Council. We are thankful for the support from MCC's Cultural Investment Portfolio program. This support lets us continue our mission to use experiential learning and Lowell's resources to help learners explore history and science.

Congratulations to the recipients of Mass Cultural Council’s FY24 Cultural Investment Portfolio (CIP) and Gateway grant programs. The Cultural Investment Portfolio and Gateway provide general operating grants to nonprofit organizations that enrich Massachusetts’ cultural life. The Portfolio works to strengthen a creative and cultural sector that generates $1.2 billion in economic activity, creates thousands of jobs, and delivers programs to more than 20 million a year. In total, $6,988,800 has been granted to 338 cultural nonprofits this year through these two programs.

This is the last year that Mass Cultural Council will offer these two programs, which provide unrestricted operating support to nonprofit cultural organizations. To ensure access and equity in Mass Cultural Council’s investments and to follow their new Strategic Plan, later this fiscal year MCC will launch a new operating support program, which will be called Operating Grants for Organizations. That program should launch next spring - in March 2024.

The following cultural nonprofits in Lowell have received FY24 Cultural Investment Portfolio Grant Awards:

Angkor Dance Troupe, Inc $8,400
Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust, Inc. $15,200
Merrimack Repertory Theatre $27,500
New England Quilt Museum $10,900
Tsongas Industrial History Center $19,700

09/27/2023

Have you seen LTC's new video about the new "One City, Many Cultures" exhibit at Lowell National Historical Park? Take a peek at the video and make a plan to visit now that it is open daily from 11:30am-4:30pm. Teachers: students will have a chance to visit the new exhibit in our Yankees and Immigrants, Community Connections, and Change in the Making field trip programs. Contact us for details!

In this video, LTC visits the National Historical Park's brand new exhibit "One City, Many Cultures" and chat with staff and community planners on how the pr...

09/25/2023

Last week, the UMass Lowell James B. Francis College of Engineering hosted the American Society of Composites 38th Annual Technical Conference. On a visit to , our Tsongas Industrial History Center staff shared a brief tour to show off our locks, canals, river, and mill systems.

09/24/2023

It was a great day to celebrate a wonderful new exhibit!

09/22/2023

"I've enjoyed working alongside community members who each bring their own experiences and seeing it put together by the LNHP staff and their expert vendors into a cohesive, digestible, and interesting narrative that prompts interaction and discovery inside the unique, very Lowell-y space." - Roundtable Member Mark Van Der Hyde

It's finally happening! Tomorrow is the grand opening of the "One City, Many Cultures" exhibit. Check out our event page, https://fb.me/e/3hEczkFRM, for more details! We hope to see you there!

09/21/2023

This Saturday, September 23rd, we are so excited to be part of the "One City, Many Cultures" Opening Day at Lowell National Historical Park! Our staff will be in the 1st floor Boott Museum Gallery with hands-on activities from our various field trip programs. Come learn to weave! Come touch, play, and enjoy objects from around the world! Come talk to us about food, clothing, items of faith, or entertainment that can give us clues about cultures from different places and times. See you on Saturday!

09/21/2023

"I enjoyed the community discussions going back to 2018. I particularly appreciate how hard the LNHP worked to “herd the cats” and pull key themes out of very wide-ranging, open, and frank discussions. It’s very gratifying to see the results of this long-term, painstaking effort come to fruition in this exciting new exhibit, “One City, Many Cultures,” which better represents the diversity and complexity of Lowell." - Roundtable member Sue Kim

Only two days until the grand opening of the "One City, Many Cultures" exhibit. Check out our event page, https://fb.me/e/3hEczkFRM, for more details!

09/20/2023

"I’m grateful that the group created an exhibit where visitors can “meet” real immigrants and refugees from all over the world and better understand what they’ve gone through to come and stay in Lowell. I feel grateful to all these new Americans who have strengthened and enhanced the fabric of our community." - Roundtable member Szifra Birke

We're three days out from the "One City, Many Cultures" exhibit grand opening. Check out our event page, https://fb.me/e/3hEczkFRM, for more details!

09/18/2023

"It has been a pleasure, a challenge, and an inspiration to serve on the Community Roundtable. The respectful exchange of ideas and points of view eventually helped develop the "One City, Many Cultures" exhibit." - Roundtable Member Pauline Golec

We are only five days away from the "One City, Many Cultures" exhibit grand opening. Check out our event page, https://fb.me/e/3hEczkFRM, for more details!

09/15/2023

On Saturday, September 23rd we are going to be part of Lowell National Historical Park's "One City, Many Cultures" Grand Opening! The new exhibit is amazing! Come learn how we teach about culture and try our hands-on activities outside at Boarding House Park. We will also be inside at the 1st floor Boott Cotton Mills Museum Gallery where you can try more hands-on activities. Come see the artifacts we use in our Yankees & Immigrants and new Community Connections programs. We will also have our Bale to Bolt hand looms available so you can learn to weave! The opening ceremony is at 11am and our activities will be available from 12-4pm.

09/14/2023

Have you seen our September newsletter? It's got great information about new exhibits and funding for free field trips!

All are invited to the grand opening celebration of “One City, Many Cultures,” a new exhibit at Lowell National Historical Park!

09/13/2023

It's just 10 day until the opening celebration of the new "One City, Many Cutures" exhibit at Lowell National Historical Park! Hope you can join us all on September 23rd!

09/12/2023

This past weekend, the UMass Lowell River Hawks Hockey Team had the opportunity to visit the Boott Cotton Mills Museum Weave Room at Lowell National Historical Park. Long time Lowellian and LNHP trolley driver Seth C. took them on this special tour and explained the basics of Lowell's industrial history. We hope their families will return for visits too as they come to the city for the upcoming hockey games. We wish them and all of the UMass Lowell Athletics teams a great season! Go UMass Lowell - Go Riverhawks!

08/31/2023

Here's a great opportunity for 4th graders and their families! See below for how you can receive a pass to visit federal sites for free including Lowell National Historical Park!

(This pass described below is for individuals and not for school field trip use. We do though have some funding available for 4th grade class visits from Title 1 schools. Call us at 978-970-5080 for details and mention the "Open Outdoors for Kids Grant" for information about free field trips.)

The countdown is on! Did you know that beginning tomorrow, students entering the 4th grade this fall are eligible for a free pass to their federal lands?

Starting September 1st, 4th graders can visit www.everykidoutdoors.gov and follow the directions to receive a voucher. This printed voucher can be presented at Lowell National Historical Park and exchanged for a plastic pass. A 4th grader can present either a voucher or a pass at a federal land site to waive entrance fees for the 4th grader and three guests or for the 4th grader and occupants in a single non-commercial vehicle, depending on how fees are charged. The pass is valid from September 1, 2023, through August 31, 2024.

This pass was created to encourage younger generations and their families to get out and visit their public lands! We don't have an entrance fee at Lowell National Historical Park, but this pass can earn a 4th grader and 3 of their guests free admission to the Boott Cotton Mills Museum.

Passes are available at the Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center (246 Market Street), with free parking available at the HCID Parking Garage.