The Newport Historical Society has been selected as the national winner of the 2024 Excellence in Education Program Award by the National Park Service.
The award recognizes the society’s Women on the Water program, which engages female students in grades 6-12 in STEM education, maritime history and career exploration.
The society will be celebrated as the sole recipient of this national award at a ceremony in August. The recognition comes two weeks after the Newport Historical Society received an Award of Excellence from the American Association for State and Local History.
“From our educational programming to our engaging exhibitions, it is so exciting to see the work of the NHS being recognized,” said Rebecca Bertand, executive director. “To truly do this work well, we must meet people where they are to make history relevant and compelling today, and these national honors signal that our efforts to make history come alive are paying off.”
The society was nominated by Johnny F. Carawan, trail administrator of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail, which begins in Newport.
“The program embraces experiential learning, offering opportunities like sailing on a tall ship, where students directly apply engineering and scientific concepts to historical tools and modern vessels,” Carawan wrote in his nomination.
Through Women on the Water, students engage in kayaking, sailing and navigation while learning about coastal erosion and marine ecosystems. The program explores roles women can play in maritime and STEM fields and has worked with schools including Blackstone Valley Prep and Sophia Academy.
“Rhode Island is known for its beautiful coastline, but many students across the state still have limited exposure to it,” said Marie Myers, head of school at Sophia Academy, an all-girls middle school in Providence. “Women on the Water has allowed our students to spend time out on the ocean with an all-female crew, learning about our state’s rich maritime history and exploring a career path they may never have considered otherwise.”
The Newport Historical Society was founded in 1854 and operates six properties with collections spanning five centuries.
