Welcome to Bergen County’s Junior Historian Passport Program!  This educational program is meant for students from grades 3 through 8. It was produced by the Bergen County Division of Cultural & Historic Affairs, Department of Parks, working in partnership with Bergen County Freeholder Tracy Silna Zur and her annual summer internship program, which brings college and high school students into County government to work on community-based projects. The guide has also been reviewed  by a  task force of teachers organized through the Office of the County Superintendent of Schools.

Bergen County is a treasure trove of wonderful historic locations and information spanning the time periods from before the American Revolution up to present day. Nine of these sites are owned by Bergen County, while others are maintained by local historic groups or associations. Many residents and students may only know about a few of them, perhaps locations that are closest to where they live.

The passport program allows students to follow five different pathways through the County.  Normally we would want students and families to visit each site in person, but the recent directives to keep us all safe from COVID-19 do not allow this.  These county treasures/historical sites are CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE but we hope you can enjoy the virtual passport we have created.

With a need for virtual educational activities that help to support and reinforce at-home learning, we hope students and families will take virtual tours of these sites via the internet and complete as many of the activities as they can. Tie-ins to New Jersey’s Social Studies standards are listed at the end of the program guide.

These activities can be scanned and forwarded to the Division of Cultural & Historic Affairs in care of Vivian Davis (vdavis@co.bergen.nj.us), the Division’s Assistant Recreational Supervisor, who worked with Bergen County Freeholder Zur and students to create this program. Students would be rewarded a Junior Historian’s certificate.

Thank you for your interest in Bergen County’s history. Come explore these sites online! We look forward to your visiting them in person someday soon.

Cynthia Forster

Director

Division of Cultural & Historic Affairs

Click to view the Junior Historian's Guide to Bergen County

Women's Suffrage