At TimeShop, we believe that history for kids should be inspirational, emotional, unpretentious, unpatronizing, and--above all--fun.

At TimeShop we blend together costumed characters, sound, food, games, pure imagination, and a little of our unique brand of magic, to transport kids (ages 8-12) and their student TimeShop Guides to times and places in world history. The TimeShop Team of college students as well as TimeShop Kids are active participants in our interpretations of the past: Nobody has a passive role. As a result, TimeShop is engaging, thought-provoking, and above all, hugely enjoyable.

Our first program, TimeShop: Wartime England piloted in April, 2004. Kids traveled in time to the English town of Letchworth in 1940, during World War II, a time when children were evacuated from cities to the countryside to escape bombing raids, and when, daily, people had to contend with gas masks, food rationing, and air raids.

To be honest, my idea seemed a little crazy even to me, much less to the student volunteers who gamely helped me try it out. We did our first TimeShop on just $2,000, which included authentic props, supplies, and scenery. We were barely prepared (and that's putting it kindly.) What astonished us all was that the kids who joined us fell in love with the whole concept. And so did we. It was playful, intense, and exhilerating for all of us.

So in 2005, we did it again, properly, thanks to the support of the Georgia Humanities Council, the Faculty Service Committee at our university, the Kiwanis Club, and a small but generous group of individual supporters, the Friends of TimeShop. We had two sessions on weekend days, each with separate groups of kids. More than 100 showed up.

Now, if that doesn't seem impressive, consider this: We're not in New York or San Francisco: We're in the small town of Statesboro, in rural South Georgia. Plus, TimeShop is held on a weekend (because we don't want to get lazy doing the program for captive school groups, and that's not what we're about anyway.) As if those factors weren't challenging enough, this town has a huge number of activities for a place of its modest size, thanks to the University and an active community, yet often gets tiny audiences for "educational" activities. Technically, a rather eccentric history program didn't stand a chance.

Yet, in 2006, despite this being our third year of Wartime England, and continuing challenges with convincing understandably harried parents to bring their enthusiastic kids (especially on a Sunday in Georgia), we had another 130 show up on TimeShop Weekend. And the buzz in the area since has been terrific: This year, we truly made it onto the local radar.

Coming in April,2006, we have Medieval France, our second offering. We'll keep you posted.

I created TimeShop because, after years of teaching college students, I got fed up with teaching freshmen and even upperclassmen who are convinced that history is the memorization of useless facts, rather than the fascinating and mind-broadening subject I know it can be. Thanks largely to the deadly dull and preachy high school curriculum they had encountered,and often despite the best efforts of the teachers who struggle to interpret that curriculum, too many students think of history, at best, as "back then," a quaint place with zero relevance to their lives. My hope is to reach both kids and students with my passionate fascination for the connections and contexts that history provides to our own experience. My student team has returned my efforts with their huge commitment to this program, even though the great majority of them are (surprise!) not history majors. I am deeply grateful to them for their support.

I'm not claiming we do everything right. But my students and I have continued to invest heart and soul in TimeShop--despite a continual struggle for resources--because we are certain we're onto a winner here. All the same, I don't expect you to buy that: Every university these days is full of careerist folks who will happily roll out the hyperbole about their own efforts. So I encourage you to find out for yourself why this program has already drawn the attention of English newspapers, BBC Radio, the Associated Press, and even the Statesboro Herald. Here’s a typical sample of what kids and their parents have to say about TimeShop: Wartime England:

Whether you’re a kid, a parent, or just an interested web surfer, I warmly invite you to tour the rest of our visitors’ area. Just remember that we have yet to find a photo that does justice to the program: It's done on so many levels that there's no subsitute for being there. If you're a parent within driving distance of Statesboro (yes, we even welcome kids from Atlanta occasionally!), we hope you will bring us to your child's attention, and encourage his or her interest. But we absolutely don't want any kid to be forced to come to TimeShop: We hope that the lure of time travel, fun people, prizes, and surprises will do the trick. :-)

Thank you for your interest in TimeShop. And please don’t hesitate to e-mail me if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. The Team and I would love to hear from you.

Best wishes—

Dr. Annette Laing
Director, TimeShop
Department of History
Georgia Southern University
TimeShop@GeorgiaSouthern.edu