When you were a student, how often did history feel like a jumble of dates and random people? Did history seem remote, as if it never mattered to today? Did you ever hold a piece of history in your hand? Did you know that your very own closet is full of history? A young person seldom has enough life experience for classic textbook history to be remembered. Instead of using dates as references, Fool's Academy discovers history in your own clothes.

In "A-Dressing History," our goal is to use common clothing as the "hook" with which to present history. We investigate jeans, sneakers, T-shirts, and baseball caps. We explore tuxedos, top hats, nylons, and even high heels. We travel through a broad range of eras including Greek city-states, early American settlements, the Civil War, and WWII. Each piece of clothing presents a new piece of history. For example: Jeans were invented for the gold miners of California’s Gold Rush.

During the scenes, Christina and WT will bring students on stage to demonstrate, participate, and help unpack the history. The show includes an array of mime, clown, acrobatics, and acting that leaves students with many memorable images and tactics for remembering history they encounter every day. The students are frequently involved as an audience and as participants, making the show very active for everyone.

We designed this show to target grades 1-5 and surprisingly, even adults learn new anecdotes and stories that help them use everyday objects to bring history within their reach. Our goal is to make history stick like Velcro.