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The Yankee Express

Samuel Slater Experience stirring an early buzz

Aug 11, 2022 05:12PM ● By Chuck Tashjian
Although only open for a short time, the Samuel Slater Experience in Webster is already creating a positive vibe and attracting notice.
Recently showcased on Lake 940 and in The Boston Sunday Globe’s VIP Lounge section, the Samuel Slater Experience has also drawn interest from the Dudley Middle School, Douglas Elementary, St. Joseph’s in Webster, Park Avenue Elementary, the Sutton Historical Society, Swissturn USA and the Studebaker Car Club.
As the SSE’s Reanna Kuzdzal told Doc Siddall of Lake 940 during a six-minute segment on his program, the former National Guard Armory is a perfect educational tool for teachers to use for instruction they provide students in Grades 3 and up. Children are not treated to a museum in the traditional sense but rather a truly immersive experience through the use of high-tech media, video, audio, motion, wind and scents.
The SSE covers two time periods, the early 1800s and the early 1900s. It describes in vivid detail Samuel Slater’s travels from England to America in 1789 and how he took Great Britain’s textile industry secrets with him and used these  to power America’s first cotton spinning jenny and establish the American factory system.
“You can meet Samuel Slater on video and ride with him on a boat,” Ms. Kuzdzal points out.
“Field trips are so much fun” for those taking part in them, she said.
Go to www.samuelslaterexperience.org. or call 508-461-2955 for hours and further information.