Curators were on hand to provide methods for interrogating graphics from the time, using Paul Revere's famous print of the Boston Massacre. They also demonstrated procedures for handling the delicate objects precisely and examining them with the aid of a loupe, or surface document magnifier.

Curators also ushered students into the vault in which the Gilder Lehrman stores and catalogs its artifacts, kept in the dark at 65 degrees at 40% humidity. In the vault, they got a close look at two original versions of what has become the American penny. 

Students’ primary task was to study one document in depth, which meant they had the opportunity to handle an original manuscript or artifact from the colonial or revolutionary era.  To avoid tarnishing the materials, the curators directed the students first to wash their hands with a special soap.  Each student’s document will serve as the basis for a project that situates it within its colonial or revolutionary context.