To download a free copy of the 2007 - 2008 School Program brochure click here.

Museum tours and related activities are thematic and focus on Connecticut history topics presented in the museum’s permanent and changing exhibitions. Tours do not necessarily cover an entire exhibit, but highlight areas appropriate to the age and focus of the class.

Click here for information on scheduling a school or youth program.

• Group Limit: 50 students or 2 classes
• Length: 1 hour
• Cost: $4.00 per student

Native Americans and Natural Resources

This tour introduces students to the lives of Native Americans in early Connecticut and emphasizes their use of natural resources. Focus is placed on multi-sensory learning, a varied pace of activities and handling reproduction objects. Students hear a Native American story and make a bear claw necklace to take home.

• Group Limit: 50 students or 2 classes
• Length: 1 ½ hours
• Cost: $5.00 per student

Growing Up in Colonial Connecticut

This tour introduces the colonial period in Connecticut by looking at the lives and experiences of both Native American and English colonial children. Students examine a variety of artifacts and discover differences among them. They learn about children’s daily routines, contrasting Native American and European traditions, including village life, clothing, and chores. Students learn about education in both cultures, hear a Native American story, practice penmanship, and make their own “hornbook” to take home.

• Group Limit: 50 students or 2 classes
• Length: 1 ½ hours
• Cost: $5.00 per student

First Contact: Native American Life

Students explore life in Connecticut in the 1600s by learning about the culture of the native people and by drawing contrasts to the lives of the first colonists. In the workshop activity, they examine a selection of reproduction artifacts, then work together to discover how each object was used and what it can tell us about native life.

Daily Life in Colonial Connecticut

Students compare their own lives to everyday life in 1700s Connecticut by exploring differences in houses, clothing, work, and community structure. In the hands-on workshop, students work in groups to closely examine reproduction household artifacts and learn about the importance of colonial crafts and trades.

Connecticut and the Revolution

Students investigate how Connecticut citizens participated in the American Revolution. They look at issues from both the Patriot and Loyalist perspectives. The exhibition’s “Revolutionary Theater” sound presentation brings to life the struggles faced by everyday people. In the hands-on activity, students take the first step in joining the “Patriot cause” by using a quill pen to sign an “Oath of Allegiance”. After examining the clothing and equipment of a militia soldier, they “volunteer” and take part in a military drill.

Children of the Amistad

In 1839, the story of the capture of the schooner Amistad dominated Connecticut newspapers. This tour uses the multi-sensory features of the museum exhibition, reproduction artifacts, and role-playing to encourage students to become part of the story and to follow the journey of the five children among the Amistad Africans. In the hands-on activity, students respond to the “middle passage” and other 19th-century sea journeys by creating their own Captain's log book and making an entry with a quill pen.

On the Move:
Immigration and Migration to Connecticut

This two-part program uses hands-on activities throughout to introduce students to stories of moving to Connecticut. In the interactive gallery, students try out the kinds of jobs done by three different immigrant groups who arrived in Connecticut in the 19th and 20th centuries. During the workshop, students work in teams to examine artifacts from “immigration trunks” and uncover many different family stories about moving to Connecticut.

• Group Limit: 50 students or 2 classes
• Length: 1 ½ hours
• Cost: $5.00 per student

On the Move:
Immigration and Migration to Connecticut

This two-part program uses hands-on activities throughout to introduce students to stories of moving to Connecticut. In the interactive gallery, activities let students try out the kinds of jobs done by three different immigrant groups who arrived in Connecticut in the 19th and 20th centuries. During the workshop portion, students work in teams to examine artifacts from “immigration trunks” and uncover many different family stories about moving to Connecticut.

Connecticut and the Revolution

In this thematic tour students investigate the causes of the American Revolution and its local repercussions. They examine issues from both the Patriot and Loyalist perspectives. The exhibition’s “Revolutionary Theater” presentation dramatizes contemporary documents and letters and brings the struggles faced by Connecticut citizens during this period to life. In the workshop activity, students work with reproductions of letters, diaries, government documents, receipts, newspaper accounts, and inventories to discover information about the daily lives of the colonists and soldiers during the war.

Amistad: A True Story of Freedom

A guided tour through the exhibition helps students discover the issues and emotions that followed the Africans’ revolt on the ship Amistad in 1839. Students retrace the ship’s journey from Cuba to Connecticut and learn about the Africans’ long legal battle in the United States. They learn about a few of the Africans on board the ship, their experiences in Connecticut, and the people who helped them return to Africa in 1842.

Choose one of the following activities:

• Primary Resource Workshop: Slavery in Connecticut
  Using letters, runaway ads, insurance policies, and other primary resource documents students uncover information about slavery in Connecticut and the lives of the enslaved men, women and children who experienced it.
• Hands-on Activity: Log Books
  Students respond to the “middle passage” and other 19th-century sea journeys by creating their own parchment Captain’s log book and making an entry with a quill pen.
• Historical Encounter: The Story of Ruth
  For groups of 50-75 students. See below for description and price.

Slavery in Connecticut

Students visit two of our exhibitions to discover the history of slavery in our state from the enslavement of the Pequots and Africans in the early colonial period through the Amistad incident. Students compare conditions of enslavement, apprenticeship and indentured servitude, and explore how different people in Connecticut felt about slavery.

Choose one of the following activities:

• Primary Resource Workshop: Slavery in Connecticut
  Using letters, runaway ads, insurance policies and other primary resource documents students uncover information about slavery in Connecticut and the lives of the enslaved men, women and children who experienced it.
  OR
• Historical Encounter: The Story of Ruth
  (For groups of 50 - 75 students. See below for description and price.

Programs for high school students are designed to emphasize skills development, particularly in historical research and the use of primary resources. Tour materials and content can be adapted for specific groups and to fit your curriculum goals. We offer a menu of program options which can be combined to fit specific scheduling requirements and the needs of your students. Larger groups can be accommodated by rotating groups of students through several activities.

GUIDED TOURS

• Group limit: 25 students or 1 class
• Length: 1 hour
• Cost: $4.00 per student

Connecticut and the Revolution

In this thematic tour, students investigate the causes of the American Revolution and its local repercussions. They examine issues from both the Patriot and Loyalist perspectives. The exhibition’s “Revolutionary Theater” presentation dramatizes contemporary documents and letters and brings the struggles faced by Connecticut citizens during this period to life.

Amistad: A True Story of Freedom

A guided tour through the exhibition helps students discover the issues and emotions that followed the Africans’ revolt on the ship Amistad in 1839. Students retrace the ship’s journey from Cuba to Connecticut and learn about the Africans’ long legal battle in the United States. They learn about a few of the Africans on board the ship, their experiences in Connecticut, and the people who helped them return to Africa in 1842.

Slavery in Connecticut

Students use two of our exhibitions to discover the history of slavery in our state from the enslavement of the Pequots and Africans in the early colonial period through the Amistad incident. They compare conditions of enslavement, apprenticeship and indentured servitude, and explore how different people in Connecticut felt about slavery.

PRIMARY RESOURCE WORKSHOPS

• Group limit: 25 students or 1 class per workshop
• Length: 30 minutes
• Cost: $2.00 per student

Connecticut During the Revolution

Students work with reproductions of original documents from our collection. They examine letters, diaries, government documents, receipts, newspaper accounts, and inventories to discover information about the daily lives of the colonists and soldiers during the war.

Slavery in Connecticut

Using letters, runaway ads, insurance policies, and other primary resource documents students uncover information about slavery in Connecticut and the lives of the enslaved men, women, and children who experienced it.

HISTORICAL ENCOUNTER

• Group Size: 50 - 75 students
• Length: 45 minutes
• Cost: $4.00 per student
• SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY

See above for description of The Story of Ruth. This program is an excellent complement to the Amistad: A True Story of Freedom tour or the Slavery in Connecticut tour.

• Group limit: 25 students or 1 class per exhibit
• Length: 45 minutes per exhibit
• Cost: $3.00 per student / $1.00 per student if combined with guided program

High school groups may schedule self-guided tours in the museum's exhibitions listed below. Self-guided tours must be scheduled AT LEAST 2 WEEKS IN ADVANCE to avoid conflict with scheduled guided programs.

• Tours and Detours Through Early Connecticut
• Amistad: A True Story of Freedom
• Small Things: Big Impact
  (Temporary exhibit through January 2008)
  Sometimes small things can be a big deal. Come delight in a variety of small things from Connecticut, and discover how each had a surprisingly big influence on our world.

LIBRARY ORIENTATION

• Group limit: 15 students
• Length: 45 minutes
• Cost: $4.00 per student

The Connecticut Historical Society’s library offers an orientation program to introduce students to the nature and scope of the CHS’s research collection, and to develop student understanding of how to use primary resource documents. After an overview of the library’s holdings and a chance to see some original material, students work in small groups to examine and analyze reproductions of manuscripts, broadsides, maps, and other primary documents from the collection. These materials are chosen to illustrate a wide range of Connecticut stories.