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

Tours and educational programs at the Old State House are thematic and focus on the political, social, and economic history related to the Old State House and its site. Tours and programs do not cover the whole building, 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

Every Building Tells a Story

During this building tour, younger students explore the Old State House, once home to state and city government. Focus is placed on multi-sensory learning and a varied pace of activities which help students make meaning from the building and its architecture. Students use movement, sound, improvisation and role-playing activities to explore shape, pattern, and building materials.

This program includes a hands-on project to take home. Please choose one activity:

Curious Creatures (Recommended for Pre-K-K)
Students visit Steward’s Museum of Natural and Other Curiosities and then create their own curious creature.
OR
Architecture Collage (Recommended for Grades 1-2)
Students explore elements of design and use their imaginations to create a colorful building collage from simple geometric shapes.

To Market, To Market

Using costumes and props, students recreate the sights and sounds of an early marketplace against the backdrop of our whimsical Education Center scenery. Students use their imaginations and work together to learn about various colonial businesses and identify and differentiate between goods and services and consumers and producers. They visit the History Is All Around Us exhibit to look at trade signs and create their own advertising sign to take home. During the spring and fall, school groups may see a real farmers’ market on the grounds of the Old State House. Ask for details when you book your program.

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

The Legend of the Charter Oak

Why is the white oak a symbol of Connecticut’s strength and independence? During this program, students bring the people and events from the legend of the Charter Oak to life using a variety of dramatic techniques, period costumes, props, and a specially designed Education Center setting. Students discover the significance of Connecticut's colonial charter and its connection to the legendary white oak tree. Students wrap up their program with a visit to the History Is All Around Us exhibit where they can see artifacts created from the original Charter Oak.

The Three Branches of Government: Who Makes the Rules?

During this program, students explore Connecticut’s executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government and discover who makes the rules in Connecticut. To better understand the role of each branch, students elect a governor from among their classmates, debate a bill, and hold a mock trial. Through movement, improvisation, and role-playing activities students define government, learn the purpose of rules and laws, and discover that individuals have rights and responsibilities. Some student reading required.

Building a Community

How do communities develop and grow, and what kinds of decisions are made along the way? Using the large-scale floor map and building models in the History is All Around Us exhibition, students work together to create their ideal community, making decisions about what to include and where to place residential, commercial, civic, and industrial buildings. They discover some of the issues that arise in community planning and test their problem-solving skills. Students also work in pairs exploring other parts of the exhibit with our Hartford History Hunters scavenger hunt.

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

The Three Branches of Government: Separation of Powers

During this program, students identify Connecticut’s three branches of government, explore the historical and contemporary role of each and learn why the power of state government is divided among three branches. To better understand how each branch can check the power of another, students elect a governor from among their classmates, learn how a bill becomes a law, and hold a mock trial. Through active participation, students learn the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democratic society and how the separation of powers serves to protect the rights of all citizens. Some student reading required.

History Is All Around Us: A Changing City

This guided program combines discussion, small group work, and an inquiry-based exploration of the History Is All Around Us exhibition as students discover how the past is present in our lives. Using Hartford as a case study, students trace change over time in architecture and town planning, transportation, technology and innovations, entertainment, and daily life. They explore the differences that individuals have made and can make in a community and find their own connections to history. Students will also have some time to explore the exhibit on their own.

• Group limit: 25 students or 1 class
• Recommended Length: 30 - 45 minutes
• Cost: $3 per student/$6 with tour

Self-Guided Audio Tour of the Historic Old State House

Using our audio tour, Hartford Begins Here, students will hear history come alive as they explore the Old State House. The audio tour features period music, sound effects, interviews with scholars and elected officials, and actors recreating some of Hartford's most fascinating stories. Using hand-held wands, students move through the historic rooms at their own pace. Please note that the audio tour focuses on the historic parts of the OSH and does not include a visit to the exhibition History Is All Around Us.