Group Tours & Programs at your Site

These programs use reproduction items and documents from our collections along with hands-on activities to bring history to life. Each presentation is conducted by one of our museum educators and is designed for class-size groups. These are not suitable for assemblies or extremely large groups. A maximum of two presentations can be scheduled per day.

• $75 for first class (within 20-mile radius)
• $35 for each additional session on the same day
• Deposit of $50 per program is due two weeks before scheduled day. Balance due on date of
  program.

Reservations are required for all groups. Please contact the Society’s Education Staff as early as possible to reserve your space and a minimum of two weeks in advance of the program date. Please advise us of anyone with special needs.

• Colonial Amusements
  Children explore colonial life by playing active colonial games such as Hoops and Graces and Lucy Lockett. Then explore the history of board games and their moral lessons of real life while learning the concept of good and bad luck. Play Nine Men Morris and Snakes and Ladders. Create a game of your very own.
  • Grade Level: All Ages
  • Program Duration: 1 ½ hours
• Hands in Pockets if You Please
  Did you know that colonial women tied their pockets to their waists and hid them in a small slit in their skirt? Learn about these pockets and create one of your won. Play songs and games and listen to a story about pockets.
  • Grade Level: Preschool & Kindergarten
  • Program Duration: 1 ½ hours
• Mystery Trunk
  Help return a piece of luggage to its rightful owner while learning about travel conditions and going away to school as well as discovering how to use objects as primary sources.
  • Grade Level: 1 and up
  • Program Duration: 1 ½ hours
• Hidden Treasures
  Learn about special boxes from the past and the treasures they contain, including children’s toys and important family heirlooms. Decorate a box that will hold a special object of your own.
  • Grade Level: 1 & up
  • Program Duration: flexible
• Gentleman Lawyers & Lady Scholars
  What was it like to be a student 200 years ago? Who went to school and what jobs were available? Take part in a “common school” lesson. Investigate school life for all ages and discover what opportunities were once open to women and men. Explore the ways education after the Revolution reflected the values of the time.
  • Grade Level: 3 & up
  • Program Duration: 1 ½ hours
• Moot Court: The Case of the Amistad
  Become a 19th century lawyer or witness as you play the roles of key players in the trials surrounding the Amistad. Compare your sense of “right” and “justice” with mid-19th century law while you untangle the legal issues of the case.
  • Grade Level: 6-12
  • Program Duration: 1 ½ hours
• Moot Court: Prudence Crandall Case
  Examine the history and events leading up to this early case including the passage of the Black Law in Ct. Play the roles of key players in the Prudence Crandall trial. Argue your case in trial and discover the history of the participants involved.
  • Grade Level: 6-12
  • Program Duration: 1 ½ hours
• Party Spirit
  Investigate the political party system and the social reform movement of the early 1800s. Vote on important issues. Learn how early Americans combined politics and social events. Form societies, hold political rallies, read and write newspaper articles, and enjoy 19th century entertainments.
  • Grade Level: 6-12
  • Program Duration: 1 ½ hours
• How Did They Get There?
  Before planes, trains and automobiles, how did people travel? Learn how and where people journeyed in the years after the Revolution. Discover how much travel cost, how it felt, and what people packed. Through real travel stories, learn about everyday life in the past. Use maps, letters, and diaries to investigate early transportation networks.
  • Grade Level: 4-12
  • Program Duration: 1 ½ hours
  • Optional addition: Explore methods of water transportation in the early 1800s and construct a boat based on a particular vessel (i.e. keel, canal, steamboat, etc.) -- Additional fee per student: $3
    

ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING: The Litchfield Historical Society will also design programs to meet your specific curriculum objectives. Please contact the Society’s Education Staff for more information. Special programs take time, so contact us early.