Group Tours & Programs for Students

These programs allow students to use documents and materials from our collections to bring history to life. We recommend that you prepare your students for the experience by using the historical background materials and activities contained in the pre-visit curriculum packets we will provide.

• Minimum group size is eight students
• Programs can be tailored to your students’ abilities
• One adult chaperone is required for every ten students.
• Complementary tickets for chaperones.

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. Facilities are wheelchair accessible. Please advise us of any students with special needs.

• Growing from Village to Town
  Has your town changed in the last 200 years? Learn how communities evolve by investigating what happened in Litchfield. Use clues from maps, paintings, and letters to discover what Litchfield looked like from before European settlement through the years right after the Revolution. Use portraits to meet townspeople from the past and explore how their influence helped the town grow.
  • Grade level: 3-12
  • Program Duration: 1 hour
  • Location” Litchfield History Museum
  • Cost per student: $7
• 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: 4-12
  • Program Duration: 1 ½ hours
  • Location: Tapping Reeve House
  • Cost per student: $7
• 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
  • Location: Tapping Reeve House
  • Cost per student: $7
• 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
  • Location: Tapping Reeve House
  • Cost per student: $7
• 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
  • Location: Tapping Reeve House
  • Cost per student: $7
• Litchfield on Foot
  Discover history through architecture on a walking tour. Imagine the town as it looked in the past or discover the ways it changed over time. Examine the ways that buildings and landscape reflect the political and social trends of the times.
  • Grade Level: 3-12
    
  • Program Duration: flexible: ½-1 ½ hours
    
  • Location: town green; North or South Street
    
  • Cost per student: $7
• Litchfield & the Colonial Revival Movement
  Explore the changes to the town as it progressed from the 1820s village to the town we know today. Listen to stories of the people involved in the transformation and the activities of the Village Improvement Society. Discover colonial revival features; complete a scavenger hunt and finish the tour by designing your own Colonial Revival home.
  • Grade Level: 1-5
  • Program Location: 1 ½ hours
  • Location: Town center
  • Cost per student: $7
• 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
  • Location: Tapping Reeve House
  • Cost per student: $7
  • 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: $5
    
• Portrait Reading
  Discover how to read portraits, an important primary source. Build visual literacy skills. Analyze portraits and documents to learn about people of the past.
  • Grade Level: 4-12
  • Program Duration: 1 hour
  • Location: Litchfield History Museum
  • Cost per student: $7

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.