School and Youth Groups

Outreach Programs at Your School

Museums on the Move

When you can’t make it to the museum, we’ll bring the museum to you! Book a Collections in Hand program, and trained museum staff and volunteers will bring museum artifacts to share with your students in the classroom. From an antique stereoscope to a whaling harpoon, these hands-on objects allow students to touch a piece of the past. Themed lessons correspond with grade level Massachusetts curriculum and are 45 – 60 minutes in length. All lessons come with a Teacher’s packet and are designed to meet state Curriculum Frameworks. This program is free of charge for all Cape & Islands schools.

Lesson Themes:
Pre-K: Transportation
Grade 1: Toys of the past
Grade 2: Native American culture areas & objects
Grade 3: Whaling history
Grade 4: Botany and the language of flowers
Grade 5: Colonial tools & trades
Grades 8-12: Civil War history & artifacts

Teacher Tips:

• Please call 508.888.3300 ext. 160 to schedule a Collections in Hand program. Reservations are accepted until January 31, 2007 for the 2006 – 2007 school year.
• Collections in Hand lessons are instructed from October to May, Tuesdays through Fridays.
• Call early to receive your first choice of lesson and date.

Programs at the Museum

Who invented the automobile? What secret soldier disguised herself so that she could fight in the Revolutionary War? Why did sailors risk their lives hunting for whales? Learn the answers to these questions and many more by taking a field trip to Heritage Museums & Gardens. We welcome school groups and have a variety of touring options. Whether exploring on your own or participating in a guided tour, your students are sure to enjoy our three museum buildings and acres of beautiful gardens. Admission to all museums and rides on the carousel are included.

Touring Options:

• Self-guided tours: explore on your own; $3.50 per student April-October; $3.00 November- March
• Highlights tours: 2 hour guided tour of museums & gardens; $4.00 per student April- October; $3.50 per student November-March
• Focus tours: 1 ½ hour guided tour with hands-on objects and activities; $4.50 per student April-October; $4.00 per student November-March
• Curriculum Intensive Experiences: 1 hour focus lesson in one museum gallery with hands-on objects and activities; $5.00 per student April-October, $4.50 November-March

Teacher Tips:

• Museum tours are available Monday through Friday
• Please call 508.888.3300 ext. 160 to book a tour. Reservations must be made at least two weeks in advance. We strongly suggest reservations be made early for tours in May and June.
• One teacher or chaperone is required for every ten students and is admitted free.