Upper Elementary Field Trip Options

Self-Guided Tours

Step into the past in the historic neighborhood of Strawbery Banke! Unique among outdoor history museums, Strawbery Banke presents the unfolding story of life in a New England city over four centuries of change. Explore furnished homes, still sitting on their original foundations along well-traveled streets. Experience home life, entertainment, chores, play, and work.  Learn from intriguing exhibits, and take in the sights and scents of period gardens. The skilled staff of historic interpreters and costumed roleplayers guide your students through daily life in times past, from the 1690s to the 1950s. Use our Discovery Guide to help plan and focus your visit.

Self-Guided Tour Details:

  • Offered May – October

  • Museum is open seasonally for tours. Hours of operation vary depending on the time of year. Visits should fall within these standard hours if possible.

  • Maximum group size per day: 400 students

  • Minimum group size: Groups must pay for at least 10 people to get the group rate

  • $10.00 per student/$10.00 per adult chaperone (price does not include extra workshop programs)


Time Travel Workshops

An add-on to the self-guided tour (offered May, June, September & October), Time Travel Workshops provide students with an in-depth, immersive experience into a specific topic. Choose from seven workshops.

  • Archaeology: Unearthing the Past

  • Architecture: To Build a House

  • Hearth Cooking: Early America

  • Immigration: The Changing Faces of a Neighborhood

  • Trade and Maritime History: At the Doorstep of the World

  • Work It Out: Colonial Trades and the Early Economy

Workshop Details:

  • 90-minute interactive programs (most groups will need to stay for 3.5 – 4 hours to get the full experience)

  • Guided by professional museum educators

  • Involve students in hands-on history

  • Maximum number per workshop: 15 students. Multiple workshops can be run at the same time to accommodate groups up to 150 students in a day.

  • $15.00 per student/$10.00 per adult chaperone (price includes that self-guided tour)

  • Offered May – October


Winter Guided Tours

A History of Thanksgiving: From Festival to Feast

Trace the evolution of Thanksgiving in this active, fast-paced, and multi-sensory program. Discover how Thanksgiving transcended time, place and culture to become the uniquely American holiday we celebrate today. Try some old-fashioned cooking, create harvest crafts, and talk with costumed roleplayers. In small groups guided by a museum educator, find the common themes of this holiday over three centuries: charity, survival, gratitude, national identity, and the celebration of family and community.

Program Details:

  • Offered November 4-26, 2024. Weekdays only.

  • 10:00 – 12:00 (2-hour program, start and end times may be flexible)

  • Maximum group size per day is 96 students

  • Minimum group size: Must pay for at least 10 participants

  • $15.00 per student/$10.00 per adult chaperone

History Explorers: A Journey into Colonial Life

Step into the past using a book as your time machine!  Hear an amusing story of a colonial boy’s day in Williamsburg, VA.  Experience his life as you participate in kitchen chores in front of an open hearth, make old-fashioned toothpowder, dress up and simulate a stagecoach ride, and play an 18th-century school game.  Participants will visit three historic homes as they compare and contrast daily life 200 years ago to daily life today.  Topics include health & hygiene, school, entertainments and daily chores.

Program Details:

  • Offered March 5-21, 2025. Weekdays only.

  • 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

  • Maximum group size per day: 72 students

  • Minimum group size: Must pay for at least 10 participants

  • $15.00 per student/$10.00 per adult chaperone