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At Gunston Hall plantation in northern Virginia, the past offers exciting adventures in learning and hands-on discovery. Students consider the ideas of Founding Father George Mason and find out what life was like for his family, slaves, and servants over 225 years ago. Their experience is coordinated with the Virginia Standards for Learning for the teaching of social studies in elementary and secondary schools. The past offers exciting adventures in learning & hands-on inquiry.
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Photo by Jack L. Hiller |
All on-site school programs involve a guided exploration of the plantation house, kitchen yard, schoolhouse, gardens, hands-on museum, and Visitors' Center. A variety of tours is offered, depending on grade level and interests.
Tour Fees
Students - $7/Extraordinary History Tours, Constitution Day, Colonial Day, Home School History Day; $5/all other tours
Chaperones - $7
Teachers & Bus Drivers - Complimentary admission
One home school parent per group of 12 is admitted free of charge; others must pay the chaperone rate.
Accessibility
Gunston Hall is committed to providing services to individuals with disabilities. In advance of the visit, teachers will have the opportunity to describe the special needs of students on a Class Profile Sheet. Please feel free to call the Education Department to discuss accommodations (703-550-9220, ext. 237).
Plan Ahead
Reservations are required for all programs. Schedule your tour well in advance by calling for reservations: 703-550-9220 Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. or email grouptours@gunstonhall.org.
Large Group? Special Focus? We're Flexible!
Gunston Hall's Education Department is able to work with teachers to accommodate a large number of students. We also can customize your tour or outreach experience to fulfill a particular curriculum interest. Some programs may require an extra fee.
We're Coordinated!
All school tours and classroom programs satisfy specific Virginia Standards for Learning. To receive a complete list of standards covered by each school offering, contact the Education Department at 703-550-9220, ext. 237.
A Gift to Your School Library
Teachers, as you reserve an on-site or outreach visit, Gunston Hall will donate to your school library a copy of the DVD, George Mason and the Bill of Rights. The film appears in both 11- and 28-minute versions. This DVD will be a one-time gift for all interested teachers at your institution to use. Enjoy!
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Photo by Jack L. Hiller |
Offered Year-Long on a Limited Basis
Select any one of Gunston Hall’s school tours and make it extraordinary with characters from the past, hands-on activities, and a take-home made by the students themselves. This deluxe tour experience, available for all grade levels, is fit for a king, or for Colonel Mason himself!
Program: Up to 2 1/4 hours.
Supplementary Materials: Discover George Mason or George Mason, Planter & Patriot curriculum lessons available on-line or may be purchased through the Museum Shop.
Group Size: 60 to 125 students. School groups of under 90 students will be booked with another school. One chaperone required per 15 students.
Cost: $7/student and $7/chaperone.
One home school parent per group of 12 students is admitted free of charge; others must pay the chaperone rate.
What was it like to live at a farm in Virginia long ago? Who was George Mason and what did he do that was important? Young students will engage actively with their surroundings, using the senses of touch, hearing, sight, and smell. The tour will feature the mansion, kitchen yard, and schoolhouse.
Program: 1 1/4 hours.
Supplementary Materials: My First Look at Gunston Hall lesson will be available on-line soon.
Recommended Group Size:
Up to 48 students. One chaperone required per 8 students.
Explore Gunston Hall through the eyes of an 18th-century child and compare this world to the present. Find out about everyday life over 225 years ago through a tour of the mansion, schoolhouse, and kitchen yard. Learn why George Mason is an important person from long ago. A related craft activity in the hands-on Textile Museum will add to your students' visit.
Program: 1 1/4 hours.
Supplementary Materials: Growing Up at Gunston Hall curriculum packet available on-line.
Group Size:
Up to 48 students, with one chaperone required per 10-12 students.
Special Offering for November and December
Discover the good times and hard work that marked the holiday season in the 1700s. At the same time, learn that Christmas traditions in 18th-century Virginia were very different from how many people celebrate today. There were no holiday trees or wreaths, no favorite carols. The exchange of gifts, if done at all, honored the New Year! The interactive tour of the mansion and outbuildings will consider seasonal celebrations from the viewpoint of gentry, servants, and slaves, in addition to providing an overview of plantation life. Weather considerations will be taken into account when planning the tour route.
Program: Up to 1 3/4 hours.
Supplementary Materials: Discover George Mason curriculum guide available on-line or may be purchased through the Museum Shop.
Recommended Group Size: Up to 90 students, with one chaperone required per 12 to 15 students.
Special Offering for January and February
Brrrr .... Experience a winter day at Gunston Hall in the 1700s. Explore the effect of the season on aspects of daily life. Clothing, food, work, travel, and play are among the topics discussed during this interactive tour of the mansion, schoolhouse, kitchen yard, and hands-on museum. Along the way, students will receive a firm grounding in the 18th-century plantation world. Weather is a consideration when planning the tour route.
Program: Up to 1 3/4 hours.
Supplementary Materials: Discover George Mason curriculum guide available on-line or may be purchased through the Museum Shop.
George Mason and the Bill of Rights DVD or video provided on loan.
Group Size: Up to 90 students, with one chaperone required per 12 to 15 students.
Discover what life was like for George Mason and his family, enslaved workers, and indentured servants at Gunston Hall in the 1700s. Through an interactive tour of the mansion, schoolhouse, kitchen yard, gardens, and Visitors' Center, students will explore such subjects as the tobacco economy, slavery, recreation, education, and day-to-day life. A visit to the Touch Museum provides an opportunity to closely examine objects from the past.
Program: Up to 1 3/4 hours.
Supplementary Materials: Discover George Mason curriculum guide available on-line or may be purchased through the Museum Shop.
Group Size: Up to 90 students, with one chaperone required per 12 to 15 students.
Find out about the varied roles of George Mason — father and husband, planter, slave owner, and American patriot. Learn how his Virginia Declaration of Rights, and his work on the U.S. Constitution, contributed to the story of American freedom. Students will encounter hands-on objects and primary documents during a guided visit to the plantation house, gardens, schoolhouse, kitchen yard and Touch Museum. The program will include a stop at the exhibit, George Mason's Legacy of Liberty.
Program: Up to 1 3/4 hours.
Supplementary Materials: Discover George Mason curriculum guide available on-line or may be purchased through the Museum Shop.
Group Size: Up to 90 students, with one chaperone required per 12 to 15 students.
European travelers of the 1700s sometimes described a colonial plantation as a small village. Through an active tour of inquiry and discussion, your students will have the opportunity to discover why. Daily life, the plantation economy, education, and recreation will be considered from the perspectives of the planter family, enslaved workers, and indentured servants at Gunston Hall. Your class will explore the entire historic area, including the plantation house, gardens, schoolhouse, and kitchen yard.
Program: Up to 1 3/4 hours.
Supplementary Materials: George Mason, Planter & Patriot curriculum guide available on-line or may be purchased through the Museum Shop.
Group Size: Up to 90 students, with one chaperone required per 12 to 15 students.
As author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, George Mason defined some of our most basic American liberties. A framer of the United States Constitution, he contributed in significant ways to the founding of our nation. Hands-on objects and primary documents will elucidate the public and private side of this important patriot, setting him within the context of his time. Students will visit the mansion, gardens, and outbuildings as well as tour the exhibit, Legacy of Liberty.
Program: Up to 1 3/4 hours.
Supplementary Materials: George Mason, Planter & Patriot curriculum guide available on-line or may be purchased through the Museum Shop.
Group Size: Up to 90 students, with one chaperone required per 12 to 15 students.
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Photo by Jack L. Hiller |
Gunston Hall docents bring the 18th century into your classroom with this object-based, interactive program that asks students to consider George Mason as author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, as one of the principal contributors to the U.S. Constitution, and as a planter, businessman, and owner of slaves. Using hands-on objects and visuals, and with Gunston Hall as a special focus, students explore the day-to-day life of planter families, indentured servants, and slaves.
This program is offered to public and private schools in Arlington, Fairfax and eastern Prince William counties and the City of Alexandria.
Program: 1 1/2 hours.
Supplementary Materials: Discover George Mason curriculum guide available on-line or may be purchased through the Museum Shop.
Group Size: Up to 35 students.
Cost: $65.
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Photo by Jack L. Hiller |
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Join us for this hands-on day focusing on George Mason’s world at the creation of the United States Constitution. Find out about Mason=s role in writing the Constitution and his reasons for refusing to sign it. Discover the social and economic conditions of Virginia at this period. Students help to prepare foods popular in 1787; engage in a penmanship lesson; discuss politics with characters from the past; and experience an 18th-century tavern, among other activities.
Tours begin at 10:00 and 10:45 a.m.
Program: 2 1/4 hours.
Cost: $7 per student. $7 per chaperone.
Home schoolers welcome in groups of at least 12 3rd - 12th graders.
One home school parent per group of 12 students is admitted free of charge; others must pay the chaperone rate.
Supplementary Materials: Discover George Mason or George Mason, Planter & Patriot curriculum guide available on-line or may be purchased through the Museum Shop.
Group Size: Open. One chaperone required per 12 to 15 students.
Thursday, October 21, 2010 Thursday, May 5, 2011
Immerse your class in the people and activities of an 18th-century Virginia plantation. Students will carry out plantation jobs in the kitchen yard; interact with characters from George Mason=s time; and play colonial games on the plantation=s lawns. The schedule will include both daily life demonstrations and hands-on opportunities, with a take-home created by each participant. Student-friendly tours of the mansion and a story telling program are special features of the day.
Reservations taken for: 9:45, 10:00, and 10:30 a.m.
Program: 2 1/4 hours.
Supplementary Materials: George Mason, Planter & Patriot curriculum guide available on-line or may be purchased through the Museum Shop.
Group Size: Open. One chaperone required per 12 to 15 students.
Cost: $7 per student; $7 per chaperone.
Home schoolers welcome in groups of at least 12 4th - 6th graders only (no young students).
One home school parent per group of 12 students is admitted free of charge; others must pay the chaperone rate.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Home school students and their parent teachers are invited to enjoy Gunston Hall to the fullest! Experience the Plantation Sleuth tour as you visit the mansion, kitchen yard, schoolhouse, and gardens. Hands-on opportunities and persons from the past will make the tour relevant and fun for young people up to 12 years. George Mason"s Legacy of Liberty tour may be arranged for older students.
Reservations taken for 10:00 a.m. and noon.
Must reserve by May 20.
Program: 2 hours.
Cost: $7 per student 4 years old and up.
One home school parent per group of 12 students is admitted free of charge; others must pay the chaperone rate.
The annual Christy Hartman Myers Writing Award will be selected each spring. The competition, which involves writing an essay in the classroom on George Mason, is open to 4th graders who experience Gunston Hall on a class field trip or in an outreach program. A check for $100 will be awarded to the author of the winning essay. Details on the initiative will be provided to teachers reserving a school tour or outreach program.
During the day-long Christy Hartman Myers Writing Workshop, students have the opportunity to try out different forms of writing, including non-fiction, historical fiction, journalism, and poetry. They also will learn how an author can be his or her own illustrator. A focus for the writing will be key events in George Mason’s life. The program, held in the spring, is open to current 4th and 5th graders throughout the region. All sessions, materials, lunch, and snacks are included in a modest fee. Reservations are required and space is limited. After January 5, please call 703-550-9220, ext. 237 for additional information.
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