Explore History with Primary Grade Field Trips
Strawbery Banke Museum offers engaging, hands-on educational experiences tailored for young learners. Primary grade field trips provide an opportunity for students to step back in time, exploring New Hampshire’s past through interactive self-guided tours, immersive workshops, and guided programs. Designed to meet national and state curriculum standards, these programs spark curiosity and bring history to life, creating unforgettable learning moments for early elementary students.
Primary Grade Field Trips
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Self Guided Tours
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.
Availability: May – October
Group Size: Minimum 10 people; Maximum 400 students/day
Cost: $10/student and $10/adult chaperone (excludes workshop programs)
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Time Travel Workshops
An add-on to the self-guided tour (offered in May & June, September & October), Time Travel Workshops provide students with an in-depth, immersive experience of a specific topic. Choose from three workshops:
•Home and Hearth: Colonial Cooking
• Toys and Games of Long Ago
• A Colonial Sampler
Click here to view the workshop descriptions.
Availability: May-June & September-October
Workshop Size: Maximum 20 students/workshop (multiple workshops available to accommodate up to 180 students/day from 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM)
Cost: $15/student and $10/adult chaperone (includes self-guided tour)
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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 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.
Availability: November (weekdays only)
Program Time: 10 AM–12 PM (2-hour program; start and end times may be flexible)
Group Size: Minimum 10 participants; Maximum 96 students/day
Cost: $15/student and $10/adult chaperone
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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, entertainment, and daily chores.
Availability: March (weekdays only)
Program Time: 10 AM–1 PM (3-hour program, includes time for lunch)
Group Size: Minimum 10 participants; Maximum 72 students/day
Cost: $15/student and $10/adult chaperone
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Living On Turtle Island: Abenaki Heritage Past and Present (Grades 2-5)
Discover New Hampshire’s Indigenous heritage by exploring Abenaki culture! Try your hand at storytelling, learn how to care for New England’s natural resources, build a model of a wigwam, make delicious pemmican, and play a traditional guessing game. Students will visit three historic buildings, including the People of the Dawnland exhibit. Topics include cultural traditions, New England history, geography, foodways, communication, and conservation.
Availability: March (weekdays only)
Program Time: 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM (3.5-hour program, includes time for lunch; start times may be flexible)
Group Size: Minimum 10 participants; Maximum 96 students/day
Cost: $15/student and $10/chaperone