ShareProgram Descriptions 2023 – 2024
Gunston Hall has specially designed programs for all ages to meet the needs of everyone. Each program is available for both in-person and virtual field trips.
Grades K-2: Now & Then: A Trip to Gunston Hall
The community we live in today is very different from Virginia long ago. Yet events at Gunston Hall over 200 years ago helped form important American ideas that still affect us today. Travel back in time to the home and plantation of George Mason. Your students will compare and contrast past and present by thinking about community, home and family, technology, and school. At the end of in-person field trips, have recess (weather permitting) with 18th century children’s games.
Grades 4-6: Step into the 18th Century
Examine, Explore, Connect: Step out of your classroom and into 18th-century Virginia to help your 21st-century students meet the challenge of imagining life in colonial and revolutionary Virginia. Invite your students to explore the world of George Mason through an active examination of the spaces, people and activities involved in the Gunston Hall plantation—including his family, enslaved people and other workers.
Grades 7 – 8: George Mason and the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights
Middle School students will learn about the development of American rights and government as they examine Gunston Hall. Through exploration of the historic mansion and reconstruction outbuildings, students will discover the role George Mason played in creating the first bill of rights in American history, and later in developing the Constitution of the United States. Groups will also examine how all people at Gunston Hall in the 18th century—wealthy individuals, enslaved people, indentured workers, and tenant farmers—did or did not have access to the rights Mason helped create.
Grades 9-12: George Mason & the Battle over Rights
George Mason was passionate about preserving individual rights. Your students will be actively engaged as they examine primary sources, debate, and explore. They will discover the influences upon Mason, his perspectives on rights, and the 18th-century limits on who was protected by these rights. And, they will consider their own ideas about human rights.
Other Grades: Please contact Gunston Hall education staff via email ([email protected]) to determine which program is the best fit for your students.
Remote Field Trips
Starting in September 2020, Gunston Hall started offering remote field trips. Each program is a 45-90 minute livestream. Connect via Zoom or your district’s own video-conferencing platform.
Pick the program that fits your students:
K-2nd Grades: Now and Then: Exploring Gunston Hall
4th-6th Grades: Step into 18th-Century Virginia
9th-12th Grades: George Mason and the Battle for Rights
To help support schools during this fall semester, Gunston Hall has reduced its remote field trip fees to $25 per classroom. Each reservation includes a small service fee.
Ready to book your experience? Submit a virtual field trip request.
On-Site Field Trips
Grades K-2: Now & Then: A Trip to Gunston Hall (75-90 minutes)
Grades 4-6: Step into the 18th Century (90-120 minutes)
Grades 7 – 8: George Mason and the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights ( 90 – 120 minutes)
Grades 9-12: George Mason & the Battle over Rights (120 minutes)
Ready to reserve your tour?
Fees for Field Trips
Virtual Field Trips for all Group sizes:
$25 per classroom participating
On-site Programs for Groups of 10-89 Students:
$5/student, $5/chaperone
Make it “extraordinary” by adding costumed interpreter, such as a cook, storyteller, or historic character: additional $2/student
On-site Programs for Groups of 90-150 Students:
$7/student, $7/chaperone
Includes additional hands-on activities, as well as a costumed interpreter, such as a cook, storyteller, or historic character.
On-site Programs for Groups of 151-350 Students:
$10/student, $10/chaperone
Includes additional hands-on activities and music, as well as a costumed interpreter, such as a cook, storyteller, or historic character.
Title I Schools
Title I schools receive complimentary admission for all virtual tours as well as any in-person program up to 89 students. Programs for more than 90 students on one day, “extraordinary” experiences, or special programs pay the difference from standard price. For example, a Title I school registering for an on-site “extraordinary” experience will be charged $2/student, $2/chaperone.
Ready to reserve your tour?
