Student Field Trips & Programs

Learn and Grow at the Home of American Rights

Whether you’re an educator planning a field trip or a parent looking for an engaging day out, Gunston Hall offers hands-on history, tailored resources, and meaningful learning experiences for all ages.

Bring History to Life for Your Students

Gunston Hall offers dynamic, hands-on programs that help students connect to the past in meaningful ways. Whether you’re visiting in person or teaching from afar, our offerings align with Virginia Standards of Learning and encourage critical thinking, primary source analysis, and a deeper understanding of individual rights, government, and civic responsibility.

In Person Field Trips

Onsite Field Trips for Grades K–12

George Mason’s Gunston Hall is proud to serve schools and educate youth on George Mason, American Rights, slavery, and other topics of colonial America. Field trips to Gunston Hall are structured around the Virginia Standards of Learning and offer hands-on opportunities to develop critical thinking skills.

Gunston Hall has specially designed programs for all ages to meet the needs of everyone.

Grades K–2: Now & Then: A Trip to Gunston Hall (75–90 minutes)

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 (90–120 minutes)

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 (90–120 minutes)

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 (90–120 minutes)

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 to determine which program is the best fit for your students.

📧 [email protected]

Fees for Field Trips

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

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.

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?

Educational Enrichment Activities by Grade Level

Grades K–2

Battledore Craft – Learn about 18th-century schooling through art.
Make a Kite – Fly like 18th-century kids.
Kush – Taste a historic African-inspired dish.
Nine Men’s Morris – Play a game from the Revolutionary era.
Sweet Potatoes – Explore food traditions from Native cultures.
Sweet Potato Slips – Garden like colonists.
Whirligig Toy – Make a toy from an archaeological find.

Grades 4–6

Battledore Craft – Craft meets colonial history.
Seed Culture & Germination – Hands-on agriculture and science.
Math with Seeds – Practice fractions, percentages, and volume.
Kite Design – Study history through creativity.
Diary Project – Dive into primary sources.
Kush & Broiled Sweet Potatoes – Explore African and Native American foodways.
Rosemary Cuttings – Discover colonial plant life.
Nine Men’s Morris – Learn through games.
Whirligig– Recreate a toy inspired by archaeology.

Grades 7–8

Grades 9–12

A Day in Colonial Virginia (Special Program)

Immersive History for 4th Graders

Give your students a day to remember with this station-based, interactive experience. Participants rotate through hands-on activities centered on communication, food, clothing, fun, and more designed to explore 18th-century life from multiple perspectives.

In-School Programming

We’re Coming to You (Soon)

We’re updating our in-school programs to bring Gunston Hall directly to your classroom. Please check back soon for more details on how to bring Gunston Hall into your classroom, or email group tours for more information.

Learning From Home

Online Resources for Classrooms & Remote Learners

Our Learning From Home provides free, flexible resources designed to support instruction anytime, anywhere. With short videos, graphic organizers, and activities aligned with SOLs, your students can explore history at their own pace.

Remote Field Trips

Grades K-12: 30-90 min.
Meet live, through a video conference, with Gunston Hall staff and volunteers. Students in primary grades practice comparing past and present. Students in 4-6th grades explore the people, spaces, and activities of an 18th-century plantation. Middle and high school students delve into civics, considering questions of individual rights and the contradictions posed by George Mason’s advocacy for rights and simultaneous ownership of other people. Programs are aligned with Virginia’s Standards of Learning and C3.

Check back for more details. Or contact Gunston Hall at 703-550-9220 or [email protected].

Asynchronous Learning Modules

Grades 4-6: Step into the 18th Century (60-90 min.)
Select the topics that fit your class’s needs. Options include the tobacco economy, everyday life in the 18th century, slavery, and George Mason and the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Each packet includes a 3-5 minute video and accompanying student materials. Use these graphic organizers, writing assignments, and other activities as learning tools, assessments, or enrichment materials.

Fee: none; registration is required

For more information, call us at 703-550-9220 or email [email protected].

Enrichment Activities

Grades 4-12: Hands-On Activities (15 minutes-several days.)
Invite your students into experiential learning. Each activity page begins with historical background and concludes with a hands-on component. Students learn about the past by making food and drinks, planting seeds, creating a game, and much more.

Fee: Free

Classroom Outreach

Grades 4-6: Discover George Mason (60-90 min.)
Delve into George Mason’s life and times without leaving your classroom. Docents supply materials to help students discover Mason’s era and his writing of the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Fee: $40/classroom

Grades 7-12: Mason & Democratic Ideals (45-60 min.)
Invite a Gunston Hall educator into your classroom to lead students in activities about George Mason’s ideas about government and individual rights. Fee: $40/classroom

Ready to book your outreach program? Call us at 703-550-9220 or email [email protected].

Colonial Day at Gunston Hall

Reservations will be open as soon as the dates are posted.

Grades 4-6, $10/student, $10/chaperone, 3 hours
Your students will investigate life in the 18th century during this lively, hands-on program. They will consider multiple perspectives as they think about food, clothing, music, writing, and living conditions.

Essay Competition

The George Mason Essay Contest is now open! This year’s question:

George Mason was one of the greatest leaders of his generation. What do you think it takes to be a good leader? What makes you say that?

Entries will be accepted between January 11 and February 26, 2021. The contest is open to all 4th grade students and classes. The winner receives $75 and an award ceremony during our Writer’s Workshop on March 23, 2021. The winner’s teacher receives a complimentary class field trip or outreach session.

Criteria

The contest is open to students in 4th grade. Essays should be a maximum of 500 words.

The rubric for evaluating essays is based on the Virginia Standards of Learning for Language Arts. Essays will be evaluated for:

Connection to the question
Clarity and organization
Grammar, punctuation, and spelling

Judging is at the discretion of representatives of Gunston Hall, and will be blind and anonymous.

Submit your contact information here, or download an entry form to submit by mail, email, or fax. For any questions, contact Dylan McCartney, School and Youth Programs Coordinator, at dylan.mccartney@gunstonhall.org.

Are you interested in sharing information about this opportunity with others? Download the flyer here.

For Teachers

Educational Programs

Teacher Resources

Planning a Visit

Let’s Make History Together

We’re here to help you plan a successful and enriching visit or program. Whether you’re booking a field trip, customizing a program, or using our materials in your classroom, we look forward to partnering with you. Please let us know how else Gunston Hall can support you and your students by email.