Your field trip options include the following special programs! For pricing information, please see our Rate Schedule. To reserve a program or request more information, use our online form. We look forward to your visit!
Once Upon a Time at Mount Vernon (grades K-1)
In this new program, younger students will enjoy stories from and about Mount Vernon's past. Held in our Hands-on-History room, each storytelling session will include an Aesop's Fable of the kind that were commonly used to teach and entertain children in the 18th century; a Mount Vernon storybook reading; and a storyboard that will actively engage students in building a story.
Availability: dates for 2008-2009 school year to be announced
Length: 20 minutes
Group Size: 20 students (with a maximum of 10 adults)
Fee: Regular Student Admission (see Rate Schedule). Please note that advance reservations remain necessary even though no additional fee is charged for this program.
Seed to Table: Farming at Mount Vernon (grades K-2)
Through stories, hands-on activities, and inquiry-based discussion, students will learn about George Washington's role as a farmer and businessman and explore how farmers use natural and human resources. While actively exploring the Pioneer Farm site and reconstructed slave cabin, students will learn that George Washington was a farmer and discuss what crops he grew and why. They will meet a Mount Vernon animal and learn about the jobs of both people and animals on the farm. Finally, they will examine simple farm tools to learn how they were used to improve farming. Each teacher reserving this program will receive an instructional manual with pre- and post-lesson activity ideas, learning objectives, worksheets, and other resources.
Please note: This program is conducted outdoors. Ensure that your students wear comfortable clothing and shoes.
Availability: May 5 - June 10, 2008; dates for 2008-2009 school year to be announced
Length: 70 minutes from arrival at Pioneer Farm site. (The site is located approximately one quarter of a mile from the Main Gate. Please allow time to make payment at the Main Gate and arrive at the site by your scheduled program time.)
Group Size: 30 students (with a maximum of 10 adults)
Fee: Regular Student Admission (see Rate Schedule) plus $40 non-refundable program fee due two weeks prior to program date
Colonial Days (grades 2-6)
Your students will experience 18th-century plantation life at Mount Vernon as they observe costumed workers demonstrate spinning, basketmaking, woodworking, weaving, candle making, and more! They will also have the chance to play colonial games and explore George Washington's entire plantation, including a working farm with heritage-breed animals. Tours of the inside of Washington's house are especially geared toward children. Students may also lay a flower inside the iron gates of Washington's Tomb and visit our Slave Memorial. In addition, while walking the grounds, you and your students will encounter costumed historical characters who will be happy to answer your questions about General Washington, Mount Vernon, and life in the 18th century! A free teaching manual is provided.
Please note: For an additional .50 per student, you can extend your Colonial Days experience by visiting George Washington's Gristmill and Distillery complex, located three miles from the Mount Vernon Estate! Here students can see our water-powered gristmill in action, talk with an 18th-century miller, and learn about the scientific processes of fermentation and distillation.
Title One Grants for Colonial Days! Don’t let tight budgets eliminate your field trip to Colonial Days! Through the generous support of the Mars Family Foundation, Mount Vernon provides a $50 grant for each bus from qualified Title One public schools. Please notify Mount Vernon staff of your Title One status when you make your reservation for Colonial Days. The grant will be mailed to your school principal approximately two weeks after your Colonial Days field trip.
Availability: Oct. 23 – Nov. 17, 2008 (9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. weekdays); Spring 2009 dates to be announced
Length: Varies, depending on the age of your group and the amount of time you have to spend. Please allow a minimum of two hours (four hours if you plan to visit the Ford Orientation Center and Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center in addition to the Estate).
Fee: Regular Student Admission (see Rate Schedule); additional .50 per student if adding Gristmill/Distillery visit
Down on the Farm (grades 3-5 & 6-8)
George Washington's belief that America's future economic success lay in agriculture was integral to his vision for the new nation. In this program, students explore 18th-century economics, slavery, and farming at Mount Vernon. Two different versions of the program are available: one for grades 3-5 and the other for grades 6-8. Held at our Pioneer Farm site, both versions engage students in hands-on activities, inquiry, and primary source analysis. Through a visit to Mount Vernon's newly reconstructed slave cabin, both programs also include an exploration of the daily lives and work of the enslaved community. A free teaching manual is provided; teachers are encouraged to review it in advance of their visit.
Please note: This program is conducted outdoors. Ensure that your students wear comfortable clothing and shoes.
Availability: April 28, 2008 - June 20, 2008; dates for 2008-2009 school year to be announced
Length: 90 minutes from arrival at Pioneer Farm site. (The site is located approximately a quarter of a mile from the Main Gate. Please allow time to make payment at the Main Gate and arrive at the site by your scheduled program time.)
Group Size: 30 students (with a maximum of 10 adults)
Fee: Regular Student Admission (see Rate Schedule) plus a $40 non-refundable program fee due two weeks prior to program date
Legends and Legacies: The Real George Washington (grades 3-8)
This guided tour takes students beyond the myths of cherry trees and wooden teeth to explore facts about George Washington's real character and accomplishments. Your students will participate fully in the experience through observation, questions, and discussion. While visiting the Mansion, the Slave Quarters, and Washington's Tomb, they will use their imaginations and analytical skills to discover Washington the political and military leader, visionary farmer, family man, entrepreneur, architect, and slave owner.
Availability: 2008-2009 school year dates to be announced
Length: 90 minutes
Group Size: Due to small interpretive spaces on several stops of the tour, each individual tour group is strictly limited to 30 students and 3 adults. If you have 25 or fewer students, you may add an additional 2 adults to a group (for a total of 5 adults); with 15 or fewer students, you may add up to 7 additional adults (for a total of 10 adults).
Fee: Regular Student Admission (see Rate Schedule) plus a $40 non-refundable program fee for each group of 30 students. Fee is due two weeks prior to program date.
George Washington's Gristmill and Distillery: Guided Tours for Students (all grade levels)
Always looking for ways to expand the productivity and profit of his farms, Washington built a gristmill and later a distillery. He sold flour, corn meal, and whiskey locally and overseas. A tour of Washington's gristmill and distillery complex will help to round out your students' understanding of Washington's entrepreneurial vision for the new nation. During their tour of these two buildings, your students will also investigate the scientific processes of fermentation and distillation and discover how a system of gears makes an 18th-century water-powered gristmill work.
Please note: George Washington's Gristmill and Distillery complex is located three miles from the Mount Vernon Estate.
Availability: April 7 - June 20, 2008; dates for 2008-2009 school year to be announced
Length: 30 minutes
Group Size: Each individual tour group is limited to 20 students (with a maximum of 10 adults).
Fee: .50 per student if purchased along with with Regular Student Admission (see Rate Schedule) and completed School Programs Worksheet. This worksheet is available from Mount Vernon's Education Department; please phone 703-799-8604 to obtain one.
General Student Visit (self-guided; all grade levels)
You and your students are welcome to visit Mount Vernon at any time to conduct your own self-guided tour. Advance reservations are not required for this type of visit. However, you must contact the Education Department in advance if you would like to receive a free Teacher's Pass (one per minimum class size of 20 students) and a free Pre-Visit Guide to Mount Vernon. Free admission passes for teachers will NOT be available at the Main Gate on the day of your visit.
For planning purposes, you should allow a minimum of two hours to visit the Mount Vernon Estate, and a minimum of four hours if you plan to visit the Ford Orientation Center and Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center in addition to the Estate.
Please note: For an additional .50 per student, you can extend your visit to include George Washington's restored Gristmill and Distillery complex, located three miles from the Mount Vernon Estate! Here students can see our water-powered gristmill in action, talk with an 18th-century miller, and learn about the scientific processes of fermentation and distillation. You must contact the Education Department in advance to secure this discounted rate to the Gristmill and Distillery sites.
Fee: Regular Student Admission (see Rate Schedule); additional .50 per student if adding Gristmill/Distillery visit and reserving in advance
To make reservations for any of the programs listed above, please call the Education Department at 703-799-8604 or use our Online Reservations Form. Please allow two to three business days for a response. Thank you!
