Vermont History Museum Field Trips

On-site Field Trips

The Vermont History Museum in Montpelier and its award-winning permanent exhibit, Freedom and Unity, is a great place for students to discover over 400 years of Vermont history.

Students can explore an Abenaki wigwam, send a telegraph message, and immerse themselves in a World War-II era living room. Special exhibits in the National Life Gallery, Calder Gallery and Local History Gallery tell more Vermont stories. See current exhibits here.

Student groups are scheduled for self-guided tours of the museum exhibits. Staff will supply focusing questions, along with clipboards and pencils, to help guide students' exploration of the museum. Recommended time is 45 minutes. Self-guided visits are appropriate for all grades. Admission fees are waived for school groups and homeschool groups who schedule in advance. Please see more information below about booking a self-guided tour.

Hands-on History Programs

Educators can select a Hands-On History Program to enhance a school trip to the museum. The Hands-On History Programs use primary sources and artifacts to focus on Vermont history stories. The recommended time for each program is 45 minutes per class.

The program fee is $3.00 per student, no charge for teachers or chaperones.

Recommended for All Grades

• You Be the Historian: Investigating an 1880s Vermont Farm Family
  • students act as researchers, curators, and archaeologists to discover details about the Wheeler family who lived in Calais in the 1880s.
• Learning from the Past: Town Meeting and the Green Mountain Parkway
  • students examine arguments from the 1930s Green Mountain Parkway debate and participate in a mock town meeting discussion and vote.
• Mapping Vermont History
  • students investigate a variety of Vermont maps from different time periods to identify the dates of mystery maps and to understand how Vermont has changed over time.
• Pandemics Then and Now
  • students analyze Vermont primary sources from the COVID-19 pandemic and the 1918-19 Influenza pandemic and consider how archives document the experiences of ordinary people.

Grades K-3 Recommendation

• Mystery Artifacts: How Museums Help Share the Past
  • young learners will investigate how museums help share the past through a story time and close looking activity with artifacts.

Grades 6 and up Recommendation

• From Italy to Vermont: Exploring Immigration through Primary Sources
  • students investigate census records, photographs, maps and other historic documents to learn about immigrants in Vermont in the early 1900s, with a specific focus on Barre and the granite industry.
• The Buffalo Soldiers: Life in the 10th Cavalry
  • students examine primary sources related to the 10th cavalry, the first all-Black regiment stationed at Fort Ethan Allen, to learn more about the impact the soldiers had in Vermont.
• “Send me a box”: Letters from Vermont Civil War Soldiers
  • students read and analyze letters from Civil War soldiers, specifically focusing on items soldiers requested or received from home.

Schedule a Visit

Museum field trips and Hands-on History programs must be scheduled in advance.

There is a minimum of 10 participants required for Hands-on History programs.

How do I schedule a trip to the Vermont History Museum?

• Complete an online reservation request form on our online booking page
• Wait to hear back from our staff. Once we receive your reservation request, we will review it and reach out to finalize the date and time of your reservation.
• Receive a confirmation. We will send you a confirmation email with further details about your visit!

Did you know?

Many student groups combine their visit to the Vermont History Museum with a tour of the nearby Vermont State House.

You can book a State House tour on our online booking site.