Please call 860-456-2178 to arrange field trips by appointment. The cost is $4.00 per student and chaperone (no fee for teachers). Tours are given by trained Museum docents and last about 1 1/2 hours.
Hands on History Projects are available for $1.00 per student and last about 20 – 30 minutes, depending on group size. Bag lunches may be eaten in the River Park or Garden on the Bridge across the street or during inclement weather in the museum. Groups of up to 120 can be accommodated for tours.
Educational Opportunities- Hands on History
Grades 3 through 6 – Spin and Weave
Students will learn to weave yarn on cardboard looms and craft a woven piece of cloth approximately 3×3 inches.
Grades 3 through 6 – Immigration to America
Students will reenact being processed as a European immigrant arriving through Ellis Island in the early 20th century. The museum provides simulated travel documents or blank documents to allow the students to create their own immigration documents as a pre-visit activity.
Grades 4 through 6 – Assembly Line Activity
Students will develop an understanding of the effectiveness of mass production. Individual students will follow instructions and build a structure. Then, in assembly line groups, students will specialize and experience how many more pieces can be produced.
Grades 4 through 6 – On The Job Training in the Box Shop
Students will follow directions and experience their first day working in the mill making paper thread boxes.
Grade 4 and Up – Walking Tour
Students will take a guided tour around the industrial mill village, which includes worker’s company houses, mill buildings and the Willimantic River.
Educational Opportunities- On Site Slide Presentations
Grade 6 and Up – The Cotton Boom
Illustrates the run of the mill through a tour of the Willimantic Thread Company
Grades 6 and Up – Victorian Architecture
The many styles of residential and commercial architecture in the Willimantic area.
Grades 7 through 12 – Sweatshop Labor: Past and Present
Most of the above activities and presentations are easily adapted for a classroom visit. Please call for fees and availability.