The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is proud to offer primary source based learning opportunities for 4th-12th grade students. HSP offers immersive virtual and onsite learning experiences featuring selections from its vast archives of over 21 million items delivered through targeted and engaging student activities.

Policies and Procedures - Field Trips

• Pricing: $150
• Teachers can select field trip topics from the list below for their onsite visits. 
• If you have a diferent topic in mind, HSP can create a bespoke field trip experience for your class for $250. Please reach out with questions or topic ideas. 
• Maximum Number of Students: 35
• Please submit your request using the form below at least 4 weeks in advance of the earliest date requested.
• Onsite field trips are available on Mondays (9am - 4:00pm) and Wednesdays (9:00am-12:30pm). 
   

Onsite field trips are FREE for all public and charter schools in the Philadelphia School District.

Policies and Procedures - Virtual Lessons

• Pricing: Free, when selecting from the topic list below.
• If you have a different topic in mind, HSP can create a bespoke virtual lesson for your class for $100. Please reach out with questions or topic ideas.
• Please submit your request using the form below at least 4 weeks in advance of the earliest date requested. 
• Virtual Lessons are held via Zoom. 
• Available Monday-Friday 9:00am - 4:00pm. 

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania will try to accommodate all requests for exceptions to these policies, but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to accommodate you due to limited staff time to prepare for visits.

If you have any questions, please contact Katie Clark by email or call 215-732-6200 ext 227.
 

Available Field Trip and Virtual Lesson Topics

• Colonial Times: This program focuses on different aspects of colonial life in Pennsylvania. Primary sources including maps, journals, and indentures are examined to illustrate how life during Colonial Times differed and intertwined between groups such as Native Americans, enslaved people, and European settlers. (Grades: 4 – 8) 
   
• Abolitionists: This program focuses on the work of Black abolitionists in Philadelphia in the mid 19th century and follows those efforts into civil rights activism post-Civil War. Primary sources for this lesson include the diary and later work of William Still, the account of Emilie Davis, a free Black woman living in Philadelphia during the Civil War, and material from the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. (Grades 6 – 12) 
   
• Civil War and Reconstruction: This program engages students in all aspects of the Civil War and its aftermath with political cartoons, diaries, and maps. Students will analyze multiple perspectives and see how average Philadelphians were affected by war. (Grades: 6 - 12)
   
• Yellow Fever: Students will engage with letters written to and by Dr. Benjamin Rush and understand how Yellow Fever was treated. This program will also feature art and poetry, as well as works by Richard Allen, allowing students the opportunity to see how the disease affected not only people, but also the city as a whole. (Grades: 4 - 8)
   
• National History Day Archives Introduction: This is an introductory exploration into how to find and analyze primary sources. Students will be guided through how to utilize search features of HSP’s website and collections and alleviate anxieties about special collections/primary source research. This visit will highlight a selection of HSP’s material that feature this year’s NHD theme, “Turning Points in History.” (Grades 6 – 12) *NHD Field Trips are FREE for ALL SCHOOLS in Philadelphia.*