Field Trip & Virtual Lesson Topics

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Field Trip & Virtual Lesson Topics

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is proud to offer exciting field trips and virtual lessons for all grades 4-12. Please read the descriptions below and fill out our Field Trip and Virtual Lesson Request Form. 

For questions about pricing and scheduling, contact Katie Clark (kclark@hsp.org). 

Field Trips

All field trips last approximately 90 minutes, during which students will interact directly with primary source material on a particular subject of the teacher’s choice.

When: Mondays (9:00am-4:00pm) and Wednesdays (9:00am-12:30pm)

Where: Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Pricing: $150 when selected from the topic list below. HSP can curate a bespoke field trip for your students from $250. Contact Katie Clark (kclark@hsp.org) with your topic ideas and to discuss your students' particular learning goals! Onsite field trips are FREE for public and charter schools of the Philadelphia School District. 

Virtual Lessons

All virtual lessons last approximately 60 minutes.

When: Monday-Friday, 9:00am-4:00pm

Where: Virtual Lessons are held via Zoom.

Pricing: Virtual Lessons are free when selecting a topic from the list below. Virtual lessons can be specially created for $100.*

*ALL virtual lessons, including specially created virtual lessons, are free for public and charter schools of the Philadelphia School District.  

TOPIC LIST

  1. 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)
  1. 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)
  1. 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)
  1. 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)
  1. 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 Philadelphia schools.