No permission slips required! Historic Deerfield announces a new virtual field trip for upper elementary students. Students are invited to become “time travelers” as they explore local history from the early 1700s to the mid 1850s in the Wells-Thorn House at Historic Deerfield. The field trip is a 3D tour that students can experience at their own pace using a series of guided questions. This tour allows students to get up close to objects, read an information tag about them, and answer a series of questions.

The field trip is aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for grades 3 and 5. Topics included in the virtual field trip include Native American homelands, English settlement in the Connecticut River Valley, the displacement of the Pocumtuck people from their homeland, the introduction and perpetuation of enslavement of African peoples, early colonial wars between England and France, the American Revolution, the New Republic, the abolition movement, and the Industrial Revolution. Clearly, enormous changes happened during this narrow timeline. These changes are brought to life by close-up investigations with the objects of everyday life in the rooms of the house. Teachers can request additional materials to support middle and high school-level explorations of the house.

The virtual field comes with a set of pre-and post-visit materials that are aligned with the standards and for teachers to use with their students. The field trip is free and no permission slips are required! Teachers can request a zoom session with a museum educator for a small fee after the field trip for post-field trip discussion and sharing. To request a virtual field trip or for more information, email: fieldtrips@historic-deerfield.org and a member of the Museum Education staff will contact you to make arrangements.