On this page, we hope to post field trip ideas from YOUR state that dovetail with Tapestry subjects as organized in our week-plans. Please submit your ideas via email, and please try to include the following information:
- Your email address (for our sake, in case we have questions, but you can tell us if you’re willing to have your email linked as a contact person for more info about your recommendation).
- The name of the attraction.
- ANY online links to explain, give information, about the attraction.
- A short paragraph explaining why the attraction would serve homeschoolers.
THANKS for your help! We will post states as their submissions come in, and under the weeks as listed below:
**IMAX often has great films that are an excellent addition to your academic studies. Find out what is playing, and where, to schedule this activity for your family.
Unit 1 – Napoleon’s World
Week 1: When John Adams Was President
- Karl C. Harrison Museum of George Washington in Columbiana, Alabama
- Adams Historical Park in Quincy, Massachusetts.
- George Washington’s home: Mount Vernon in Virginia.
Week 2: Napoleon: The Man and His Career
- Morris-Jumel Mansion in New York, New York. Some furniture is reportedly from Napoleon.
- Take a ride on the Erie Canal
Week 3: Early Industrial Revolution
- Visit the Eli Whitney Museum in Hamden, Connecticut
- The Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell, Massachusetts is open all year long, and they have a wonderful program about the Industrial Revolution.
- Steamboat Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. Don’t miss this opportunity to see a real steamboat that was recovered from a Kansas City cornfield! It sunk in 1856 in the Missouri River and when the river rerouted itself the boat ended up several feet underground in the middle of a farmer’s field. In 1988 a family and some of their friends recovered the boat and its contents. Items are still being preserved and displayed even though there already rooms full of items! Very neat field trip!!
- Robert Fulton’s Birthplace in Quarryville, Pennsylvania would be a great way to learn about the life of a great American.
- If you are in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, consider visiting Slater Mill. Their website has pre-visit information, discussion questions, and a glossary under For Educators. Have fun!
- Robert Fulton Birthplace
Week 4: Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase
- Visit Jefferson’s home: Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Week 5: Jefferson and the Supreme Court
- Visit the Smithsonian in Washington DC.
- Supreme Court in Washington DC. If you can’t go to DC, consider visiting your local or state court.
Week 6: Madison and the War of 1812
- A user recommends the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Maryland where a battle took place during the war of 1812, prior to Key writing the Star-Spangled Banner.
- USS Constitution Museum in Charlestown, MA
Week 7: Reshaping Europe and South America
- Louisiana State Museum, the site of the Louisiana Purchase Transfer in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- The Arch in St. Louis, Missouri has a wonderful (free) museum that features Lewis and Clark’s entire journey.
Week 8: South America in Transition
- Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, Maryland.
- Star Spangled Banner Flag House in Baltimore, Maryland.
- James Madison’s home, Montpelier. This field trip promises lots of information for you and your students. Found in Montpelier Station, Virginia.
Week 9: Monroe and the American Hemisphere
- Rainforest Adventures in Sevierville, Tennessee.
Unit 2 – The Age of Industry & Expansion
Week 10: John Quincy Adams and Political Realignments
- Visit the Erie Canalway in Waterford, New York.
- Find an Audubon center near you.
Week 11: Jacksonian Democracy
- Visit The Hermitage in Nashville, Tennessee.
Week 12: Revolutions in Texas & Europe
- The Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, will make a great family outing anytime during this unit. They are open all year long for experiencing an 1830’s New England village. The characters dress in costume and they have many wonderful demonstrations on gardening, musket firing, tin, pottery, blacksmith, carding mill, broom making, etc. They offer at least 2 homeschool days each year, with discounted rates and special programs as well as a calendar of other homeschool days with rates based on number of students.
Week 13: Victorian England
- Cherokee Indian Reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina.
- Andrew Jackson’s home near Nashville, Tennessee. The Hermitage
Week 14: Victorians at Home and Abroad
- Many little theaters across the country make presentations of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. Check your local attractions, or if you are in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, click here for ticket information.
Week 15: Manifest Destiny
- Frederick Douglass home in Washington, DC.
- Laura Ingalls Wilder’s home in Rocky Ridge: Mansfield, Missouri.
Week 16: Sea to Shining Sea
- No links for this week.
Week 17: The Oregon Trail
- National Frontier Trails Museum (Independence, MO): The Oregon Trail
- James K. Polk Ancestral Home in Columbia, Tennessee.
- Enjoy a great field trip to Oregon and visit the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center!
- Lots of links on gold, mining, prospecting, etc. Check out the great activities, too, like going panning for gold if you live in the California area!
Week 18: 1848: Gold Dust & Gunpowder
- Pan for gold in Jamestown, California.
Unit 3 – Nations Uniting & Dividing
Week 19: Westerners in Asia
- Harriet Beecher Stowe home: Cincinnati, Ohio or in Brunswick, Maine.
- Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois. It’s worth some traveling time!
- Jackson Homestead The Underground Railroad
Week 20: Franklin Pierce & the Crimean War
- A stop in the Underground Railroad: Osawatomie, Kansas. Visit John Brown’s home.
Week 21: America Divides & Italy Unites
- The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Cincinnati, OH)
- Fort Sumter National Monument in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.
- The Hunley in Charleston, South Carolina. Touring is only available on Saturdays and Sundays. This was the first submarine to ever sink an enemy ship, and efforts are now being made to acquire, recover, and preserve this vessel.
Week 22: Lincoln and the Start of the Civil War
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton home in Seneca Falls, New York
- Clara Barton National Historic Site in Glen Echo, Maryland.
- Civil War Adventure Camp near Petersburg, Virginia.
Week 23: Decisive Years of the Civil War
- Brattonsville Historical District in McConnells, South Carolina.
- National Civil War Chaplains Museum in Lynchburg, VA.
Week 24: Closing Years of the Civil War
- No links for this week.
Week 25: Andrew Johnson vs. Radical Reconstruction
- No links for this week.
Week 26: Ulysses Grant & the Plains Indians Wars
- No links for this week.
Week 27: Technological Progress & the Unification of Germany
- No links for this week.
Unit 4 – The Gilded Age
Week 28: Introducing Africa and Reforming Empires
- Wildlife Safari in Winston, OR.
Week 29: The Scramble for Empire
- No links for this week.
Week 30: Imperialism and Culture
- Tour Ellis Island
- Statue of Liberty tour
Week 31: Waves of Immigrants
- The American Village (Montevallo, AL)
Week 32: Captains of Industry
- No links for this week.
Week 33: Labor Issues and the New South
- See the Newport Mansions in Rhode Island.
Week 34: Farmers, Populists, Gold Strikes and Gold Standards
- No links for this week.
Week 35: Powerful Men and Inspiring Women
- No links for this week.
Week 36: The Balkan Problem & American Imperialism
- Tuskegee Institute: The George Washington Carver Museum in Alabama.