Guided Tours
Every fall and spring, pre-K through 12th grade students enjoy themed tours guided by knowledgeable and engaging museum educators. Each tour satisfies specific New York State learning standards and includes hands-on opportunities to interact with objects and artifacts in our living history museums. Tours are $5.00 per student/ $10.00 per adult and last up to two hours. Each tour at The Farmers’ Museum includes a visit to the gift shop and a ride on our Empire State Carousel. We encourage one chaperone for every 10 children and extend complimentary admission to teachers and additional adults at that ratio.
Living History Tours
The Farmers’ Museum Highlight Tour (Grades K-12) Explore our Historic Village and get a glimpse of life in the mid-1800’s. This tour provides a general overview of our Living History Museum and includes our most popular stops in the village. Students will explore our farm, visit with our animals, and interact with our Historic Interpreters as well as ride our Empire State Carousel. Students will leave with an appreciation for and understanding of what life would be like for them during this time period. Includes NY Learning Standards in Social Studies, The Arts, ELA
Ox-Cart Man (Grades Pre-K–2)
Take a peek at life in the 1840’s using Donald Hall’s Caldecott Winning classic Ox-Cart Man as a guide. Students will begin their tour with a reading of the book by our Museum Teachers. Students will then be guided through various places in our Historic Village which mirror the book, including the Lippitt Farm House, Todd’s General Store, and Field’s Blacksmith Shop. They will visit with our oxen, learn about wool processing, and enjoy a ride on the Empire State Carousel. 60-90 minute tour. Includes NY Learning Standards in Social Studies, The Arts, ELA
Farmer Boy (Grades 2–7)
Explore the farm and village through the beloved story Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. As the tour winds through the village, the book will come alive through stops in our Historic Village, where students will learn about Almanzo Wilder and his life as a young boy in upstate NY in the mid-1800s. Students will enjoy visiting our animals and riding on the Empire State Carousel. For this tour, it is best if the students are familiar with the book. Includes NY Learning Standards in Social Studies, The Arts, ELA
Simple Machines (Grades 4–8)
Look at the ways simple machines were used in traditional farming. Students will explore the Historic Village through the lens of Simple Machines, finding levers, pulleys, wheel and axels, inclined planes, wedges, and screws throughout the museum. Students will interact with Interpreters, visit our animals, and ride the Empire State Carousel. Includes NY Learning Standards in Social Studies, The Arts, ELA, Math, and Science
Tradesman’s Tool Chest (Grades 4–12)
Learn about important trades and crafts in the mid-1800s using our Historic Village as a guide. Students will visit with the village pharmacist, blacksmith, and other tradespeople to see their tools and products. Students will learn about how these trades supported agricultural. Students will also enjoy visiting our animals and riding on the Empire State Carousel. Includes NY Learning Standards in Social Studies, The Arts, ELA, Math and Science
Guided Art Tours
Fenimore Art Museum Highlight Tour (Grades K-12) Learn about art, history, and culture in this special highlight tour for students of Fenimore Art Museum’s collections! Our Museum staff will lead a tour of our permanent collection of fine art, folk art, and American Indian art, focusing on the most important and interesting pieces. Younger students will be introduced to what an art museum is, including different types of art and why making and viewing art is important. Older students will take part in a more in-depth investigation of some of our key artworks and genres. 90 minute tour. Includes NY Learning Standards in Social Studies, The Arts, ELA
Thinking Through Art (Grades Pre-K–8)
Student inquiry and curiosity are the focus of this gallery-based tour. A museum guide helps students read artwork as a primary source document and encourages them to draw their own conclusions about art and history. This tour includes activities in three rotating galleries, highlighting special exhibitions based on teacher requests. Tours will be adapted for different grade levels and run 60-90 minutes based on age. Our 2020 exhibitions include famed illustrator/author Jan Brett. Her best-known titles include The Mitten, The Hat, and Gingerbread Baby. Includes NY Learning Standards in: Social Studies, The Arts, ELA
Self-Guided Tours
Tour either (or both!) of our Museums at your own pace! During July and August we welcome self-guided school groups while we are open to the public at 10 am. Please call us in advance to book.
Native American History and Culture
Use our museum classroom to teach Common Core modules! Fenimore Art Museum offers creative activities that fit seamlessly with curriculum requirements for Native American history and culture.
Six Nations Iroquois Life Tour (4th–12th)
On the Six Nations Tour, students experience the history and culture of the Native people of New York State and the Northeast woodlands through a variety of hands-on experiences and interactions with interpreters. The Six Nations Haudenosaunee tour includes visits to the Seneca Log House, the Mohawk Bark House and the Thaw Collection of American Indian Art at Fenimore Art Museum. Students have many opportunities to handle natural resource materials such as animal skins, shells, and feathers. In the world-renowned Thaw Gallery of American Indian Art, students explore objects made by Native Americans from every corner of the continent. This program is active and engaging, allowing students to develop a rich understanding of Native American cultures. Tours are just $5.00 per student/$10.00 adults. Teachers may also add on an optional workshop to enhance the visit. Includes NY Learning Standards in Social Studies, The Arts, ELA
Where in Native America? (Grades 7–12)
In this engaging program, students will become “junior anthropologists” as they explore our world-renowned Thaw Collection of American Indian Art. Students will tour the gallery with a Museum Teacher who will discuss our collection of Native American objects from six distinct geographic regions spanning North America. Then, students will visit our Study Center where unlabeled objects from the Thaw Collection are kept and work in groups to determine the geographic region, materials, usage, and approximate age of particular objects. Their answers will then be compared with the real information to test their deductive reasoning skills. Workshops are just $7.50 per student/ $10.00 per adult.
Includes NY Learning Standards in Social Studies, The Arts, Math, Science, & Tech, ELA
Workshops
19th Century Life Workshops (Grades 4–12)
The Farmers’ Museum workshops give students a chance to roll up their sleeves and get their hands on history, art, math and science in a fun way! Through interactive activities such as blacksmithing, sewing, farming, and letterpress printing, students gain an understanding of community life in the 1840’s. By breaking into small groups, each student can focus on a mid-19th century trade or craft and create their own historical item. These workshops are $7.50 per student and $10.00 per adult and meet standards in Social Studies, the Arts, Math, Science, Technology, and English Language Arts. One complimentary chaperone per workshop. Workshops are 90 minutes and are followed by a one hour tour of the historic village which will include a visit to the gift shop and a ride on the Empire State Carousel.
• Blacksmith’s Apprentice
• The Printer’s Devil
• Pharmacy Medicines and Remedies
• Life on the Farm
• Textiles
• Schoolhouse Daze
• Quilling
• Reverse Painting on Glass
• A Stitch in Time
• Marbling
Fenimore Art Museum Hands-on Workshops (4th–12th)
Create a learning experience that will last all year by adding a hands-on component to your visit! Students will be able to make their own traditional Native American craft, such as a corn husk doll or Native American mask. Workshops are just $7.50 per student/ $10.00 per adult.
Please Note: We require one chaperone for every workshop and extend complimentary admission to teachers and additional adults at that ratio.
Museum Quest
Visiting the museums in May and June is a great way to enhance your curriculum and get hands-on experiences outside the classroom. Classes explore The Farmers’ Museum, Fenimore Art Museum, Lucy B. Hamilton Amphitheater, and the Native American sites on self-guided tours at their own pace. A series of staffed activity stations at both museums allow students to explore our collections through standards-based activities in Social Studies, the Arts, Math, Science, and English Language Arts.
This program can serve pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, is tied to the Common Core, and costs $7.00 per student/ $16.00 per adult. We encourage one chaperone for every 10 children and extend complimentary admission accordingly.