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I Spy the Old State House
Students exercise their powers of creativity, curiosity and observation when they create “spy glasses” to help them explore the art and architecture of Connecticut's Old State House.
Grades: K - 2
Time: 45 minutes
Group size:  Min. 10 students Max. 50  students

History is All Around Us
Visit this multi-sensory, multi-media exhibit that follows 300 years of Hartford's history. Highlights include a 1912 Fire Engine and Mark Twain's bicycle! Design your own experience:

• Search & Discover  – Working in teams, students explore the exhibition using a fun and educational “scavenger hunt.”
  
• Map Activity & Tour - Students examine Hartford's architectural evolution with a physical map activity and discussion about types of structures, building placement and change over time.
  
• Self-Guided – Students explore the exhibition at their own pace.

Grades: K - 12
Time: 45 - 60 minutes
Group size: Min. 10 students Max. 50  students

 
My Museum

Let Rev. Joseph Steward give your class a personal tour of the strange flora and fauna found in his 19th-centruy "Cabinet of Curiosities."  Afterward, students work in groups to create a museum of their own.
Grades: 2 - 6
Time: 45 - 60 minutes
Group size:  Min. 10 students Max. 50 students

How Government Works: Connecticut's 3 Branches and Why They Matter
Our most popular program! Fill your civics requirement in the historic rooms of Connecticut's Old State House as students engage in a fun and interactive role-play election and mock court trial to learn about the three branches of state government!
Grades: 3 - 6
Time: 90 minutes
Group size: Min. 10 students Max. 70 students

Discover the Old State House
Our “building” tour. Students explore Connecticut’s Old State House through questioning and interactive activities. During the program, students examine the building’s use and how it has changed over two hundred years.
Grades: 3 - 12
Time: 45 - 60 minutes
Group size: Min. 10 students Max. 60 students

New! Connecticut in the Civil War
What is the Civil War and why did it start? Did everyone in Connecticut agree about the war? How did it impact the people living in Connecticut? Students will learn more as they: meet a Union soldier and see what life was like on the battlefield; help a Connecticut woman with the “homefront” effort while her husband and sons are away at war; hear about Connecticut’s “peace” movement led by Thomas Seymour and cast a vote in the 1863 Governor election.
Grades: 3 - 12
Time: 90 minutes
Group size: Min. 10 students Max. 60 students

Voices of the Past
Students have the unique opportunity to meet various characters from Connecticut’s past! Played by our costumed museum staff, these Living History characters share with students their stories and the contributions they made to the State of Connecticut. Choose up to three Living History characters for a complete program or “add-on” a character to another one of our programs.

	American Revolution - Hannah Watson:  Left a widow with five young children to raise and a newspaper business to run, Mrs. Watson petitioned the General Assembly for assistance after her paper mill burned. Hear about her efforts to keep the news coming during the Revolutionary War. Add-On: Hands-on Workshop. Students view a paper-making demonstration and learn how ink is made, before practicing their penmanship with quill pens. Add additional 30 min.
	America's Enlightenment - The Rev. Joseph Steward: he years of the Early Republic were a time of intellectual discovery. In 1797, the Rev. Steward opened a cabinet of curiosities on the third floor of the Old State House offering natural wonders to educate the curious public of the vast world around them. Explore his amazing collection and discover why New Englanders came to Hartford to be “enlightened” about the world of natural history.
	Civil War - Meet a Union Soldier:  Sergeant Major Collins is a Union soldier from Connecticut, on leave in 1863 to help recruit much-needed troops. Students learn about a soldier’s life and are “tested” to see if they are fit for military duty, before given the choice to enlist in the Union Army.
	Civil War - Life on the Homefront:  Students meet a Hartford woman whose husband and son are off fighting for the Union Army, learn what the people left at home did to help the “Cause,” and read soldier’s letters to home to find that not everyone in Connecticut agreed about the war.
	Civil War - The Peace Democrats:  Not everyone in Connecticut supported the Civil War. Thomas H. Seymour, a politician and former war hero, was the leader of the Peace Democrats. Hear his argument against war before casting a vote in the 1863 Connecticut Governor election.
	Civics to Circus - P. T. Barnum:  Best known as a showman, Barnum served four terms in Connecticut’s General Assembly. He proudly voted to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which ended slavery, in this very building in 1865. Add-On: Critical Thinking Workshop (for Grade 6 & up). In small groups, students use critical thinking skills to make modern connections to incidents in Barnum’s life. Add additional 30 min.
	Women's Suffrage - Frances Ellen Burr:  Miss Burr believed that all citizens, including women, should have the right to vote. In 1869, she co‐founded the Connecticut Women’s Suffrage Association. Learn about her efforts to secure women’s suffrage. Add-On: Hands-on Workshop. Students view vintage photographs to get ideas for protest signs or sashes that they will make to support a current cause of their choice. Add additional 30 min.

Grades: 4 - 12
Time: 30 - 90 minutes
Group size: Min. 10 students Max. 50 students