Field Trips

Historic Arkansas Museum is a favorite field trip destination for educators across the state. With annual programs and field trips for grades K - 3rd, 4th - 6th and 7th - 12th, there's a field trip opportunity for any age group. Before arranging transportation, be sure your date and time have been confirmed. A confirmation letter will be sent out to confirm the date and time.

NOTE: The museum has limited field trip capacity. Please contact us for more info using the below form.

Bill Worthen

Future of History Fund

The Bill Worthen Future of History Fund, named for Historic Arkansas Museum’s former director of more than 40 years, supports programs and initiatives that provide school groups from around the state with face-to-face, interactive experiences with history. Since its creation in 2016, the fund has underwritten field trips for thousands of kids from all parts of the state.

If you are interested in this program to fund your field trip, select the check box in the form below.

Kindergarten - 3rd Grade

1850s Farmstead Tour

1 hour • $1 each • Oct., Nov., Mar., Apr., May • Max. group size: 60; can accommodate 100 for 2 hrs. paired with Museum Center visit - Visit the Parker Westbrook 1850s Farmstead and learn about the two families that lived at the farmstead. Students will discover how life on an 1850s farmstead is different than their lives today by participating in chores and understanding how natural resources were used.

Historic Homes Program

1 hour • $1 each • Oct., Nov., Mar., Apr., May • Max. group size: 60; can accommodate 100 for 2 hrs. paired with Museum Center visit - Visit Little Rock’s original 32^nd block that includes 1840s homes of Scottish immigrants. Learn how people slept, traveled, ate, stayed clean, kept warm in the winter, and cool in the summer.

Then and Now in Arkansas

1 hour • $4 each • Wednesdays, Thursdays • Oct., Nov., Mar., Apr., May • Min. 15 students - Max. group size: 100 - Learn about a day in the life of a young person in the 1840s by comparing and contrasting the old and the new while visiting our historic structures and both seeing and participating in activities young people could have done in the 1800s.

Self-Guided Museum Center Visit

1 hour • Free • Daily (must have reservations) - See a film related to a permanent exhibit, then take a self-guided tour of galleries. Permanent exhibits include We Walk in Two Worlds: The Caddo, Osage and Quapaw in Arkansas and The Knife Gallery (currently closed for refurbishment). Other galleries host changing exhibits often featuring the museum's Arkansas Made collection and contemporary Arkansas artists.

4th Grade - 6th Grade

Plum Bayou Log House Program

2 hours • $4 each • Wednesdays & Thursdays in Oct., Nov., Mar., Apr., May • Max. group size: 60 - At the 1850s Plum Bayou log house students will have an in depth look at rural life in Arkansas by participating in activities necessary to meet the needs of a family living on an 1850s farmstead.

Work and Play

2 hours • $4 each • Wednesdays & Thursdays in Oct., Nov., Mar., Apr., May • Min. 15 students - Max. group size: 100 - Learn about the different occupations that the people who lived on or visited our blocks had by doing some work yourself. It's not all work, though, as you also learn about and play historic games and make your own historic toy to take home with you.

Historic Homes Tour

1 hour • $1 each • Daily • Max. group size: 60; can accommodate 100 for 2 hrs. paired with Museum Center visit - Learn why people came to Little Rock in the early 19th century. See how they built their homes, became part of the community, or continued their journey West.

Self-Guided Museum Center Visit

1 hour • Free • Daily (must have reservations) - See an introductory film, then take a self-guided tour of galleries. Permanent exhibits include We Walk in Two Worlds: The Caddo, Osage and Quapaw in Arkansas and The Knife Gallery (currently closed for refurbishment). Other galleries host changing exhibits often featuring the museum's Arkansas Made collection and contemporary Arkansas artists. The Sturgis Children's Gallery, for hands-on interaction, is upstairs.

7th Grade - 12th Grade

Historic Homes Tour

1 hour • $1 each • Daily • Max. group size: 60; can accommodate 100 for 2 hrs. paired with Museum Center visit - Learn what brought settlers to Little Rock early in the 19th century. Visit the homes they built, learn what their current events were and find out why some left town in 1849.

Self-Guided Museum Center Visit

1 hour • Free • Daily (must have reservations) • Max. group size: 60; can accommodate 100 for 2 hrs. paired with Museum Center visit - See a film related to a permanent exhibit, then take a self-guided tour of the galleries. Permanent exhibits include We Walk in Two Worlds: The Caddo, Osage and Quapaw in Arkansas and The Knife Gallery (currently closed for refurbishment). Other galleries host changing exhibits often featuring the museum's Arkansas Made collection and contemporary Arkansas artists.

All Ages Programming

Choose Your Own Adventure

$5 each • Choose 4-6 stations • 20 minutes per station • Max. group size: 100; 25 students in 4 groups - Here's your chance to tailor your Historic Arkansas Museum field trip to fit your students' needs. Choose your top four stations, plus two secondary options. This must be scheduled six weeks in advance to assure staff availability.

Choices include:

Visit the Print Shop
Visit the Blacksmith Shop
Churning Butter
Washing Cloths
Historical Candle Dipping
Colorful Candle Dipping
Making Soap Balls
Life in a Log Cabin
Historic Textiles
Carding Wool
Compare historic and modern kitchen equipment
Compare historic and modern lighting options
Food Preservation
Wagon Wheel Assembly
Traveling in the 1830’s
Historic Land Surveying
Gallery Walk Through
Storytelling (reading of a children’s story related to a current Museum Gallery)
Outdoor Games (Stilts, hoop stick, drop the handkerchief)
Indoor games (whirly-gigs, yo-yo’s, Jacobs ladder)

Annual Programs

School Fair

2.5 hours • $6 • Grades K- 6 • Offered in Fall and in Spring - Hear historic music and storytelling and visit six activity stations in restored historic homes. All the presenters are costumed so visitors have an authentic experience of Historic Arkansas.

Hidden Histories: Historic Grounds

1 hour • $1 each • Tues-Fri in February • Max. group size: 60; can accommodate 100 for 2 hrs. paired with Museum Center visit • This Historic Homes Program focuses on the people of color who lived and worked on our blocks before emancipation came to Arkansas.

Pioneer Day Camp

9 a.m. - 3 p.m. • Prices Vary • Ages 8-12 • Offered in Summer - Pioneer Day Camp is a week full of summer fun at Historic Arkansas Museum! Campers will spend the week learning about life in Arkansas in the 1800s. The theme and activities change every year, so check out the Summer Programming page for full details, including a link to register.