The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation is a field trip destination where students can experience early American history instead of simply reading about it in a textbook. With both Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, students can explore two important periods in Virginia’s history through hands-on activities, museum exhibits, and living-history experiences. They can walk through recreated settlements, explore ships, see historical artifacts, and learn what everyday life was like for people living hundreds of years ago. It gives students the chance to connect the names, dates, and events they learn in class to places and experiences they can actually see.
Interactive Learning
At Jamestown Settlement, students can explore a recreation of a Powhatan village, board life-size replicas of the three ships that brought English colonists to Virginia and walk through a recreated 1610-14 colonial fort. At the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, students can visit a Continental Army encampment, explore a Revolution-era farm, and spend time in interactive museum galleries. Museum educators can guide student programs, allowing classes to participate in activities focused on topics such as colonial life, the American Revolution, and the different cultures and communities that shaped Virginia.
For teachers, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation offers programs designed to connect directly with classroom learning. Student programs align with Virginia Standards of Learning, national history and social studies standards, and Common Core standards. Some programs also include STEM concepts, giving teachers options beyond traditional history lessons. Teachers can choose programs by grade level and curriculum, or allow students to explore through self-guided experiences. The Foundation also offers classroom outreach programs for Virginia schools, where educators bring reproduction artifacts and hands-on activities directly to students.
Student Programming
Teachers can also prepare students for the visit and continue the learning once they return to school. Before the field trip, students could learn about the Powhatan people, early English settlement, or the events leading to the American Revolution. During the visit, students could track objects, buildings, and activities that provide clues about how people lived during these time periods. Back in the classroom, students could create a timeline, compare the experiences of different groups, or write about what they learned from examining historical artifacts. The Foundation also provides classroom resources, including lesson plans, activities, essays, and primary sources that teachers can use throughout the year.
Virtual Field Trip Experiences
Schools that cannot travel to Jamestown or Yorktown can also bring the experience into their classrooms through virtual learning programs. Students can connect with museum educators through live video programs covering subjects such as the Powhatan people, early English settlement, colonial Virginia, and the American Revolution. These programs give students opportunities to ask questions, examine evidence, and participate in activities from their own classroom.
Hands-On History
The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation is a great choice for schools looking to make history more hands-on and memorable. Students can climb aboard historic ship replicas, explore recreated settlements, walk through military camps, and examine objects connected to the people who lived during these important periods. The combination of interactive exhibits, living-history experiences, and educator-led programs gives students several different ways to learn. This field trip brings history out of the textbook and allows students to experience it for themselves.
