The Valentine gives students a chance to discover Richmond through the stories, places, and people that have shaped the city. As a museum dedicated to Richmond’s history, art, and community, The Valentine goes beyond traditional exhibits to help students understand how a city changes over time. Inside the museum, students can explore collections and historic spaces, including the Wickham House, while programs and city tours take learning outside and into Richmond’s neighborhoods. This combination gives students a chance to see history not only preserved in a museum, but still visible in the communities around them.
Immersive History Experiences
A field trip to The Valentine can take students well beyond the museum walls. Guided tours of the historic Wickham House introduce students to the architecture, design, and daily life of an earlier Richmond, while student city tours put them directly into the city’s historic neighborhoods. Groups may visit historic cemeteries, explore the murals of Jackson Ward, or walk through the streets of Church Hill. These experiences encourage students to observe their surroundings and think about how Richmond’s past continues to influence the city today. Hands-on activities make the experience especially engaging, encouraging students to ask questions and investigate the history around them rather than simply listen to a tour.
The Valentine offers students a layered look at Richmond’s history, with programs that explore everything from changing neighborhoods to civil rights. Ancients in the Neighborhood introduces younger students to neoclassical architecture and design, encouraging them to look closely at the built environment around them. Era Explorations examines how Richmond has changed across different periods of history, helping students recognize the connections between the past and the city they see today. Civil Rights Richmond takes on more complex questions by exploring the city’s housing crisis through the history of policies, laws, and practices that shaped where people could live. Together, these programs show students that history is not always simple or distant, but can be found in the buildings, neighborhoods, and communities around them.
Educational Programs
The museum offers a variety of programs that can accommodate different ages, subjects, and learning goals. Teachers and group organizers can choose from museum-based experiences, historic house tours, or city explorations depending on what best fits their students and curriculum. The programs use inquiry-based and hands-on learning, giving students opportunities to participate rather than just observe. All of The Valentine’s educational programs align with Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs), making it easier for teachers to connect a field trip to lessons already being taught in the classroom. The variety of programs also gives educators flexibility to explore Richmond through different subjects, including history, architecture, art, civics, and social studies.
The Valentine offers a field-trip experience that makes Richmond itself part of the classroom. Students can move from museum exhibits to historic houses and then out into the neighborhoods where the city’s stories continue to unfold. Whether they are studying architecture, tracing Richmond’s changes over time, or examining the history of civil rights and housing, students are encouraged to look at the city with new eyes. By combining hands-on museum activities with exploration of Richmond’s streets and neighborhoods, The Valentine helps students understand that history is living and still visible all around them.
