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School Programs

History comes alive for students with our interactive school programs placed at different stops within the exhibitions at the Maryland Center for History and Culture. Students gain essential social studies skills by engaging with the MCHC collections through primary source inquiry and activities.

These curriculum-based programs draw on our collections to connect students to Maryland history through objects and inquiry. Programs are available on Wednesdays and Fridays during the school year.

Use of our lunchroom is available upon request for any program for no additional cost. This typically adds 30 minutes to the program duration. Note: Cannot be guaranteed during calendar year 2024.

Life Then & Now (Grades K-2)

Learn what life was like in Maryland long ago. Students are introduced to how jobs, homes, schools, and communities have changed in the state’s history.

Cost: $5 per student
Capacity: 10-60 students*
Duration: 1.5 hours

Colonial Maryland (Grades 3-8)

Travel through Maryland’s history in the 1600s and 1700s to learn about the people and forces that shaped its economy and culture.

Cost: $5 per student
Capacity: 10-60 students*
Duration: 1.5 hours

Civil Rights in Maryland (Grades 6-12)

Encounter the stories and voices from the African American Civil Rights Movement as it manifested in Maryland. Students encounter oral histories and other primary sources to learn about local 20th- and 21st-century civil rights activism in the Passion & Purpose exhibition and the Student Research Center for History.

Cost: $5 per student
Capacity: 10-45 students
Duration: 1.5 hours

*Due to space and staffing limitations, we may need to divide groups with more than 45 students over multiple days.

Add-On Options

Enhance your students’ onsite experience and get hands-on with history. Add-on activities are an additional 30-60 minutes, depending on the number of students, and incur an additional per student material cost. The add-on souvenir adds no additional time to the field trip experience and has an additional per student cost. Note: Cannot be guaranteed during calendar year 2024.

Quill & Ink Letter-Writing Activity (Grades Prek-12)

Students explore the skill of writing a letter using a quill and ink.

Candle Dipping (Grades 3-12)

Using beeswax, students make their own hand-dipped candles to take home.

Student Primary Source Session (Grades 5-12)

Students interact with primary sources from the MCHC collection while learning more about how to use primary source research.

Souvenir Bundle (Grades 1-12)

Each bundle includes a water bottle, a pencil, a pad of sticky notes, and a postcard. These will be stored in boxes or bags that can be taken back to school and distributed there.

Please Note

We are able to put a hold on dates over the phone or by email, but program request forms must be submitted within three weeks of the hold to finalize your program date, or the date will be re-opened for other groups. Changes may still be made after submitting a request form.

MCHC provides many grants to help make our programs accessible. Please visit our Grant Funding page to learn more, and reach out with any questions.


Have a Question?

Please call 410-685-3750, ext. 334, e-mail dwood@mdhistory.org, and/or read our Field Trip Guidelines.


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