Field Trips

NPS Photo

 

Whether you are teaching art, history, science, or are searching for an educational opportunity in the local community, a visit to Weir Farm National Historical Park can enrich your curriculum by providing students with unique experiences like painting en plein air at their local national park.

Reservations are made on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be flexible, as you may not get your first or second choice of dates. Because the park can only accommodate one school visit per day, teachers typically book several months in advance. Due to our limited capacity, we can only accomodate each class one time per year - either a fall or spring visit.

We can accommodate up to 45 students at a time and groups no larger than 50 persons total including chaperones. If you hope to bring more students, you will need to reserve multiple dates. Adult chaperones must be provided at a ratio of one adult for every ten students.

School groups typically include a guided tour of the historic Weir and Young Studios, followed by the opportunity to paint outdoors and participate in the Take Part in Art program. Some teachers/homeschool leaders prefer to lead their own activities and use the park as a classroom, or come for a shorter trip to create art in the park.

A visit to Weir Farm National Historical Park is primarily outdoors. Please dress appropriately for the weather and encourage tick checks for students. Rain dates are reccomended. There are no indoor facilities available for groups. The park is also federally protected public use area. Certain activities are prohibited-such as picking flowers, feeding wildlife, and walking or climbing on the stone walls.

Transportation requirements: School groups typically arrive in one yellow school bus. Chaperones are required to ride the bus with the students as we have limited parking. Requests for 1-2 cars in addition to the bus may be accomodated for special needs and accessibility accomodations. Home school groups typically carpool, and we can accomodate up to 10 cars for a school group, in lieu of a school bus.

Distance Learning Activities, pre- and post-visit activities, and more resoruces are available here on our website, including a Virtual Field Trip option for those that cannot visit the park in person! Check out the Curriculum Materials Page for those resources.

 

Now booking Spring 2025 field trip dates

Weir Farm NHP offers in-park curriculum-based education programs through free field trips. Available dates are listed below, and will fill up quickly, so please be sure to schedule your field trip ASAP if you hope to bring students to Weir Farm NHP in 2024. Please note that all of our dates have been filled for 2024 and we are now booking spring of 2025 (May and June Dates below).

How To Book Your Field Trip

Review the information on this webpage, then email us at [e-mail] and provide us a few dates from the list below, including your first choice and other options that might work for your school, your email and phone number, and the number of students. Someone will be in touch to let you know if the date(s) you requested are still available, get more information, and confirm if you are booked.

Field Trip Dates for Spring of 2025
(available as of 10/24/24)
Friday May 16
Friday May 23
Wednesday May 28
Wednesday June 4
Friday June 6
Wednesday June 11
Thursday June 12
Friday June 13
Wednesday June 18


Field trip options:

OPTION 1 - standard program - duration approximately 2 hours
Arrive at 9:45 or 10:00 am
15 minutes: Whole group introduction with a Park Ranger
45 minutes: Tour the Park/Historic Weir and Young Studios
45 minutes: Take Part in Art - painting with watercolors in the Weir Farm landscape
15 minutes: Students gather belongings, take the Junior Ranger Pledge, and get ready to board the bus
NOTE: Split into groups of 10-15 people. For one class, Groups 1 & 2, for two classes, Groups 1, 2, 3, & 4. Students will rotate through the activities in smaller groups.


OPTION 2: standard program and stay for lunch - duration approximately 2 1/2 hours
Arrive at 9:45 or 10:00 am
15 minutes: Whole group introduction with a Park Ranger
45 minutes: Tour the Park/Historic Weir and Young Studios
45 minutes: Take Part in Art - painting with watercolors in the Weir Farm landscape
30 minutes: Picnic lunch outdoors (please note Weir Farm NHP is pack-in, pack-out and all trash and recycling must be taken back on the bus)
15 minutes: Students gather belongings, take the Junior Ranger Pledge, and get ready to board the bus
NOTE: Split into groups of 10-15 people. For one class, Groups 1 & 2, for two classes, Groups 1, 2, 3, & 4. Students will rotate through the activities in smaller groups.

OPTION 3: Take Part in Art and Teacher-led Activities
Some teachers prefer a short visit, and come for an hour for a quick introduction and painting with our watercolor supplies, others have their own activity plans (such as writing, nature journaling, or creating art with their own supplies) and don't include a tour of the Weir and Young Studios during their visit. Timing is a bit more flexible with this option. NOTE: If you you prefer to use the park as a classroom and do not want to include the tour or art-making activities, you will still need to schedule with the park, as we have limited parking for school buses and need to coordinate with you to ensure a safe and feasible visit.