SCHOOL TOURS

Admission is $4 for students. Teachers, chaperones, and bus drivers are free of charge. Teachers can request our Resource Guide at [email protected].

TOUR OPTIONS

We’re happy to offer specialized school tours that may be customizable for your grade level and history focus. Please contact our Assistant Director at [email protected] for more information regarding any of the options below:

19th Century Life Tour

Our main house tour will transport students back to June 1, 1890 when the Wickwire family moved into 37 Tompkins Street.  Learn about Victorian daily life from the perspective of an industrialist, an upper class woman, children, and servants.  Tour guides will challenge students to consider what innovations they can create in their own community.

Twitter Tour

What if the Victorians used Twitter?  On this tour, students will learn the house’s history through the “tweets” written by the Wickwire family, the house’s servants, and even their pet parrot, Jac.

Architecture Tour

From stained glass to cupolas, hand stenciling to parquet flooring, students will investigate how architect Samuel Reed designed the Wickwire mansion.  Students will discover how Victorians made architectural choices for social reasons, from “dressing up” their home to impress guests, to keeping the servants unseen and unheard.

Feared Weird Tour

Students will investigate Victorian life by playing parlor games, and learn the meaning behind many “unusual” Victorian customs, such as weaving hair into jewelry, painting dead children, and using fans to communicate.  Students will leave our house with a better understanding of why Victorians acted in ways that may seem strange to us today.