Field Trips

On this page, we hope to post field trip ideas from YOUR state that dovetail with Tapestry subjects as organized in our week-plans.  Please submit your ideas to Ray, and please try to include the following information:

  • Your email address (for our sake, in case we have questions, but you can tell us if you're willing to have your email linked as a contact person for more info about your recommendation).

  • The name of the attraction.

  • ANY online links to explain, give information, about the attraction.

  • A short paragraph explaining why the attraction would serve homeschoolers.

THANKS for your help!  We will post states as their submissions come in, and under the weeks as listed below:

**IMAX often has great films that are a great addition to your academic studies.  Find out what is playing, and where, to schedule this activity for your family.

Unit 1

Week 1: Twilight of the Western Roman Empire

Week 2: Byzantine Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church

  • Virtual field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art:  view Byzantine works of art!

  • Visit an Eastern Orthodox Church.  Click here to find one near you.

  • Greek Festival in Columbus, Ohio

  • Greek Festival:  Tour a Greek Orthodox Church and see Byzantine Art, taste Greek food, and hear Greek music in Birmingham, Alabama.

Week 3: Byzantine Empire and Rise of Islam

  • Visit an Islamic Mosque.  Click here to find one near you.

  • Lori S. suggests taking a virtual tour of the Taj Mahal. 

Week 4: The Making of Medieval Europe: Charlemagne

  • Find a castle to visit near your home.

  • Ravenwood Castle in New Plymouth, Ohio.  Jan recommends this bed and breakfast castle in which you can stay in one of the rooms (the King Arthur site was her favorite) or rent a smaller castle of your own in the village.  A complimentary breakfast is served in the castle and you may pay extra for dinner and lunch as well.  Jan's family actually stayed in a gypsy wagon in the woods across from the castle which fit in their budget nicely. 

Week 5: Developments During the Viking Age

  • Kristen in NH recommends the Higgins Armory Museum in Worchester, Massachusetts.   Worth the drive, residents of CT, MA, NH, and VT will find this to be a satisfying and interesting field trip.  Here are a few reasons that Kristen encourages this trip:  1.  Young children to adults can try on and dress up in replica metal helmets and simple period costumes.  2.  Get close too the armor and weapons in the main hall, appreciating the details.  3.  Impressive authentic and replica chain mail displays and detailed descriptions of period curiosities.  4.  Several cultures are represented...the best being the Middle Ages.  5.  Great gift shop that offers items we can really use.

Week 6: Medieval Life: Feudalism

  • Donetta recommends The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois.  The Harding Collection of Arms and Armor is great to supplement this week's study.  Oh--and admission is free on Tuesdays!

Week 7: The High Middle Ages

Week 8: The Mongols, Marco Polo, and the Far East

Week 9: The Reshaping of Medieval Europe

  • Medieval Show:  Make online reservations for your unit celebration:  Buena Park, California; Dallas, Texas; Schaumburg, Illinois; Toronto, Ontario; Lyndhurst, New Jersey; Hanover, Maryland; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Kissimmee, Florida.  This field trip is recommended by Kia.

Week 10: Early Lights of the Reformation

  • Word Spring Discover Center in Orlando, Florida.  Great place to learn about the art and science of translation and how God's word carries hope around the world to people in their own language.


Unit 2

Week 11: Introduction to the Southern Renaissance

  • Renaissance Festivals in Harveysburg, Ohio, Crownsville, Maryland (just outside of Annapolis), Plantersville, Texas, Holly Michigan or Manheim, Pennsylvania. (School days available; check the links for dates.)

  • National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.  Janis recommends a guided tour about Renaissance art.  An educational tour can be arranged in advance.  Of course, it is all FREE!

Week 12: The Southern Renaissance and the Early Explorers

  • Visit the Nina, the most historically accurate replica of a Columbus ship ever built.  Click here to see if this exhibit is near you. 

  • Corpus Christi has replicas of the Pinta and the Santa Maria. Link contributed by Heather.

Week 13: The Southern Renaissance and the Age of Exploration

Week 14: Spanish Dominion and the New World: Aztecs and Incas

Week 15: The Northern Renaissance and Its Scholars

Week 16: The Reformation: Martin Luther and the German States

Week 17: The Reformation in Switzerland, England, and Scandinavia

  • A field trip we have enjoyed several times is MennoHof. MennoHof is an interpretive center for the Amish and Mennonite faiths, located in Shipshewana, Indiana. 

    The museum has several parts, including a history of the Reformation that is portrayed in a room made to look like a dungeon in which Anabaptists were imprisoned. Be sure to watch for the "Anabaptist Catcher" hanging on the wall. There are further exhibits which depict the church history and beliefs of several groups, particularly the Amish, Mennonite, and Hutterites.

    The museum is appealing to children, with a model of a ship that immigrants traveled on, a play area with Amish-made toys, and a "Tornado Room" (too scary for the littlest ones) explaining the Mennonite role in disaster relief today. You might want to browse their small bookstore area, too. One of my favorite cookbooks came from MennoHof.

    I specifically remember both Zwingli and Michael Sattler from the history portion of the museum. The exhibits do an excellent job of relating the church history to an understanding of the varying modern-day practices of the Amish, Mennonites, and Hutterites. If you wish to understand the faith basis for the lifestyles modeled by these groups, this is the place to be.   This field trip recommended by Linda.

Week 18: The Counter Reformation, French Huguenots, and the Netherlands

Week 19: Elizabethan England and the Scottish Reformation


Unit 3

Week 20: Early New World Colonies and Eastern Europe

Week 21: Puritans in New England

Week 22: Charters, Creeds, and the English Civil War

Week 23: Restoration Colonies and the Age of Louis XIV

Week 24: Dissenters in America and the Age of Reason

Week 25: Colonists and Native Americans

Week 26: Empires at Odds

Week 27: Thirteen Established Colonies

  • Heather recommends the Spanish colonial field trip she and her family went on to El Rancho de las Golondrinas in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She said, "The date is 1820, but we used at the end of year 2 unit 3. Has demonstrators for many colonial crafts like candle dipping, dying wool, a school house, sheep shearing, making tortillas, a mill, etc. Best time to go is special events because they have more demonstrators."

Unit 4

Week 28: Shaping Influences on Colonial Culture

Week 29: French and Indian War

Week 30: Give Me Liberty!

Week 31: First Battles for Independence

Week 32: Waging the Revolutionary War

  • Kristen in NH urges families to consider walking the Freedom Trail through Boston, Massachusetts.  She shares this about her experiences there:

      This is a fool-proof hike taking participants to see some of the most well-known historical sites in Boston.  It is a free, self-guided path from Boston Common out to the Bunker Hill Monument.  See the Old North Church (one if by land, two if by sea) the graves, homes, and monuments of revolutionary leaders.  Paul Revere's home, Boston Latin School, Fanuel Hall, Quincy Market and much more add opportunities to relax and/or eat along the way. Free maps of the trail are available at Boston Common Station.
      How do you walk the Freedom Trail?  Well, we took the "T" (public rail system) to Boston Common. Once above ground there is a huge, can't-miss-it map erected for visitors that points the way clearly to the sidewalk adjacent to the "T" portal.  One simply follows the red stripe and big, bronze medallions embedded on the sidewalks through Boston. Voila! You will pass other T stations in case you need to abandon the trek and don't want to go all the way back to the Common. (The "T" lines are all color coded and are extremely intuitive and user friendly to ride.)
      As we wove through the North End, we enjoyed spring flowerboxes on almost every home and shop.  We sampled delicious goodies and took great historical photos along the way including our tour of the Old North Church (small fee) and Paul Revere's Home.  If you are especially observant in graveyards and look for placards on buildings you will be rewarded with a lot of those "connected to history moments." I love that feeling, like when we stood on the very cobble stones that Paul Revere,  John Adams, Benj. Franklin and others stood on- right outside Mr. Revere's doorstep! 
      Ultimately, we crossed the Charles River to Bunker Hill. Along the shore of the Charles is Old Ironsides and the Boston Tea Party Ship (replica) that you can tour.  We chose to explore Old Ironsides and had a guide who explained the life of a naval man of the times in great detail.  It was well worth the time, and little extra walking, to experience this facet of American History.
      All totaled, it was a pretty long day.  But, to be fair, we walked at a comfortably slow pace, stopped frequently to explore, read, soak in the history, discuss relevant topics and eat.  We checked out every nook and cranny while hiking, and relaxed on the Bunker Hill lawn watching children fly kites before heading back to  North Station to be out of the city for dinnertime.  It was an unforgettable day, and for our family, we plan NOT to make it a once in a lifetime experience, but hike the trail again!

Week 33: America under the Articles of the Confederation

Week 34: Writing the Constitution

Week 35: Federal Republic & French Revolution

Week 36: Perilous Times: The Adams Administration

Want to suggest a resource or online site?  Email Ray.