Hearthstone Historic House Museum offers a variety of resources to teachers and other educators. These resources are either stand-alone offerings, part of on-site tours, or part of joint tours conducted with other institutions.
School Tours Focusing on Electricity, Inventions, and Local History,
Hearthstone’s tours for students PreK through 8th grade feature inquiry-based, experiential learning.
The PreK and Kindergarten, entitled Electricity is Everywhere, tours start with printed illustrations of electricity uses in our homes and then moves on to the hands-on exhibits in the Lower Level to understand how something so important is so easy to make. The tour also features a walk through each of the beautiful rooms in Hearthstone. This tour is available in English and in Spanish.
Our first through third grade tour, which has been a mainstay of AASD coursework for the past 30 years covers the Basics of Electricity and starts with hands-on exhibits in the Lower Level before moving to the main rooms where the uses of electricity (both then and now) are the focus.
Our tour for fourth through sixth graders covers Hydroelectricity and the Inventions of Hearthstone. This inquiry-based tour also features hands-on exhibits and demonstrations throughout the museum.
Our seventh and eight grade tours cover Hearthstone and Its Place in History. This tour focuses on the technology, history, and art of the residence.
Tours are available either in-person or virtually.
In-person tours are led by our docents and offer an immersive experience. Tickets for on-site tours can be purchased here.
Virtual tours are provided through Zoom, Google Meet, or existing classroom links. The virtual tours are live and interactive with students being able to ask questions throughout the tour. The virtual tours are provided free of charge.
All school tours are available Monday-Wednesday.
Reservations are limited. Classes are encouraged to sign up for tours at least two weeks in advance using this reservation form.
The tour outlines below provide an overview of each tour. Please feel free to review, save, and use these materials.
PreK and Kindergarten Tour outline.
Seventh - Eighth Grade Tour outline.
“Fun to Learn” Activity Area
Hearthstone gives young people, and those who are young at heart, the opportunity for experiential learning in the “Fun to Learn” activity area in the lower level. Displays include generators, circuit games, riding a velocipede to generate electricity, a working water wheel, and much more. There are also games, stereoscopes, kitchen gadgets, kaleidoscopes to explore.
All displays utilize disposable tissues for handles and buttons and are sanitized regularly during the day to keep little hands as safe as possible.
The displays are part of every tour at Hearthstone.