As a collaborative institution, Hearthstone is continually looking to partner with like-minded entities. Our current collaborative initiatives include the following.

Please see our Resources page for educators for links to tour outlines and information on reserving a time slot.

Because field trips to the museum are not always possible (health concerns, cost concerns, and distances involved), Hearthstone provides its 2nd-3rd and 4th-6th grade tours virtually through Zoom and Google Meet/Classroom.

The virtual tours are live and interactive with students being able to ask questions throughout. Reservations are limited. Classes are encouraged to sign up for virtual tours at least two weeks in advance using this reservation form.

Operation Everybody

As a museum dedicated to invention, we recognize one simple fact:
Every child is born with inventiveness but not every child gets a chance to invent. 

Hearthstone is working to ensure that every child, in every circumstance, gets the opportunity to learn, to create, or simply put, to spark their inventiveness, all through a pilot program focused on eliminating all school- or student-borne costs associated with visiting the museum.  This means covering both admission and transportation costs as well as program development and administration costs.

Hearthstone has noticed a pronounced trend over the past five years:  Students visiting the museum have come from the same few schools.  Interestingly, these schools not only appear to be able to afford a field trip to Hearthstone, they are also some of the schools that perform best in terms of test scores.  Clearly, test scores, as reported to the WDPE, vary widely across Appleton Area School District Elementary and Middle Schools and, unsurprisingly, appear to be divided across “have” and “have-not” lines that reflect the neighborhood and the demographics where each is located.  Our goal is to eliminate barriers to museum entry for all families and schools but, in particular, those schools where educators are working diligently to raise the overall scores/ratings, and those that serve socio-economically disadvantaged students.

Hearthstone is deeply indebted to the Richard and Paula Nelson Fund for funding the proof of concept portion of of this project. This has allowed Hearthstone to reach out to four AASD elementary schools and offer free tours, including pre-paid busing, for SY 2025-2026.

Hearthstone provides tours by grade band to elementary and middle school students.  These tours employ inquiry-based, experiential learning to teach science and social studies topics that align with Common Core and other educational standards.  Each tour uses the exhibits, artifacts, and interiors of the residence to bring these points to life.

• Grade K-3:  Hearthstone has revitalized its early grades curriculum to feature inquiry-based, hands-on learning.  Our kindergarten through third grade curriculum, which has been a mainstay of AASD coursework for the past 35 years, covers the Basics of Electricity and the Beginnings of Appleton’s History.

• Grade 4-6:  The museum’s tour for fourth through sixth grade students covers Hydroelectricity and the Other Inventions of Hearthstone.  It is also inquiry-based and features demonstrations of artifacts and exhibits throughout the museum with a focus on green energy and the inventions created during the Victorian Era that are taken for granted today.  These not only include electric lights and central heat but even the telephone, recorded music (including digital!), and movies.

• Grade 7-8:  The seventh and eighth grade tours cover Hearthstone and its Place in History.  It features the residence’s place in the birth of modern America in terms of technology, history, and social change (such as suffrage and immigration).

Museums for All

Through Museums for All, those receiving food assistance (SNAP benefits) can gain free or reduced admission to more than 1,500 museums throughout the United States simply by presenting their SNAP EBT (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Electronic Benefit Transfer) card.

Find a participating museum near you or browse our full list of participating museums.

Museums for All is a national, branded access program that encourages individuals of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum habits. It is open to participation by any type of museum — including art, history, natural history/anthropology, and general museums, children’s museums, science centers, planetariums, nature centers, historic houses/sites, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and arboretums.

The cost of museum admission can be a barrier for many low-income families. Participating museums provide reduced admission, ranging from free to $5.00, to visitors presenting their EBT card. This reduced rate is available during all normal operating hours to up to four individuals per EBT card. With a year-round open door policy, Museums for All invites low-income visitors to feel welcome at cultural institutions.

Since the launch of the initiative in 2014/2015, Museums for All has served more than 13 million visitors nationwide at more than 1,500 museums of all varieties, representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Museums for All is the only nationally coordinated financial accessibility program in the museum field, providing an easy-to-implement structure and the ability for participating museums to customize their implementation. Learn more about Museums for All.

Museums for All is an initiative of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a federal agency based in Washington, DC. The initiative is administered by the Association of Children’s Museums through a cooperative agreement with IMLS.

Hearthstone is proud to join other area museums in offering this program. Participants in the program can enjoy a tour free of charge.

Curation and other Internships with Lawrence University and other Area Universities

Lawrence University and other students are conducting longer-term curation work under the guidance of our Curation Director. Students are gaining vital, real-world experience doing restoration research and employing the latest techniques to preserve and interpret Hearthstone’s collections. The first areas to receive extensive attention are our extensive Victorian textiles and clothing collections, art holdings, book collection, and furniture collection.

Students are also filling roles such as admissions, the Volunteer Coordinator Internship, Event Coordinator Internship, and other types of internships to get real-world experience in all aspects of public history and museum work.

All internships are conducted under Hearthstone’s Career Choice Program. Using Hearthstone Historic House Museum as a vehicle, CCP provides a rich breadth of experience to college students or recent graduates that imparts the following:

• Sufficient understanding of museum operations to consider and evaluate a career in public history, museums, and in non-profit and for-profit organizations.

• Meaningful, hands-on experience in a real-world environment to gain a thorough appreciation of skills/work required for the field.

• New, market-valued skills that will increase hire-ability and likelihood of graduate school admission.

Students participating in CCP may have the opportunity to receive class credits with advisor approval and per school procedures and requirements.