Museum Field Trips
Empower students with civics knowledge and reflect on America’s founding documents – and their role in students’ lives today – with a class visit to the National Archives Museum! During our free museum field trips, educators and students embark on an interactive gallery experience and engage in lively discussions about what the records reveal (or don't!) about the people and events that shaped who we are today.
There are a limited number of museum field trips available each day. The maximum number of students on any one field trip is 35 to allow smooth, timely movement through our exhibits. Please inquire about availability as you schedule your field trip:
- Available for grades K-12
- Size limit: 10–35 students
- Length: 90 minutes
- Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays with programs beginning at 9:30 a.m. or 12 p.m.
- Availability based on staff and volunteer guides
Reserve your program today! Select your workshop and email fieldtrips@nara.gov to discuss availability and scheduling your visit. All field trips must be scheduled at least 45 days in advance.
Museum Field Trip Options
Art and Architecture of the National Archives
Grades: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, or 9-12
90 minutes
Designed by American architect John Russell Pope in the 1930s, the National Archives Building and especially its half-domed Rotunda offer an awe-inspiring setting in which to visit the U.S. founding documents. This program asks students to engage critically with the art and architecture of the National Archives Building and consider the ways in which the environment -- the building's neoclassical style, scale, imagery, and proximity to the National Mall -- frames their encounter. Students will consider the following questions: What do you think the architect wanted you to feel while standing in the Rotunda? What message did they want to share? How does this match what you know about the history of American democracy? At the end, students will be invited to imagine their very own artwork decorating the empty niches lining the Rotunda. How might they update the space to represent American society today?
America’s Freedom Train
Grades: 6-8 or 9-12
90 minutes
This program focuses on America's founding documents and their continuing role in shaping U.S. society. Inspired by the Freedom Train special exhibit dedicated to the history of American democracy that toured the United States in a seven-car train from September 1947 until January 1949, students will tour the National Archives Rotunda to view the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights and visit other highlights of the National Archives. Then, working in small groups, they will exercise civic literacy and historical analysis skills to justify which museum objects they would select for an updated Freedom Train exhibit marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. In what ways has the United States fulfilled the democratic ideals outlined in the founding documents? What could it have done better? How would you tell the story of American democracy today? How have ordinary Americans used the rights outlined in the Constitution to create a more perfect union?
NEW! (starting April 2024) Unveiling Stories: Power and Light: Russell Lee's Coal Survey
Grades: 3-8
90 minutes
In Spring 2024 our education team will offer a new field trip for upper elementary and middle school students. This experience focuses on the temporary exhibit Power and Light: Russell Lee's Coal Survey (opening March 16, 2024). The exhibition features more than 200 of American documentary photographer Russell Lee’s photographs of coal miners and their families. Journeying into the gallery, students will engage in slow-looking to strengthen their observation and analytical skills while learning about the history and meaning of Lee's photographs. This program also asks students to make connections between photographs and story-telling. What stories are (and are not) present in Lee’s coal survey photographs?