Experience Life in 1900 explores what life was like for people who lived in Phoenix 120 years ago.

• Cost: $5/students aged 4 to 17, $5/parents and accompanying adults, Free/children under 4
• Time: 1 1/2 hours
• Three activities
• See calendar to register

Experience Life in 1900 is a 1 1/2-hour, interactive field trip that offers three exciting learning stations. You and your family will rotate through the stations in small groups, allowing for a personal and hands-on experience. The stations include –

• Rosson House Tour – Introduces the Goldberg family with their two young daughters Selma and Hazel, and baby brother, Chester. Trained docents help students explore what life was like 120 years ago by seeing the technologies, decor and lifestyles of 1900.
• Chores – Using both real and reproduction artifacts, students learn first-hand about the chores their turn-of-the-century counterparts may have done. They wash laundry using a scrub board, wringer and clothesline, beat the dust out of rugs, and try their hands at old fashioned vacuums and irons.
• Games – Hoop and Stick was once a favored outdoor game. Students try their hand at controlling the wooden hoops while racing their other children.

Experience Life in 1900 is geared to children in the third, fourth and fifth grades, however all ages are welcome. It meets the Arizona Department of Learning Standards for Social Studies Strand 1 – American History, Social Studies Strand 4 – Geography and Science Strand 3 – Science in Personal and Social Perspectives.

Homeschool Tour Policies

For private groups:

Heritage Square hosts homeschool field trips for groups with 10 or more students, with a maximum of 45 people of any age. A $50 deposit and pre-registration are required to hold the date.

During these field trips, your family will enjoy the same activities listed above. A fourth station can be added for another dollar per person and it will expand the visit to a full 2 hours. In Guess the Artifact we handle actual historic objects that were common in the 19th century and are no longer in use. We will use our detective skills to determine what they are and discuss the technical innovations which made them obsolete.

For additional information and to book a homeschool group, please contact our education department by email or at 602-388-8090.

Mapping Early Phoenix looks at Phoenix’s and Arizona’s past through historic maps. We use maps to tell the stories of why and how this area was settled and how it has changed over time.

• Cost: $7/students aged 4 to 17, $5/parents and accompanying adults, Free/children under 4
• Time: 2 hours
• Three activities
• See calendar to register

This fieldtrip is geared towards students 7 years and older. Pre-registration is required.

• Rosson House Tour – investigates this 1895 historic treasure focusing on life in early Phoenix.
• Scavenger Hunt – reinforces map reading skills as small groups tour outside at Heritage Square, look for clues and answer questions.
• Mapping Early Phoenix – uses the exhibit to learn more about maps and the stories they tell

Homeschool Tour Policies

For private groups:

Heritage Square hosts homeschool field trips for groups with 10 or more students, with a maximum of 45 people of any age. A $50 deposit and pre-registration are required to hold the date.

For additional information and to book a homeschool group, please contact our education department by email or at 602-388-8090.

Can’t make it to the Rosson House Museum with your homeschool group? Our traveling trunk is a portable version of Heritage Square’s on-site field trip. It includes 5 lesson plans and hands-on activities so that children can experience A Child’s Life in 1900 and understand the dramatic changes in lifestyles over the past 100 years.

The lessons and hands-on activities include a primary source activity, analyzing an early map of Phoenix, doing laundry using washboards and clotheslines, writing on slate boards, and playing the historic game of Graces. Each lesson plan is designed to meet State of Arizona Learning Standards for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students.

Cost:  $30 for a two week rental. Price includes delivery & pickup. We encourage multiple teachers at one school to use the trunk. After school enrichment programs and homeschool groups are also welcome to rent the trunk.

Booking: Traveling Trunks are reserved on a first come, first served basis. The booking process is in 3 parts:

1) Email email  or call at 602-388-8090 to initiate the process and tentatively select a 2-week rental period.

2) Submit this contract, completed and signed, by email or mail.

3) Tender payment in full or a purchase order (or proof that a PO has been requested).

This brand new Traveling Trunk, developed with a generous grant from Kinder Morgan, uses Arizona’s traditional 5 C’s—climate, cotton, citrus, cattle, and copper—to teach students about the development of the state.  The trunk comes with lesson plans, hands-on activities, primary source materials, and some genuine artifacts, including a branding iron and a miner’s lamp!

Each lesson plan is designed to meet State of Arizona Learning Standards for 3rd and 4th grade students.  Stay tuned for more details on lesson plans and curriculum alignment.

Cost:  $30 for a two week rental. Price includes delivery & pickup. We encourage multiple teachers at one school to use the trunk. After school enrichment programs and homeschool groups are also welcome to rent the trunk.

Booking: Traveling Trunks are reserved on a first come, first served basis. The booking process is in 3 parts:

1) Email email  or call at 602-388-8090 to initiate the process and tentatively select a 2-week rental period.

2) Submit this contract, completed and signed, by email or mail.

3) Tender payment in full or a purchase order (or proof that a PO has been requested).