Field Trips

Ancient Rome, The Middle Ages, and The Renaissance Come Alive for Students of All Ages at The Higgins Armory Museum.

With an internationally renowned collection of arms and armor, the Higgins Armory Museum offers programs that illuminate history from the Fall of Rome through the creation of the modern nation states of Europe.

Choose from our standard field trip, a package or design your own day!

To request a reservation please use the online Reservation Request Form or contact Education Department at (508) 853-6015 x20, rhoule@higgins.org.

All programs are aligned to national history standards. For more information, refer to the Teacher Resources Page.

Standard Field Trip

Participants begin their visit with a live arms and armor presentation where brave audience members test their courage during a series of hands-on demonstrations illustrating the evolution of arms and armor through history. Following this one hour presentation, your group continues to the Great Hall of the Museum for a tour of shields, swords, staff weapons and over 70 suits of armor. Your field trip continues with time in our special exhibit and hands-on Quest Gallery, concluding with a visit to our gift shop. This program can be adapted for groups of all ages. The total time for the Standard Field Trip is two hours.

Fees
$7 for participants, including chaperones
Maximum 100 students and 20 chaperones per scheduled hour

Workshops, Roleplays, and Interpretive Programs

To complement our standard Field Trip or to tie in to a specific curriculum area your class is studying, you may choose to add one or more of the following programs to your Higgins visit.

Interpretive Programs

$3 per person -- This Auditorium presentation is designed to replace the Auditorium presentation in the Standard Field Trip.

• A Roman Legionary Recommended for 5th Grade & Up -- Spanning from the Roman Republic to the end of the Empire, this program follows the evolution of a Roman Legionary's arms and armor. Learn about the changes in the Roman military by viewing examples of period equipment and participating in hands-on demonstrations.
• 14th Century Knight Recommended for 7th Grade & Up -- The 14th Century was a time of change in the world of arms and armor. At the beginning of the century, knights clad mostly in mail were a common site. By the end of the century, most knights could cover themselves in suits of overlapping articulated steel plate. Explore the reasons for these changes both in the equipment and in the men who used them through demonstration and audience participation.
• A Gothic Knight Recommended for 5th Grade & Up -- The 15th Century battlefield saw both the emergence of the fully armored knight and the demise. During A Gothic Knight, participants will witness how weapons of the period functioned and were used. Includes a hands-on demonstrations of historical combat techniques.
• Pike and Shot: The Decline of Armor Recommended for 7th Grade & Up -- The 17th Century would see the final decline in the usage of armor on the European battlefield and the birth of modern warfare. Explore the wide variety of equipment used through demonstration and participation, from elite armored cavalrymen to the common solider armed with pike and musket. Much of the equipment used would have been commonly seen by William Shakespeare, who featured arms and armor in many of his plays.

Art Workshops

$5 per person -- Please allow 45 minutes per group of 35 students.

• Heraldic Pennants -- Students learn about the history of heraldry and then create their own one-of-a-kind pennants. The custom die-cut pennants are made of bright felt that students decorate using medieval “charges” or symbols cut from self-adhesive felt. These sturdy pennants can be displayed in the classroom or sent home with the students as a special reminder of their trip to the Higgins Armory Museum. Recommended for grades 4 and up. Click here to see a sample.
• Heraldic Shield -- Students learn about the history of heraldry and then create their own unique heraldic shields. The shields are made of a custom die-cut cardboard support and then decorated with medieval “charges” or symbols cut from with sturdy posterboard in a range of colors, including metallics. Elastic handles enable students to easily carry their shields. Recommended for grades 3 and up. Click here to see a sample.
• Venetian Masks -- Students learn about the history of masks, focusing on their use in Shakespeare through excerpts from several of the Bard’s plays. They then decorate high-quality wearable papier-mâché masks using paint pens, glitter glue, and fun embellishments including feathers, jewels, and sequins. The masks can be decorated individually or designed for a group performance in your classroom. Recommended for grades 7 and up. Click here to see a sample.
• Woodblock Prints -- Students learn about the technique of woodblock printing and its significance as a communication tool, and then create their own compositions using a brand new set of professionally custom-made stamps designed exclusively for the Higgins! The images on the stamps are taken directly from a 1570 sport combat manual written by Joachim Meyer and now in the Higgins Armory Museum collection. This unique workshop gives students the rare opportunity to create their own work of art based on a primary source from the collection. Recommended for grades 5 and up. Click here to see a sample.
• Aluminum Tooling (Roman or Medieval themed) -- Students learn about different techniques used to decorate armor and create an image of their own armor design by drawing with a stylus into a sheet of heavy-gauge aluminum. The aluminum is buffed with steel wool and “antiqued” with black ink, and then framed in a black mat board frame. This easy and fun project yields a professional-looking result. Recommended for grades 6 and up. Click here to see a sample.

Role-playing

$3 per person -- Role-playing exercises challenge your group to question their contemporary views and consider the experiences and social norms of people living in other time periods. The role-plays are based on primary source documents. Costumes and scripts are provided. Please allow 45 minutes. Choose from:

• Paterfamilias -- This Roman role-play will give students insight into Roman life. Through the script, students will learn about superstition as a factor in everyday events; the role of the father of the family, or paterfamilias, as the central figure in a Roman household; the importance of trade; and the cultural richness of Roman society. Recommended for grades 5 and up.
• The Merchant Family -- This role-play explores the life of a tradesman’s family in the early 1500’s. During this period, it was normal for a young woman’s family to arrange her marriage, as is the case during this play. Less wealthy families would try to marry their children to people of greater wealth as a way of increasing their own fortune. In this role-play, a merchant’s daughter must decide whether to follow her family’s wish that she marry a man of high status or to marry the poor farmer that she truly loves. Recommended for grades 5 and up.
• Romeo & Juliet -- This role-play takes excerpts from the first three acts of Romeo and Juliet to give a sampling of one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays. The script includes many favorite scenes from the original text. Since much of the Higgins collection comes from the period of Romeo and Juliet, the Museum provides a unique setting for this role-play, whether your students are familiar with Shakespeare or are working with his plays for the first time. Recommended for grades 8 and up.

Package Field Trips

$15 per person (a $18 value)

Packages allow you and your students to explore the worlds of Ancient Rome, Medieval Chivalry, and Renaissance Europe through multitiered learning experiences. Please allow at least 3 ½ hours for a full package.

• Gothic Knight Package -- A Gothic Knight Interpretive Program, The Merchant Family Role-play, and Heraldic Shield Workshop. Recommended for grades 5 and up.

• Roman -- A Roman Legionary Interpretive Program, Paterfamilias Role-play, and Roman Aluminum Tooling. Recommended for grades 5 and up.

• Shakespeare -- Pike and Shot: The Decline of Armor Interpretive Program, Romeo & Juliet Role-play, and Venetian Mask Workshop. Recommended for grades 8 and up.

Museum Group Reservation Policies

• A minimum of 12 people is required to book a group visit to the Museum. We require a ratio of 1 Chaperone per 10 Students.
• Group Tour hours are Tuesday - Friday from 10 am to 2 pm. During the school year a 9 am start time can be arranged. The group rate can be arranged on Saturdays and Sundays but no private presentations can be arranged on these days.
• To book your field trip, use our Field Trip Form or contact the Education Department at (508) 853-6015 x20, rhoule@higgins.org.
• Please note the April-June is our busiest season: please reserve early.
• Reservations must be made at least two weeks in advance and a $50 non-refundable deposit is required to confirm your reservation.
• A lunch area for smaller groups can sometimes be arranged. This room must be booked in advance; there is a $20 fee for 30 minutes. Please call for details.
• The Museum is fully ADA accessible.
• Teachers are encouraged to preview the Higgins Armory Museum before their class visit. Contact the Education Department for a complimentary teacher's admission pass.
• For teacher workshops and materials, please call 508-853-6015 ext. 15
• Hands-On Tours for the visually challenged, and listening devices are available upon prior request.
• Audio Tours are not available for groups.
• Benefits of membership, including discounts and free admission, do not apply to group tours or programs. Complimentary Passes also do not apply to groups.
• Children age 5 and under are NOT admitted free when visiting with a group.
• Fees and Programs are subject to change without notice.
• If your field trip group is 15 minutes late or more, you may be required to forfeit your auditorium show in courtesy to our next arriving group.