Grades 9 – 12: The Ages of Armor Field Trip

Your field trip begins with a live arms and armor presentation where brave participants test their courage during a series of hands-on demonstrations telling the story of arms and armor. Following this presentation, your group continues to the Great Hall of the museum for a guided tour of shields, swords, staff weapons, and over 35 suits of armor. Be sure to leave time for a visit to our interactive gallery, Castle Quest. Before you board the bus, stop by our Museum Store for all your medieval needs, from books and journals to reproduction armor and models of catapults.

Time: 1.5 Hours (if group is over 100, total time is 2.25 hours)
 Cost: $9.00 per participant, including chaperones
(1 adult chaperone required for every 10 students)

Click here to make a reservation and for basic information about group visits.

Enhance your visit.

Enhance the fun and educational aspects of your visit to the museum by adding one of the following exciting options.

Shows

Each show adds $3 per person, and replaces the arms and armor presentation in the Ages of Armor Field Trip.

A Roman Legionary — 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 — 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 would cover themselves in suits of overlapping articulated steel plates. Explore the reasons for these changes both in the equipment and in the men who used them through demonstrations and audience participation.
A Gothic Knight — the 15th-century battlefield witnessed both the emergence of the fully armored knight and the introduction of the handheld firearms that eventually brought about the knight's demise. Participants will witness how weapons of the period functioned and were used. Includes hands-on demonstrations of historical combat techniques.
Pike and Shot: the Decline of Armor — the 16th century would see the final flowering of chivalry even as the changes in warfare would cause the decline in the usage of armor on the European battlefield and the birth of modern warfare by the 17th century. 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.

Workshops

Each workshop adds $5 per participant, and adds 45 minutes to total program time.

Heraldic Pennants — Discover the history of heraldry and create your own one-of-a-kind pennant.
Heraldic Shields — Discover the history of heraldry as you create your own unique medieval shield.
Venetian Masks — While decorating masks, explore their history through excerpts of plays by Shakespeare.
Aluminum Tooling — Learn the different techniques used to decorate armor and create an image of your very own armor. Choose from Roman or Medieval themes.

Role-Plays

Each role-play adds $3 per person, and adds 45 minutes to total program time.

Plautus' Mostellaria — Going to the theatre was a popular pastime in the Roman world. Titus Maccius Plautus wrote in the decades around 200 BC. This play, Mostellaria, or “The Haunted House,” is a typical “New Comedy”, in which the tricky slave or servant strings the other characters along with a series of lies and stories, usually made up on the spot, for his own benefit or amusement. Can your students keep up with the humor of the ancients?
The Merchant Family — this role-play explores the life of a tradesman's family in the early 1500s. 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
Shakespeare’s Macbeth — See Shakespeare performed like never before – by your students! The Tragedy of Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most well-known works. This role-play will summarize the major events of the play and give students the opportunity to act out key scenes. The language of the scenes is the language of Shakespeare, but has been abridged for time considerations and fluidity of the plot.

Package Field Trips

These packages offer a $20.00 value for only $15.00. They allow you and your students to explore the worlds of Ancient Rome, Medieval Chivalry, and Renaissance Europe through multi-tiered learning experiences. Allow at least 3.5 hours.

Gothic Knight Package — includes the Gothic Knight show, the Merchant Family role-play, and the Heraldic Shields workshop.
Roman Package — includes the Roman Legionary show, the Mostellaria role-play, and the Roman Aluminum Tooling workshop.
Shakespeare Package — includes the Pike and Shot show, the Macbeth role-play, and the Venetian Mask workshop.