Kansas State Historic Sites

Fieldtrips

Many of our state historic sites offer guided tours. Check these links for tour and admission information.

Constitution Hall

Standards-based tour - Meet Kansas Territorial Characters

Grade 7

Travel back in time to meet some of the “Territorial Characters” of the Kansas Territorial period. This unique hands-on learning experience allows students to see a live performance featuring actors portraying Charles Robinson, Sara Robinson, James Lane, John Brown, Clarina Nichols, Samuel Jones, David Atchison, and Andrew Reeder. Students will have the opportunity to interact with and ask questions of the actors who will remain “in character” after the performance ends.

This one-hour performance is set in an 1850s Kansas Territorial political town hall meeting. Actors from the Lecompton Reenactors Troupe portray some of the famous Kansans from that turbulent time period known as “Bleeding Kansas.” Join them as they passionately express their feelings on the issue of slavery in Kansas, both pro and con.

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Cottonwood Ranch

Standards-based tour - Free Land For All Who Want It

Grade 7

General Tour

Grades 1 and up - tours can be adjusted for age

Tours provide students with a sense of what life was like at Cottonwood Ranch in the late nineteenth century. Topics discussed are the types of labor required, how buildings were constructed, the skills needed to shear sheep, comparison of labor versus income, and costs of materials and clothing comparing then and now. Depending on season, tours may include visits to the shearing shed, bunkhouse, and stable. Tours can vary in length, but usually would range from one hour to 90 minutes.

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First Territorial Capitol

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Fort Hays

Native Americans And The Buffalo

Grades 1 - 5

To the Plains Indians, "Tahtonka" provided all the necessary elements of life. They not only ate the meat but fashioned tools and weapons from the bones and made clothing and shelter from the skin. Nothing was wasted. Find out what a quirt and parfleche are made from and what parts of the bison were used to make cooking pots and water containers. Reproduction Native American items such as a coup stick, cradleboard, pipe, tomahawk, bow and arrows and many other useful items will also be shown in this is a hands-on program.

Fort Hays: A Most Desirable Place

Grades 9 and older

Fort Hays was an important U.S. Army Post, from 1865 until 1889. Established to protect travelers along the Smoky Hill Trail, it later became instrumental in helping protect the Union Pacific Railway through Kansas and was a supply depot for other posts in the area. Many famous figures are associated with Fort Hays. This slide program is geared toward audiences high school aged and older.

From Reveille to Taps: Bugle Calls at Fort Hays

For all ages

Bugles, horns and drums have been used for centuries to control the movement of troops on the battlefield as well as to regulate a soldiers activities on a fort during the day. Learn the origins and meanings of some of the most common calls used at Fort Hays in the late 1800s..

Button Boards and Glass Grenades: Military Oddities of the 1800s

Grades 6 and older

Soldiers had a wide variety of unique tools and equipment at their disposal in the 1800s. Take a look at some of these unusual items and find out exactly how they were used.

For a Brevet or a Coffin

Grades 9 and older

Troops from Fort Hays and other nearby forts fought eleven major battles with Native Americans between 1867 and 1878. This slide program reviews each of these battles and their outcome. The Kidder Massacre, Beecher Island and the battle of Washita are a few of the battles that will be covered in this is a slide program.

Grating, Grinding and Shaving: Antique Kitchen Gadgets

Grades 6 and older

What would you do without your frozen food, microwave, and electric stove? Probably exactly what the Victorian housewife did-prepare your meals from scratch! But even in the 1800s, women had a collection of gadgets and tools designed to save time and effort. Get an up-close look at how these wondrous inventions worked in this primarily hands-on program.

Victorian Secrets: What Women Wore in the 1800s

For all ages

Women's clothing during the Victorian period were resplendently feminine with lace, frills, hoops, bustles, and beautiful accessories. They were also underlain with corsets, pantaloons and layers of petticoats that took time and effort to get into! Find out what it took for the well-dressed woman of the 1800s to become well-dressed as the presentor dresses a manniquin and explains each item.

General Tour

Can be geared for any age

Fort Hays consist of a Visitors Center with exhibits and tours of three of the original buildings: the blockhouse, the guardhouse and one of the two officer's quarters. There is about one quarter mile of sidewalks between the buildings with interpretive signs along the way. Large groups should schedule in advance.

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Grade 4

John Brown Museum

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Kaw Mission

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Mine Creek Battlefield

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Pawnee Indian Museum

Standards-based tour - When Smoke Curled Upward from Earth Lodges

Grade 7

Plains Indian Homes in Kansas

Grades 1

Visit the site of an 1820s Pawnee earthlodge village and view the actual floor of an excavated lodge floor. The tour will showcase the earthlodge and its construction and why certain materials were used. The Pawnees also lived in tipis and their relations, the Wichita lived in grass lodges and these types of houses will also be discussed extensively. These three types of Indian shelter will be explained to show how different tribes in Kansas utilized what nature provided in different envirements.

This tour addresses grade specific standards to help teachers meet these standards.