Student Field Trips

The Holland Museum offers a variety of engaging history and STEAM-focused field trip options for all ages. Our tours and hands-on experiences provide a learner-centered environment where students use critical thinking skills to gain a richer understanding of Holland’s past while appreciating our community’s diverse present. All programs meet current curriculum standards.

For questions or to schedule a visit, please contact the Holland Museum: (616) 796-3080, debra@hollandmuseum.org, or click on the button link below to fill out a form request. Please have 2-3 date options available.

Schedule an Educational Tour

Holland Museum Field Trips

Capacity: 50 students. Groups larger than 15 students will be divided and rotated between the chosen activities.
Length: The average field trip is 1.5 hours, depending on the options selected.
Cost: $3.00 per student, including Spark!Lab Smithsonian.
Teachers are free plus one free chaperone for every 10 paid students.

Historic Cappon and Settlers House Field Trips

Capacity: 30 students. Groups larger than 15 students will be divided and rotated between the two houses and the Carriage Barn.
Length: We recommend 1.5 to 2 hours.
Cost: $3.00 per student.
Teachers are free plus one free chaperone for every 10 paid students.

Second Grade

Tracking Holland History (45 minutes)
Students explore the History Gallery as they search for the events and objects that tell the story of Holland’s rich history. Students will create a timeline of their discoveries to take back to their classroom.

Now for a Word from Our Sponsor (45 minutes)
After learning about the history of industry and products made in Holland, students will experience the “Theater of the Mind,” by acting out radio jingles, complete with sound effects. This tour meets both History and Language Arts Benchmarks.

Cappon and Settlers House: Through the Eyes of a Child (1.5 hours)
Students explore what children’s lives were like during the Victorian Era by comparing the lifestyles of wealthy families like the Cappons and working-class families. Students will also discuss what school days were like in early Holland and how local children experienced the Great Holland Fire of 1871. Activities include creating a Victorian calling card, playing with historic toys, as well as examining Cappon artifacts like report cards and photos.

History Sleuths (1 hour)
Students will explore the History Gallery in search of clues to Holland's past. Then using historical maps, photos, documents, and objects studentss will work as Jr. Historians to uncover the history of our community.

Third–Fifth Grade

Museum History Mysteries(45 minutes)
Students explore the traditional art, crafts, and clothing of old-world Netherlands, as well as the story of Holland, Michigan, from the early Odawa encampments to today’s stories of innovation and diversity. Students will be junior historians as they examine artifacts and discuss how artifacts teach historians about past cultures and customs.

Hot Off the Presses (45 minutes)
Students work as news reporters as they select an important event in Holland’s history, record the important details, and write a news article back at school. This tour meets History and Language Arts Benchmarks.

Buy Now! (1 hour)
Students learn about the many industries in Holland’s past and present and how they were promoted in the History gallery. Students select a product and then create their own advertisement using supplies in our education room.

Cappon and Settlers Houses: Victorian Home Life in Holland (1.5 hours)
Growing up in Victorian times had many different challenges than today. Students will explore the Cappon and Settler’s homes while learning about the expectations and roles for young men and women growing up in this era. Activities include participating in a spelling bee from a McGuffey Reader and experiencing the Cappon children’s chores.

Sixth Grade–College

Holland Museum Artifact Exploration (1.5 hours)
Students will learn about Holland’s history by examining primary sources (artifacts, pictures, documents) in the museum’s education collection. They will understand the importance of studying history from original objects. Multiple visits can be scheduled for extended student projects.

Cappon and Settlers Houses (1.5 hours)
Students will learn first-hand about life in the late 1800s by examining the lives of the upper-class Cappon family and the working-class families of the Settlers House. Multiple visits can be scheduled for extended student projects.

Adult Tour Groups

Cost: $5.00/adult

Holland Museum Exploration Tours (1.5 hours)
Choose from a tour of the permanent galleries, our temporary exhibits, the Dutch Galleries, or take a tour of the entire museum. Visitors will learn about Dutch culture, the history of Holland from its beginning, and more! Check our website for dates and descriptions for our special temporary exhibits. Exhibitions List–Holland Museum

Historic Cappon and Settlers Houses (1.5 hours)
Travel back in time to late 19^th century Holland through the stories of Isaac Cappon, the first mayor of Holland and his large family. Visit their 1874 Italianate home, restored to its 1902 appearance, their carriage barn, and the beautiful gardens, maintained by the Holland Garden Club. The visit concludes with a tour of the Settlers House, an 1867 working-class family home that survived the 1871 Holland Fire.

Classroom Resources

Educators! Our History in a Box educational kits are a new tool to bring history alive in your classrooms. Each History in a Box offers artifacts, activities, and opportunities for hands-on exploration that will inspire students. Kits contain supplies and printed materials for 30 students. Additional materials are available for sale.

$50 for a two-week rental.
Recommended for 2nd–5th grade.
Additional printed materials are available for $30 for 30 students.
To request a History in a Box, click on the button link below and fill out the form. Please have 2-3 date options available.

History in a Box Request

Extended Learning

Pair your History in a Box with a field trip and extend the learning!

We recommend scheduling your box before the field trip.
$25 for a two-week rental with a field trip booking ($3/student)? Or box is free with a school field trip booking?

Picture of Holland Museum classroom educational resources for the Native American History in a Box.

"Native American Stories" History in a Box learning kit.

Native American Stories
Explore the indigenous People of the Three Fires who called Michigan and the Great Lakes region home. Topics include maple sugaring, Native American trails and transportation, trapping and European involvement, and more. Kit includes all the supplies for a bartering activity, planting Three Sisters, plus a Timeline activity for 30 students. Additional Three Sister materials for 30 students can be ordered for $30.

Picture of Holland Museum classroom educational resources for the Cappon House History in a Box.

"The Cappon Family and Victorian Era" History in a Box learning kit.

The Cappon Family and the Victorian Era
Discover how people worked, played, and were educated during the Victorian Era through the lens of the Cappon family. Artifacts, reproductions, and activities will provide students with hands-on learning. Topics include Cappon family history and the 1871 Holland Fire, schooling and continuing education for boys and girls, and the evolution of communication in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kit includes supplies for a one-room school experience, and rotating stations to explore old-fashioned toys, tools, and other artifacts about the roles of young men and women. Activities also include a Cappon family tree, a Holland timeline, cursive and Victorian letter writing handouts, how to fold a Pressmen’s hat, learn Morse code, and a typesetting exercise.

Student Field Trips

Holland Museum Field Trips

Historic Cappon and Settlers House Field Trips

Reduced Admission and Busing Assistance

Field Trip Options

For All Ages