The Valentine offers hands-on, interactive student programs and walking or bus tours for the academic year that enhance classroom instruction and make history come alive.
The following programs and tours are offered during the 2017-2018 academic year. All programs are compatible with the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) requirements, and led by Valentine educators and guides. Use the filter below to search for programs or view our program brochure. Advance registration required. To book a program click here for questions please contact education@thevalentine.org.
Using hats, dance and stories, students examine roles in our community from long ago and today!
Age Range: Early Childhood, YouthPlay with patterns and colors while exploring shapes and textures found in the houses we live in, the clothes we wear and the art we make. Available onsite May through January, this program guides students through the Wickham Cellars and our Costume and Textiles exhibition, Our (He)Arts on our Sleeves, while discovering designs from long and today. Program can be booked as an outreach, year round.
Age Range: Early Childhood, YouthExplore the agricultural and hunting practices of the Eastern Woodland Indians and learn about the Powhatan’s use of natural resources.
Age Range: Early Childhood, YouthFrom the marriage of John Rolfe and Pocahontas to the residents moving to the city today, learn about the families who call Richmond home.
Grade(s): 4, 3, 2, 1Play games from the past and learn about the daily life of children in the 1800s.
Grade(s): 4, 3, 2, 1Explore secret gardens in the heart of downtown Richmond and discover what treasures you can find in your own backyard! This walking tour and museum visit includes a stop at the Valentine sculpture studio and garden.
Grade(s): 5, 4, 3, 2From candlesticks to neon lights (and beyond), discover materials and technology that Richmonders have used to illuminate their homes and businesses. Students will experience hands-on history in the Wickham Cellars, view the Valentine’s collection of neon signs and bring home an original craft.
Age Range: YouthDiscover mysteries hidden in the Valentine collection and learn about the spies who called Richmond home. Elizabeth Van Lew, Mary Elizabeth Bowser and others are discussed.
Age Range: YouthBeginning with Capitol Square, learn about the people that impacted freedoms in Virginia and the nation. Includes a tour of the First Freedom Center along with a stop at the Henry Box Brown monument, among others.
Age Range: Youth, TeensThe 1812 Wickham house was both a workplace and a home. Use artifacts to discover what you can deduce about the lives of the many inhabitants of this historic site.
Age Range: Early Childhood, YouthEnjoy a guided scavenger hunt through the museum galleries and a tour of the 1812 Wickham House (includes Hands on History experience in the McClurg bedroom and Wickham Cellar).
Age Range: Early Childhood, Youth, Teens, CollegeDiscover a variety of shapes, colors, patterns and designs and learn about life in the past as students explore the museum and buildings on the Valentine’s block of Clay Street.
Age Range: Early Childhood, YouthTrades and recreation activities of early Richmond residents are examined through artifact investigations, games and a craft. Students engage with hands on artifacts, play games and learn about how life in the past is different than today.
Age Range: Early Childhood, YouthStudents utilize map skills while learning about Richmonders who shaped our local and national history. The Powhatan, Christopher Newport, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Maggie Walker, Arthur Ashe and others are discussed.
Age Range: YouthExplore the use of flags and symbols in our region and why they are important. Learn to fold a flag, sing songs and design your own flag.
Age Range: YouthStudents use Indian artifacts to learn about the lives of the Eastern Woodland Indians of Virginia and their reliance on natural resources. Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas, language groups and geography are discussed per grade level and artifacts and crafts are included.
Students identify Greek and Roman neoclassical elements in the 1812 Wickham House and throughout Richmond architecture, reinforcing concepts and culture through hands-on activities and fables.
Combine with Ancients in the Neighborhood for a walking tour of Richmond’s neoclassical architecture!
Learn about spies who lived and worked in the Richmond region during the Revolutionary and Civil wars. Students use primary sources, stories and artifacts to uncover the mystery of these intriguing figures in history.
Age Range: Youth, TeensStudents explore the identities of enslaved and free African Americans in Richmond from pre-Revolution to post Civil War by examining artifacts and primary sources. Some of the notable figures discussed in this program are Henry Box Brown, Maggie Walker and Athur Ashe.
Age Range: YouthWhat made Richmond a city and a capital? Students identify the City’s resources, transportation, manufacturing and history, from settlement to modern city, adding pieces to the puzzle that becomes a Fall Line City.
Examine the Civil War in Richmond through the lives of the free and enslaved, Union and Confederate, and through the lens of prolific photographers. In this program, students analyze artifacts, photographs and other primary sources produced during this period of American conflict.
Age Range: TeensIdentify the effects of the Great Depression in Richmond, the economics and programs of the time and how they resonate today.
Age Range: TeensExamine the WWII home front including women in the workforce, rationing and the role of propaganda. Discover that victory was the result of efforts by women and children and the influence of icons, industry and marketing. Discover what shaped the “Greatest Generation” in Richmond.
Age Range: TeensExplore the realities of Jim Crow and segregation in the Greater Richmond area and the figures and disputes that shaped national change.
Age Range: TeensOn this walking tour through Richmond’s Court End neighborhood, students explore Richmond architecture influenced by Egypt, Greece and Ancient Rome. Stops include (but are not limited to) the 1812 Wickham House, Capitol Grounds, Egyptian Building and Monumental Church.
Combine with Greek by Design for an in depth look at neoclassical architecture in the Wickham House!
Age Range: YouthThis guided walking tour explores Capitol Square’s rich history and architecture. When booking your program, let us know if you’d like to book an interior Capitol tour at no additional cost.
Age Range: Youth, TeensStroll through Hollywood Cemetery and enjoy the history, and landscape that comprises this public space. This walking tour focuses on the cemetery’s unique history, its landscape design, architecture, symbols and noted residents including two U.S. Presidents and writer Ellen Glasgow.
Age Range: Youth, TeensWalk through Church Hill Neighborhood and learn about Richmond’s role during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Tour stops include the site of Elizabeth Van Lew’s mansion, St. John’s Church (exterior)* and Libby Hill.
* An interior visit to St. John’s church can be arranged at an additional cost of $5 per student and $6 per adult.
Age Range: Youth, TeensOn this guided bus tour, with stops at St. John’s Church and the State Capitol, students discover what a fall line is and why it was important to Richmond’s development, as well as examine Richmond’s role in the formation of the country.
* An interior visit to St. John’s church can be arranged at an additional cost of $5 per student and $6 per adult.
Age Range: Youth, TeensOn this guided bus tour, with a stop at the Maggie Walker Historic Site (exterior) or the Black History Museum and Capitol Square, students explore the important role that African Americans played in our city and state’s history.
Customize your tour and let us know if you’d like to include an interior visit of the Capitol or the Maggie Walker Historic Site.
Age Range: Youth, Teens, CollegeThis walking tour focuses on the development of Richmond’s canals in the early 19th century, demonstrating their importance to the early history of Virginia, territorial expansion, industries, and the growth of the city.
Age Range: Youth, TeensOn this guided bus tour, with stops at Capitol Square, historic Tredegar, and either the Museum of the Confederacy or the Virginia Historical Society, students examine Richmond’s role in the Civil War and the major events that took place here.
Age Range: Youth
