Social Studies
Classroom Programs

Programs

60 minutes, maximum 30 students.

American Revolutions

Grades 4-8

Take a journey through four eras of American history: Colonial America, the American Revolution, the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement. Through replica artifacts, historical documents, and hands-on challenges, explore the impact of individuals and groups on the establishment of our democracy and our nation’s evolving fight for freedom and equality for all.

Archaeology of Ohio Valley Native Peoples

Grades 3-8

Gain an introduction to the major indigenous groups that have called the Ohio River Valley home. Discover the tools, natural resources and skills that allowed them to survive. Using a timeline, view these local cultures within the context of civilizations around the world. Learn about two techniques that archaeologists use to gather information and make inferences about people of the past. Use artifacts to experience quadrant mapping and create an example of stratigraphy for your group to keep.

Business Beginnings

Grades 3–6

Investigate soap and candle making, meatpacking, furniture making and brewing in 19th-century Cincinnati. Work in small groups to review period business records, illustrations and historical artifacts. Learn how productive resources were used in these industries and how they impacted production and consumption. Get to know economic terms such as opportunity cost, scarcity, profit and loss. Strong reading skills are necessary for this program.

Coming to America

Grades 3–8

The 1800s brought people from all around the world to the United States. Contemplate the push-and-pull factors that influenced immigrants to leave their homes and consider what items they might have brought with them on the journey to America. Learn what immigrating through Ellis Island was like and explore the lives and accomplishments of immigrants who settled in our area.

From Crown to Colonies to Country

(Available beginning January 2026)
Grades 1–4

Pack your trunk and sail into the past for a colonial adventure! Map the colonists’ journey from Europe to America and investigate replica artifacts to imagine what life was like in the colonies. Explore challenges faced by the colonists and the reasons they wanted to establish self-government.

Impact of Inventions

Grades 1–6

What is innovation? Who can be an inventor? How do you get credit for an invention? Many inventors, including Thomas Edison, Lewis Howard Latimer, Garrett Morgan, Eil Whitney, Henry Boyd and Patricia Bath, created items that changed our daily lives. Use a timeline, documents, artifacts and hands-on exploration to investigate the impact of their inventions and others on the past, present and future of our world.

On the Trail with Lewis & Clark

Grades 3–8

Take an imaginary trip with Lewis & Clark to explore President Jefferson’s recent acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase. Why were they going? What did they pack? Answer these questions and more as we head out on our adventure. Use maps, historical artifacts, primary source material and a choose-your-own-adventure game to study the wildlife, unknown lands and people that the Corps of Discovery encountered on their journey. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Lotions, Potions and Strange Notions

Grades 3–6

Learn about cholera, the disease at the root of multiple Cincinnati epidemics in the 1800s. Use primary documents to review cholera’s symptoms and the impact it had in our city. Explore the strange notions that people once had about the causes and treatments of illnesses and review the root causes of cholera outbreaks in our city. Identify colorful “giant microbes” responsible for other pandemics. Then, use mortars and pestles to mix and roll herbal pills like those dispensed by 19th-century apothecaries.

One World, Many Cultures

Grades 1–4

Take a trip around the world, using maps and travel buddies to navigate your way. Explore cultures from Africa, Asia, Australia and South and North America through clothing, crafts, games, celebrations, music and photographs. Program available in Exploration Station format.

Transportation Transformations

Grades 1–6

Learn how canals, streetcars and inclines impacted the growth of Cincinnati from the 1820s through the 1950s. Learn about a period folksong, load goods on a mock canal boat, experience one of Cincinnati’s five inclines and view historical photographs of these forms of transportation.

Uncovering Egypt*

Grade 2-8

Calling all Egyptologists! Explore archaeology, the science that unlocks the secrets of past civilizations. Excavate and analyze replica artifacts to learn about famous Egyptians and expand your knowledge of Egyptian culture. Immerse yourself in this world of hieroglyphs, pharaohs and gods and goddesses galore!

The Underground Railroad: Its History, People & Glory

Grades 3–8

Explore the journey from enslavement to freedom by learning about the Middle Passage and the experiences of those who endured it. Recreate elements of the Underground Railroad through photographs, maps, navigational tools, replica shackles and true stories of historical figures. Discover the resourcefulness, courage and determination of freedom-seeking enslaved people and abolitionists.

Walking City

Grades 3-8

Explore how geographic factors kept Cincinnatians confined to the downtown basin and learn why our city remained a walking city longer than most. Use a giant authentic 1863 urban map, its key, advertisements from the city directory and illustrations to perform a series of tasks that help you understand what life was like then in downtown Cincinnati. Strong reading skills are necessary for this program. Program available in Exploration Station format.

When Two Worlds Met

Grades 3–6

The North American fur trade connected people from two different worlds. Exchange furs, coins and wampum for replica goods from a late 18th-century trading post. Learn about the Battle of Fallen Timbers by stepping into roles as the signers of the Treaty of Greenville. Experience a period beaver felt hat, wampum and a calumet.