As Step 1 in the reservation process, please review the education programs offered at Fort Vancouver for the 2010-2011 school year.
Teachers may make reservations for individual and large group tours between September 1, 2010 and June 6, 2011.
INDIVIDUAL GROUP TOURS
Tours for individual classes are offered from September 13, 2010 through June 10, 2011. The minimum number for a group is 15 people and the maximum is 35 (including chaperones). The tour is approximately one hour and includes visits to the Fur Store, Indian Trade Shop, and Chief Factor’s House. After the tour, groups are welcome to visit any of the site’s other buildings, including the Bake House, Blacksmith Shop, Carpenter Shop, Jail, Bastion, Hospital/Barclay Quarters, Counting House and area of interest surrounding fort including the garden, the Land Bridge, and Interpretive trails through the village on a self-guided basis.
- Please note that group tours can be scheduled daily at 9:30, 10:30, and 11:30 a.m. from September 13 to June 10 except for the Mondays and Fridays in the springwhen the Hands-on Program occurs. On these days, group tours can be scheduled at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
- If scheduling a tour Tuesday through Friday from March 8 through June 10, please see the section entitled Large Group Tours below.
- for more details on a program's key concept, goals, objectives, and connections to learning standards in Oregon and Washington, click here.
FIXED STATION TOURS (formally known as LARGE GROUP TOURS)
Fixed station tours or large group tours are ideal for schools with multiple classes. The maximum number for a large group tour is 4 classes (approximately 140 people). At the start of these tours, each class is assigned a separate tour guide. The tour guide provides the class with a short introduction to the fort’s history. Each class is then taken to a different building where they spend 12 minutes learning about the building’s purpose and its significance to the fort. After 12 minutes the fort bell will ring and each class will rotate to the next building until all of the buildings on the tour have been visited. This program takes approximately one hour and a 15 minutes to complete. Please note that individual classes are welcome to sign up for Large Group Tours as well.
- Offered Tuesdays through Friday from March 8 to June 10, 2010. Tours are scheduled at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
HANDS-ON PROGRAMS *PLEASE NOTE CHANGES
Classes with 15-35 people (including chaperones) are welcome to sign up for one of several Hands-on Programs. They are offered TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY from March 22 to June 10, 2011. All Hands-on Programs are scheduled at 1:00pm. Teachers may begin making reservations for Hands-on Programs on January 3, 2011.
PLEASE NOTE:
- All Hands-on Programs no longer include a one hour tour in addition to the 1.5 hour hands-on component. We encourage teachers to bring their classes 30 minutes prior to their scheduled Hands-on-Program, for a SELF-GUIDED TOUR.
- To allow more classes to participate, a limit of two Hands-on Program reservations per school per year will be in effect beginning in January 2011.
TUESDAY HANDS-ON-PROGRAMS (2010-2011 School Year)
Pieces of the Past (3rd through 6th grades only):
Students use archaeology, oral histories, and journals to reconstruct some of the lives and buildings from Fort Vancouver’s past. This is a one hour and 15 minute program, offered every tuesday in Spring 2011:
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March 22, 2011
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March 29, 2011
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April 5, 2011
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April 12, 2011
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April 19, 2011
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April 26, 2011
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May 3, 2011
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May 10, 2011
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May 17, 2011
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May 24, 2011
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May 31, 2011
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June 7, 2011
WEDNESDAY HANDS-ON-PROGRAM (2010-2011 School Year)
Trade Talk (3rd through 12th grades only):
The culturally diverse population of the Pacific Northwest learned a common language, Chinook Wawa (also called Chinook Jargon), that enabled them to communicate and survive. Students will use this language to trade for goods needed to lead a comfortable life. This is a one hour and 15 minute program, offered every Wednesday in Spring 2011:
- March 23, 2011
- March 30, 2011
- April 6, 2011
- April 13, 2011
- April 20, 2011
- April 27, 2011
- May 4, 2011
- May 11, 2011
- May 18, 2011
- May 25, 2011
- June 1, 2011
- June 8, 2011
THURSDAY HANDS-ON-PROGRAMS (2010-2011 School Year)
Company Servant I (4th through 6th grades only)
Students experience life at a 19th Century fur trading post by working in the fort Bake House and Black Smith Shop. This is a one hour and 15 minute program offered every thursday in Spring 2011.
- March 24, 2011
- March 31, 2011
- April 7, 2011
- April 11, 2011
- April 14, 2011
- April 21, 2011
- April 28, 2011
- May 5, 2011
- May 12, 2011
- May 19, 2011
- May 26, 2011
- June 2, 2011
- June 9, 2011
FRIDAY HANDS-ON-PROGRAM (2010-2011 School Year)
Company Servant II (4th through 6th grades only)
Students learn the skills of a Hudson's Bay Company carpenter and kitchen steward by using tools in the Carpenter Shop, and doing the daily domestic work in the kitchen. This is a one hour and 15 minute program offered every Friday in Spring 2010:
- March 25, 2011
- April 1, 2011
- April 8, 2011
- April 15, 2011
- April 29, 2011
- May 6, 2011
- May 13, 2011
- May 20, 2011
- May 27, 2011
- June 3, 2011
- June 10, 2011
AUDIO TOURS FOR SELF-GUIDED SCHOOL GROUPS
Want to learn more about the fort on your own schedule? Audio tours provide an introduction to the fort for any group, regardless of any past visits.
The park has two offerings: a one hour adult tour (suitable for 9 years and up) and a forty-five minute family tour (designed for adults and children 9 years and up). Both tours take you through many of the fort's buildings, blending sound effects, authentic dialects, and period music with a fascinating historical narrative. Topics include the fort's diverse working community, the fur trade era, and the Oregon Trail.
These tours are available for Self Guided School Groups (up to 40 students plus chaperones at a time may use the units),grades 4th and up.
- The program is free of charge and units can be picked up inside the front gates of the reconstructed fort where the tour begins.
- Please call the Education Reservations Coordinator to make reservations at 360.816.6241.
- Offered year round for schools
ENVIRONMENTAL LIVING PROGRAM: CROSSROADS & CONFLICT (8th through 12th grades only)
The Environmental Living Program: Crossroads and Conflict is an immersion program where students live as a group in a particular time in history at a particular place. Fort Vancouver's program revolves around the newly created Oregon Territory and the arrival of the first US Army troops and how the Hudson's Bay Company employees (engages) reacted to their arrival. Students will be exposed to life on the frontier before the American Civil War. They will use tools, perform duties, work, cook, drill and sleep as if they were here in the spring of 1849.
- Reservations are required for this overnight program and limited to 32 students/5 adults (including instructor).
- This is a fee based program.
- For more information about this program, please contact the Environmental Living Program Coordinator at (360) 816-6242.
For reservations only, please call the Education Program Reservation Coordinator at (360) 816-6241.
To continue to Step 2, please click here or on the link to the right.
