Education

Field Trips and Specialty Tours

Note: The Wilkinson Mill and the Sylvanus Brown House are currently closed to the public until critical accessibility and safety work is completed. Due to this, group tours are required to be smaller than those offered in the past.

Field Trips at the Mill

We are welcoming field trips for elementary and secondary school students at Old Slater Mill National Historic Landmark in Pawtucket, RI.

Each visit includes a tour of Old Slater Mill as well as optional group activities.

The current capacity for a group field trip is 60 people at a time for up to 90 minutes. There is no fee, but reservations are required. Visitors may eat on the grounds of Slater Mill but there is no indoor dining space. Please note that restrooms are limited.

The mill will be closed to all programs from December 15, 2024 - March 2025
Reservation inquiries for March - June 2025 may be made for spring 2025 programs by contacting Ranger Horrocks
Homeschool days featuring workshops, tours, and drop-in activities will also be offered in spring and fall

Reservations can be made by emailing Allison Horrocks or calling 401-318-4883.

Lifelong Learners/Camps/Colleges and Universities

Extended tours of Old Slater Mill are available for groups of lifelong learners and college-level classes (up to 25 visitors per tour). Visitors will have the opportunity to ask questions and spend up to 90 minutes with a Park Ranger. These tours are offered on a first come, first served basis depending on availability. There is no fee, but reservations are required.
Reservations can be made by emailing Allison Horrocks or calling 401-318-4883

Tour Companies/Fee-Based Groups - Commercial Use Authority

The National Park Service Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998, Section 418 (1998 Act) provides the authority for NPS to issue CUAs.
CUAs are required if an operator intends to make a profit from commercial goods or services to park visitors that:

Take place at least in part on lands managed by the NPS.

Use Park resources.

If you have any questions regarding these matters, or would like to obtain a Commercial Use Authorization, please feel free to contact Kevin Rice at 401-318-7155 or at e-mail us.

Group of young children sitting on the steps of schoolhouse. Black and white image — School children take class photo outside of Ashton School House

In Your Classroom

Video Resources:

The Park's YouTube page provides dozens of videos that investigate the history of the Blackstone River Valley.

Suggested Videos for self-guided tours:

Classroom Visits

The Park offers ranger-led classroom visits for schools in Rhode Island. If you are interested in having a staff member come to your class, please reach out to Park Ranger Allison Horrocks.

Curriculum

The Rhode Island Historical Society, in partnership with NPS, created lesson plans designed to meet the curriculum standards for fourth grade students in Rhode Island. These plans work well for educators planning a visit to Blackstone River State Park in Lincoln, RI. However, they are also intended for educators unavailable to go to the site itself.

Please see the tabs below to access the lesson plans:

Alice (Hadfield) Timperley and Oral His

Oral histories are excellent ways to preserve the past. Students will learn the story of Alice Hadfield, a resident of Ashton.
Culture and Community

This lesson highlights the importance of recognizing and celebrating the diversity of those who lived in the Valley.
Innovation in Transportation

This lesson will have students identify various modes of transportation used from the 1800s into the 1900s.
Learning about Mill Workers

This lesson will have students use primary sources to learn about some of the mill workers and their jobs at the Lonsdale Company in RI.
Looming and Learning

This lesson plan is intended to make students think critically about how clothing is manufactured today and why.
Manufacturing with Marbles at Ashton

This lesson will have students examine several products manufactured by Owens-Corning at the Ashton Mill in Rhode Island from 1941 to 1983.
Project ZAP! Blackstone River Cleanup

This lesson will have students use historical thinking skills by analyzing two primary sources related to the Blackstone cleanup in 1972.
The Life of Captain Wilbur Kelly

This lesson will have students practice using primary and secondary sources in order to learn about the past.
The Rhode Island System of Mill Villages

This lesson gives students the opportunity to learn more about the community of Ashton and discover their own community's history.
Women and Children in the Mill Village

In this lesson, students will practice examining a set of images where women or children are the main subjects of the photographs.
Conflicting Values: Brown and Ballou

This lesson plan invites students to consider the conflicting views of leading abolitionists in the years leading to the Civil War.
Peace Picnics and Community in Hopedale

This speech-focused lesson highlights the importance of community events and networks of communication among abolitionists in Hopedale, MA.
History Detective: First Strike

In this lesson, students will analyze primary source documents about America's First Strike in 1824 in Pawtucket, RI