Download pre-visit materials

Preparing for your visit...

Thank you for considering a school field trip to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Please contact the park to get the most up-to-date information and confirmation of our programs. Email is the preferred way to contact the education coordinator, but you may telephone if necessary. We can certainly flex or customize our programs to meet your needs. We cannot, however, handle more than 50 students at one time. We are happy to reserve multiple dates for larger groups, however our program limit is 50 students.

Contact us to discuss your questions or concerns.

Phone: [phone] extension 138
email: education coordinator

Mail: Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Attn: Education Coordinator
1100 W. Ruins Dr.
Coolidge, AZ 85128

 

Student Workbooks

The student workbooks will be provided by the park. Students will work in groups of 5 to 7 and share one book between them. The adult chaperone (required) with the small group will assist the students in finding each outdoor sign and understanding the content.

Answers for the questions are in the form of a 'rubbing plate' that a student will use. The workbook has blank pages on the reverse of the question pages due to this rubbing technique. The page is placed over a rock tile mounted on the base of the outdoor sign (called a 'wayside') and a special crayon (provided) is rubbed on the paper causing the tile's engraved word or image to transfer to the work book. This is very similar to how tombstone rubbings are created, if you are familiar with that technique.

Please notice the extra wide margins on the page. Questions for students beyond the 4th grade level may be added to stickers applied in these margins. Currently, teachers requesting the field trip will need to provide the additional questions.

 

Outdoor Exhibits

The workbooks are keyed to the outdoor signs (called waysides) in the park historic area. These are full color signs with specially commissioned artwork and recent research incorporated. The waysides are posted on this park website, and will be keyed in the future to access assistance (such as audio description narratives for visually impaired) and additional information as developed. The waysides will have QR codes posted on the frames to coordinate finding this special content. It is hoped that in the future (2016 and beyond) the park will have loanable IPads for easy access to the materials, which will include audio files, video files, and photographic files.

 

Other Ideas

Look at the Kids & Youth section of this website for other activities such as paper models, coloring page, word searches, and crossword puzzles. You are welcome to use them in your classroom.

Local schools can borrow a 'traveling trunk' of props, resource materials, and lesson plans for a pre- or post- visit lesson. The 'trunk' is delivered by park staff and can be returned during your on-site visit. If the park has a trained volunteer available you can request a volunteer presenter to come with the 'trunk' and conduct activities in your school.