Educators Corner
The History Center welcomes teachers of all grades to the museum, allowing students to connect with history in a hands-on manner. Teachers can also find classroom tools to enhance their students’ visit and bring the experience to life long after the journey has ended.
Virtual Experiences
For the 2023-2024 School Year, the History Center will offer online activities, programs, and exhibits to share Allen County and Fort Wayne history and engage with students wherever they may be. All experiences will be FREE for K-12 school groups from Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Miami, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley Counties.
Every Day Should Be a Free Day
Thanks to the Heritage Education Fund, admission to the History Center is FREE for all K-12 school groups from Allen, DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble and Steuben counties during the school year. Admission for school groups outside these counties is discounted to $4 per person. All groups will receive an orientation presentation, museum tour and free educational materials.
Field Trips Mean Hands-On History
Reinforce classroom lessons with a field trip where history comes to life in a unique, hands-on fashion. Each exhibit space comes complete with our Hands on History collections where students can look closer at objects and images, try things out, and even try things on. Favorites include:
- Innovation & Technology, a fully immersive experience where every exhibit is hands on. See, feel, and hear your way through the stories of our local inventors and inventions
- Industry & Transportation, the story of the industrialization of Allen County. Complete with an automated blacksmith shop, the sounds of Fort Wayne’s locomotives, and a railway map puzzle of Northeast Indiana
- The Old City Jail, the jail for Fort Wayne’s Police Department between 1893 and 1971 still lives in our basement! See graffiti left on the walls by generations and feel the cold, iron bars for yourself by going into an open cell
Come and Stay for Lunch
Pre-register your class to reserve our lunchroom. Your students can enjoy their brown bag lunches in a convenient downtown location so that you can fit a second field trip into one day, saving you time and money for transportation.
Special Offers
Fall in Love with Fort Wayne
Upper elementary grade classes and above are eligible to participate in this program that provides students, teachers and chaperones with a visit to the History Center and the Allen County Courthouse.
Transportation Reimbursement
Allen County schools participating in the “Fall in Love with Fort Wayne” program are eligible to receive transportation reimbursement. Schools from Noble, DeKalb, LaGrange and Steuben counties are also eligible to receive transportation reimbursement when visiting the History Center, up to $150.00 per visit.*
* Transportation reimbursement is limited, and may be distributed on a partial, or “first come, first served” basis.
Chief Richardville House
The Chief Richardville House, built in 1827 and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2012, is a unique piece of local history and a powerful teaching tool. School groups from DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble and Steuben Counties may tour the house FREE. Other school groups may tour the house at an admission price of $4.00 per person. Tours and demonstrations can be tailored for all ages.
- Discover why this landmark is so important for our history and culture
- Meet a Miami Indian descendant of Chief Richardville, who will speak on the tribe’s history and culture, and how it relates to the house
- Study the Greek Revival architecture in which the house is designed, and see the layers of history visible to the naked eye
- Learn how each room was used in daily life in the 1830s, and how the house has changed over time
- View demonstrations which can be tailored for all age groups, from elementary through college-level history courses
For more information, visit the Chief Richardville House page.
Festival of Gingerbread
Bring your school group to visit the Festival of Gingerbread, a popular holiday tradition at the History Center.
Schools scheduling in advance will receive reduced admission of $4.00 per person. Tours are available Monday through Friday during the Festival of Gingerbread.
For more information on the Festival of Gingerbread, please see the Events page.
Classroom Tools
The History Center offers custom-designed collections for classroom use. Teachers can introduce material to students ahead of time, or recall the experience after their visit. Be sure to book these collections well in advance.
- Miami Indian Artifact Trunk – Includes touchable artifacts, images, reading materials, activities and lesson plans related to several periods of Miami history
- Traveling Object Kit – over 20 objects with additional images and information, which teachers can tailor to their classroom
- Allen County Innovator’s Trunk – Shares the story of the major innovations and innovators that have shaped Allen County History. Includes artifacts, histories, unit-based activities, images, and more.
- Traveling Image Case – Contains nearly 200 pictures, paintings, documents, maps and artifacts from Allen County history, displayed on hard-backed panels with accompanying text
- Virtual Exhibits – View objects from our collections on our Virtual Exhibits page
- Visit our blog to read more about our history, or attend our lecture series on the first Sunday of every month, from October through June (excluding December)
- Check out our digital resources available through our Collections Page
To schedule a visit, reserve classroom tools or for additional information, contact our Education Coordinator at 260.426.2882 x309 or email [email protected]
