We welcome students to engage with Hillwood through a variety of virtual and onsite offerings!
Schedule a live, interactive virtual field trip for your class.
Plan a guided or self-guided in-person group visit to Hillwood.
Explore Hillwood from home with coloring pages, art projects, games, and a variety of digital resources.
Check our calendar for information about upcoming programs.
Complete the Onsite Field Trip Request Form to schedule an in-person field trip for your class, or complete the Virtual Field Trip Request Form to schedule a live, interactive, virtual program. Please submit field trip requests at least 4 weeks in advance.
Virtual Dance Workshop: Artful Animals in Action (preschool-1st grade)
Soar like an eagle, swim like a dolphin, and leap like a frog! This live, virtual dance class gets students up and moving, led by professional dancer and teaching artist Krystal Collins. Together, we'll virtually explore animal statues in Hillwood's gardens, discovering the diverse variety of living creatures. Students will observe some special features and characteristics of different animals and how they move through their environment, while developing skills such as rhythm and sequencing.
Animal Art Safari (preschool-2nd grade)
Lions and dragons and birds—oh my! In this virtual program, students search for animals, real and imaginary, as they explore Hillwood's art through playful looking activities, led by a museum educator via live video chat. Students will create their own drawings inspired by the art and will cultivate their observational and perceptual skills as they practice detecting and identifying animals depicted on art from different countries and time periods.
Powerful Portraits (K-8th grade)
Explore how character and identity are presented in portraits, and draw a self-portrait, while examining Good Trouble, a vase by artist Roberto Lugo, featuring John Lewis, Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Students compare the vase with an historic cup with a portrait of Benjamin Franklin and consider how Lugo expands our idea of who gets to be on art. Then they create their own art, led step-by-step by a teaching artist to use basic shapes to draw a self-portrait.
Garden Journeys (1st-5th grade)
Through active participation in visual games, sketching, and open-ended discussion, students explore the enchanting Japanese-style garden and French parterre in this virtual field trip. Students will compare and contrast the style of these two very different landscaped gardens, while also considering what garden designers need to make sure the plants in their gardens have in order to grow and thrive. Students will then draw a design for their own dream garden.
In-Person Guided Programs
Pricing:
$3 Student (guided tour)
$4 Student (guided tour + art project)
Free for teachers and chaperones (please bring at least 1 adult for every 10 students)
Free for DCPS, D.C. public charter schools, and Title 1 schools
Group size: minimum 10, maximum 50 students
Dates and time: Tues-Fri at 10 am, subject to availability
Please see our safety guidelines for information about how we are following the latest local and national guidance related to COVID-19.
Note that we have limited availability for in-person guided programs at this time. We also welcome school groups for self-guided visits (see below for more information).
Colors in the Garden (preschool; 30 min garden tour + 30 min art project)
Discover the vibrant and beautiful colors blooming in Hillwood's gardens. Listen to a story, play a color matching game, and explore the gardens with your senses as you go on a 'color walk' to discover the sights, sounds, and scents in the gardens. Afterwards, create a colorful flower picture to take home.
Treasures of the Tsars (K-12th grade; 60 min mansion tour + optional 30 min art project)
Passport to France (K-12th grade; 60 min mansion tour + optional 30 min art project)
Travel to France without leaving DC! Examine the detail and artistry in the fine porcelain dishes and furniture from 1700s France in the mansion. Optional art project: create your own decorative plastic dish, inspired by 1700s French style and designs.
Garden Journeys (K-12th grade; 60 min garden tour + optional 30 min art project)
Explore the enchanting Japanese-style garden and French parterre, and compare and contrast the style of these two very different landscaped gardens. Use your senses to observe each garden closely and imagine how the gardens change throughout the seasons. Consider what the gardeners need to make sure the plants in their gardens have in order to grow and thrive. Optional art project: decorate a garden-inspired paper lantern.
Hillwood Highlights (K-12th grade; 60 min mansion tour + optional 30 min art project)
Explore the magnificent home and art collection of Marjorie Merriweather Post and learn about her life as a discerning art collector, pioneering business executive, and engaged citizen. Optional art project: decorate a "jeweled" box, inspired by Hillwood's art collection.
Self-Guided In-Person Visits
$2 Student (suggested donation); Free for teachers and chaperones
Group size: minimum 10, maximum 55
Dates and times: Tues-Sun, 10 am-5 pm
Please see our safety guidelines for information about how we are following the latest local and national guidance related to COVID-19.
Download Hillwood's dynamic mobile app, which provides a fully illustrated and narrated guide through Hillwood. We ask that you please bring headphones as playing the tour aloud in the mansion is discouraged.
Our twenty-five page printed tour guide provides an overview of each mansion room and highlights significant art objects. The printed tour is appropriate for high school students and is available in English, Russian, French, and Spanish.
Picnicking: Bring picnic blankets and a bag lunch or snack to enjoy on the lawn in designated areas. Please note that we do not allow large coolers or any kind of special event set-up (tables, chairs, etc.) in the gardens, and music and games (Frisbee, etc.) are not permitted.
