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School Groups

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.

For more information email [email protected].

Virtual Field Trips

  • $75 per program
  • Free for DCPS, D.C. public charter schools, and Title 1 schools
  • Group size: minimum 10; recommended maximum 25 students per classroom (max. 3 classroom connections per program)
  • Dates and times: Mon-Fri, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., subject to availability
  • Program length: 45 minutes (unless otherwise noted)
  • Technical details: presented live, via Zoom (other platforms available upon request)
  • To request a virtual field trip, please complete the Virtual Field Trip Request Form.

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-5th 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
  • 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).
  • To request an in-person guided school program, please complete the Onsite Field Trip Request Form.

Colors in the Garden (preschool; 30-minute garden tour + 30-minute 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; 90 minutes, or 1 hour for tour only/no art project)

Explore the collection of Russian imperial art in the mansion. Study a magnificent portrait of Catherine the Great, the lavish painting A Boyar Wedding Feast, and see objects that belonged to the tsars and tsarinas of Russia, including the intricate creations of imperial Russia's legendary jeweler, Peter Carl Fabergé. Art project: decorate your own Fabergé-inspired "jeweled" box.

Passport to France (K-12th grade; 90 minutes, or 1 hour for tour only/no 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. Art project: decorate a "gold" box inspired by 1700s French style and designs.

Garden Journeys (K-12th grade; 90 minutes, or 1 hour for tour only/no 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. Art project: mixed media flower collage.

Hillwood Highlights (K-12th grade; 90 minutes, or 1 hour for tour only/no 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. 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 50
  • Dates and times: Tues-Sun, 10 am-5 pm
  • To schedule an in-person self-guided visit for your school group please complete the Onsite Field Trip Request Form (please specify "self-guided visit" in the comments field)

There are a variety of ways for your student group to enjoy Hillwood at your own pace.

  • Explore the mansion and gardens with the following Treasure Hunts:
  • 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.

Plan Your Visit