K-12 School Programs
If you would like to get a jump on scheduling a trip for your class this upcoming 2023-24 school year, please contact us at education@kingmanor.org. Thank you for your interest, and we look forward to seeing you and your students this fall!
King Manor is once again offering school programs for the 2023-24 school year! We are so excited to welcome you and your students back to our historic site for hands-on, critical-thinking focused learning. Returnees: please review our policies as some have changed.
Keep scrolling to read about our programs and review booking policies!
7th grade students try historic games and churn butter for science!
Our Programs
Programs at King Manor are a great way to introduce a topic to your class, engage in a deeper discussion of a topic you are already covering in school or wrap up a unit. But just as each student we teach is unique, so is your curriculum. Each of King Manor’s programs can be tailored to fit your school’s curriculum better such as adjusting for student learning needs, background knowledge, and special areas of study. Teachers of years past requested special themes to be covered during the tour including 19th-century farming, early abolitionism, decorative arts, and post-Revolution America.
Almost any tour at King Manor can be modified to engage and interest learners of all ages and abilities, from little ones to higher education! Suggested grade levels are only guidelines; we are happy to work with you to find the best fit and subject matter for your students. A visit to King Manor also meets many NYS and Common Core Learning Standards, including Social Studies 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7, ELA 1 and 3, and Arts 2 and 4.
At a glance...
- Program includes a tour inside the Manor + a creative activity of your choosing.
- Programs can be booked Tuesday through Thursday and begin at 10:30am and run for 2 hours.
- Up to 32 students per day (1 class).
- $200 for 25+ students (see pricing below).
- Programs are hands-on, accessible, and focus on encouraging critical thinking.
Pricing
The following prices are per class, up to a maximum of 32 students per class (teachers, paraprofessionals, caregivers, and adult chaperones always visit free of charge!). Price includes an educator-led program inside the Manor and a creative activity module.
King Manor accepts all forms of payment including cash, checks, purchase orders, and credit card payments.
10 students & under
$50
16-24 Students
$150
11-15 Students
$90
25+ Students
$200
A student-created exhibit, History in the “Making” (2017).
Booking Policies
By booking a group or school trip to King Manor, you agree to the following deposit and cancellation policies.
Deposits & Date Transfers
A $50 deposit per class/tour group must be made fourteen (14) business days prior to your booking date, with the remainder of your balance due on the day of your visit. Deposits are non-refundable. If your total booking cost is $50 or less, you will pay the full amount of your trip cost up front.
Deposits may be transferred to a new trip date with no penalty up to two (2) business days after booking your tour. All deposit transfers after this period will be subject to a $10 transfer fee per transaction.
Cancellations
Cancellations may be made up to seven (7) days prior to your date of visit. All cancellations or no-shows after this period will be subject to a 75% fee on the remaining balance of your booking cost.
Confirmation
Within 48 hours of booking, your contact will receive an email with confirmation of your booking along with an invoice.
Covid-19 Policy
Masks over the nose and mouth are strongly encouraged of all students, educators, education professionals, and adult chaperones for the entire duration of the program.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding as we navigate the Covid-19 pandemic and do our best to keep New York City safe!
Group Policies
All groups must make a reservation to visit.
King Manor can only accommodate up to 32 students per day (1 class) due to limited space and Covid safety procedures.
School programs can only be booked on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
All programs are approximately two (2) hours long, including an educator-led tour inside King Manor and a creative activity. Programs begin at 10:30am, please call to reserve a later time slot.
Because of other activities scheduled in the museum, groups are only entitled to their original time slot, 10:30am-12:30pm. If you are late, we regret that your program may be shortened at the museum's discretion.
Limited parking is available upon request, but we cannot accommodate large buses. School buses typically unload on Jamaica Avenue in front of the park. Our parking lot is available for wheelchair-accessible vans! Please call (718) 206-0545 x. 110 if you would like to reserve parking for your group.
We require one (1) chaperone per 10 children. Teachers and chaperones must remain with their group at all times. Teachers, caregivers, paraprofessionals, and chaperones are always free!
Educators may shorten or end a tour if visitors are behaving in a way that is potentially harmful to the historic site.
Choose Your Program
Life at King Manor
Grades 1-5
In this highly interactive and hands-on tour, students will learn about King Manor and the surrounding village of Jamaica as it was in the early 1800s. Engaging with historic objects, your class will discover the stories of the family and workers who lived at our historic site, comparing their every day lives to our own and thinking critically about the 19th century American world. Topics covered may include 19th century agriculture, technology, etiquette, social concepts, and material culture. Touch objects may be included at the museum staff’s discretion.
This program meets the following New York City Social Studies curriculum standards: 1.2, 1.4, 1.7, 1.8, 2.3, 2.4, 2.6, 2.7, 3.7, 3.8
The Revolution in New York
Grades 4-5, 6-8
Take your students beyond the Boston Tea Party and Bunker Hill with this site-specific, engaging program. What was it like to live in New York and Long Island during the American Revolution? What was at stake for the ordinary people caught up in the middle? Students will take on the role of a merchant, tradesperson, or farmer living in Jamaica, Queens in 1775, using our historic site and King Manor’s collections to decide: Patriot, Loyalist, or neither? Discover how people in New York City experienced the war, British occupation, and find out how America changed once the war was over.
This program meets the following New York City Social Studies curriculum standards: 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.3, 5.6
From Slavery to Suffrage
GRADES 6-8, 9-12
In this brand new program that launched Fall 2022, students will explore founding father Rufus King’s antislavery advocacy, New York State’s manumission laws, and key Black activists of the 19th century working toward equality. Using our historic site, touch objects, documents, King’s antislavery work, and new research into the free Black community of Douglaston in Jamaica Village, students will be challenged to discuss the social and political landscape of the early American Republic and make connections to modern-day civics.
This program meets the following New York City Social Studies curriculum standards: 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.3, 5.6. It can be leveled up for undergraduate college courses.
Pre-Visit Materials
Choose Your Activity
Quills & Ink
GRADES 3-5
Let students try history for themselves in this hands-on learning experience. Students will get to try writing letters using quill pens and ink, just as Rufus King and his family would have in the 18th century. We will practice flourishes and even try to write in script.
*This activity can be quite messy, so we recommend students be between grades 3 and 5 to participate.
Grades 6+
Students will follow a 19th-century oak gall ink recipe, learning the chemistry and practicality behind the same ink used to write the Constitution. Students will also get to try writing with the ink they make, using quill pens.
Design a Tea Cup
GRADES 1+
Design and construct a paper tea cup to take home, using examples of real 19th century cups to inspire creativity! Learn about different designs and motifs popular with early Americans and compare yours to our c. 1810 tea set owned by Eliza Gracie King.
Historic Games
For Everyone!
Students try their hand at outdoor games played in the 18th and 19th centuries! A favorite with all ages and abilities. Students will try Hoop and Stick, as well as the Game of Graces, to learn about play in the 1800s.
If weather is poor on the day of your trip, a historic craft will be substituted at the museum’s discretion.
American Revolution Spycraft
Grades 3-5
In the summer of 1778, George Washington ordered Major Benjamin Tallmadge to organize a network to spy on the British during their occupation of New York City, an operation now known as the Culper Spy Ring. Learn about the spy network’s operations right here in Queens! Students will make their own Caesar Cipher tool like those used by Tallmadge’s agents, then decode a secret message based on the Battle of Long Island.
Grades 6+
Students will try using the Culper Code, a numerical code used by Tallmadge’s agents that proved an invaluable asset to the patriot cause. Students will encode a letter and discover even more methods for keeping messages from falling into British hands.
This activity is best paired with the Revolution in New York program.
Activist Signs
Grades 6-8, 9-12+
What are you most passionate about? By linking past historical American movements such as abolition and women’s right to vote, students will find inspiration from 19th, 20th, and 21st-century demonstration signage and incorporate what they are passionate about today to create their own meaningful activism signs. Examples can include environmentalism, #BlackLivesMatter, and book censorship.
This activity is best paired with the From Slavery to Suffrage program.
