| Located in Prince William
County, Virginia |
|
The
Manassas Museum System offers a variety of field trip experiences for students
in grades K-12. From guided Museum tours to hands-on themed programs at
historic properties, our school programs focus on local history, language
arts, math, and science and are designed to meet curriculum-based standards
in Virginia Public Schools.
Website address: www.manassasmuseum.org
Location/Address: 9101
Prince William Street; Manassas, VA 20110
Directions: From
Route 66 take Exit 47A to 234 Business. Follow for 5 miles. Turn
left onto Prince William Street. From Interstate 95 take Exit
152 to 234 North. Follow for 14 ½ miles.
Turn right onto 234 Business. Follow for 2 miles. Turn right onto
Prince William Street.
Education Contact at Site: Jaree Lynn
Fisher, Public Programs Coordinator
Phone: The Manassas Museum’s
main number: 703-368-1873. Direct line to the Public Programs Coordinator:
703-257-8264
Email
Address: For general information use
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For specific information about educational programs or to schedule
a tour, please contact the Public Programs Coordinator:
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Theme Addressed at Site: Land of Conflict
and Reunification, Place of Natural Beauty and Rural Character, and Land
of Leadership
Education
Programs and Corresponding SOL 
Programs We Can Do at our Site:
Guided Museum Gallery Tour
Grades K-12. SOLs: K.1, K.2, SOL1.1, SOL1.6, SOL2.3, SOL2.7, VS.1a, VS.1b, VS.1c,
VS.1d, VS.1e, VS.1f, VS.1g, VS.1h, VS.4a, VS.7a, VS.7b, VS.8a, VS.8b, VS.8c,
USI.1b, USI.1c, USI.1d, USI.1e, USI.5c, USI.9a, USI.9b, USI.9d, USI.9f, USII.1b,
USII.1c, USII.1d, USII.1e, USII.3c, USII.5a, VUS.1a, VUS.1b, VUS.1c, VUS.1d,
VUS.6c, VUS.7a
A tour guide leads students through the Museum galleries and facilitates a discussion
of the region’s history. Topics covered include the early settlement of
Northern Virginia, railroads and other types of transportation, the American
Civil War, the building of Manassas, Victorian home life, and early education
in Northern Virginia. If previously arranged, a Self-Guided Scavenger Hunt can
be added to this program with no additional fee. Guided tour fee $3.00 per person.
Teachers are free and one classroom aid per ten paying children is free. Discount
may apply for multiple tours.
Liberia Plantation: Careers in Restoration
Grades 4-12. SOLs: VS.1a, VS.1b, VS.1c, VS.1d, VS.1e, VS.1f, VS.1g,
VS.1h, VS.4a, USI.1a, USI.1b, USI.1c, USI.1d, USI.1e, USII.1b, USII.1c,
USII.1d, USII.1e, VUS.1a, VUS.1b, VUS.1c, VUS.1d
This program includes activities presented on-site at Liberia Plantation
and its availability is subject to the limitations caused by on-going
restoration work. The program activities are presented both on the
grounds around the mansion and on the first floor interior of the mansion
as construction permits. The program presents an overview of the variety
of careers that are part of the restoration of Liberia Plantation. Through
a series of hands-on activities, students explore how:
- a curator uses primary source documents, period artwork, and photographs
to recreate an historic room interior.
- an historian uses wills, governmental maps and records, letters, and
diaries to reconstruct the historical events that happened in the house.
- an archaeologist uncovers the artifacts left behind by the various people
that lived on or visited the property. Students will map a one-foot
sample pit as they learn about the tools used by an archaeologist.
- a geographer or surveyor mapped the early frontiers of Virginia and
students will measure the house with 19th century surveyors’ chains.
- an architect designed the ornamentation of the building and the group
of students will conduct a scavenger hunt to identify building ornaments
and learn architectural terms.
- a craft person contributed to the decoration of the mansion as each
student makes a floor cloth bookmark to take home. While they are performing
the craft, the staff interpreter will work with the students to identify
some of the crafts that would have been involved in the construction of
the house.
Tour fee for this 1.75 hr. long program is $4.50 per person. Teachers are
free and one classroom aid per ten paying children is free. This tour is
limited to groups from 15 to 75 per group. Large groups will be broken up
into discovery teams of 10 to 15 students.
Mayfield Fort: The Civil War Soldier
Grades 5-12. SOLs: VS.7a, VS.7b, VS.8c, USI.1b, USI.9a, USI.9b,
USI.9c, USI.9d, USI.9
This program provides an overview of the life of a Civil War soldier
at Mayfield Fort in 1861. Program activities are presented on-site at Mayfield
Fort and all activities are conducted outdoors. Through a series
of hands-on activities, students explore how:
- soldiers were trained to work as a team to fire cannons. Students will
work with period reproduction equipment while role playing as
the cannon crew, but will not fire the cannon.
- signalmen used flags to send coded messages as they code a Civil War
message and send it with period reproduction signal flags.
- soldiers were outfitted, as classmates dress a fellow student with appropriate
reproduction Civil War equipment.
- to send secret messages as they make their own Confederate code wheel
and learn to send two types of coded messages.
- to perform basic military drills, just as Civil War soldiers had to
learn in order to follow commands on the battlefield. Students will practice
drills with wooden rifles following the 1856 Hardee’s Military Field
Manual.
Tour fee for this 1.75 hr. long program is $4.50 per person. Teachers are
free and one classroom aid per ten paying children is free. Large groups
may be broken up into smaller discovery teams. Tours are subject to the
weather.
Life of a Civil War Soldier
Grades 1-5. SOLs: VS.1a, VS.1b, VS.1c, VS.1d, VS.1e, VS.1f, VS.1g,
VS.1h, VS.4a, VS.7a, VS.7b, USI.9a, USI.9b, USI.9c, USI.9d, USI.9f
A costumed interpreter will describe the life of a Civil War soldier
through the contents of a Civil War haversack. Topics include food ways,
personal hygiene, medicines, daily drills, and recreational activities of
the soldiers. Tour fee $3.00 per person. Teachers are free and one classroom
aid per ten paying children is free. Discount may apply for multiple tours.
Civil War Signals, Codes, and Ciphers
Grades 5-12. SOLs: VS.1a, VS.1b, VS.1c, VS.1d, VS.1e, VS.1f, VS.1g,
VS.1h, VS.7a, VS.7b
Demonstration and hands-on opportunities allow students to explore
various signals, codes, and ciphers that were used as an essential part
of communications during the Civil War. By using period reproduction cipher
disks and signal flags, students have the opportunity to send and receive
messages. Tour fee $3.00 per person. Teachers are free and one classroom
aid per ten paying children is free. Discount may apply for multiple tours.
Discovery Room
Grades K-3. SOLs: K.1, K.2, SOL1.1, SOL1.6, SOL2.3, SOL2.7
An interactive program with five hands-on activity stations allows
students to learn about the everyday life of a Victorian child and about
the social and economic life of Virginians who lived in the latter part
of the 19th century. Through using reproduction artifacts and photographs,
students compare, identify, analyze, and make generalizations about the
lives of children in the Victorian Era. Topics include talking about home
life, days at school, and hobbies. Tour fee $3.00 per person. Teachers are
free and one classroom aid per ten paying children is free. Discount may
apply for multiple tours.
Railroad Depot Tour
Grades 1-3. SOLs: SOL1.1, SOL2.3, VS.1e, VS.8c
In a guided tour to the Manassas Railroad Depot, students explore
the role the railroad played in the development of towns (specifically Manassas);
they find out about different types of cars on freight trains and about
types of objects carried by each type of railroad car; and students learn
about various methods of railroad communication, including train whistles
and lantern signals. Tour fee $3.00 per person. Teachers are free and one
classroom aid per ten paying children is free. Discount may apply for multiple
tours.
Discovery Trunks
Grades 1-5.
”The Life of a Victorian Child,” “The Life of a Colonial
Child,” and “A Civil War Haversack” can be checked out for
classroom use for a one or two week period. Trunks must be picked up by the
teacher and returned to the Museum by the assigned deadline. The trunks are
outfitted with museum reproductions, photographic resources, and a teacher’s
guide. The Museum requires a $10.00 (one week) or $15.00 (two weeks) lending
fee for all trunks and haversacks. Teachers are responsible for the replacement
of any lost or damaged contents.
Living History / Interpretive Visits
Grades 1-8.
Visits to the classroom can be arranged by calling the Public Programs
Coordinator. Several topics are available, including “Life of a Civil
War Soldier,” “Civil War Signals, Codes, and Ciphers,” and “A
Victorian Life.” Fees are subject to the number of students participating
in the program, as well as the number of museum interpreters used in the
program. Please call for more information.
Other Site Features of Interest to Students and Teachers
Explore the other historic sites within The Manassas Museum System: the
Manassas Railroad Depot, the Hopkins Candy Factory, the Jennie Dean Memorial
and The Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth, Mayfield and Cannon
Branch Civil War Earthwork Forts. Coming soon…tours of our newest
site, the Speiden Carper House.
Pre-Visit Materials Available 
By request, teacher packets are available upon reserving a tour for the
following programs: Liberia Plantation: Careers
in Restoration and Mayfield Fort:
The Civil War Soldier.
Program fees and miscellaneous
Maximum Number
of Students: Varies by program, but usually 25 students
per program; if teachers choose to participate in multiple
programs, we can accommodate more students—usually
up to 75 students—by breaking into groups of 25 and rotating the
groups through multiple programs. Minimum: 10
Admission/Program
Fee: Adult Admission: $3. Seniors and Children:
$2. Under 6: free. Program fees vary according to the length and type
of the program. Please contact the Public Programs Coordinator for
more information.
Handicap Accessibility: Manassas
Museum: Yes, Mayfield Earthwork Fort: Paved inclined path
to top of fort, then mulched or grass pathways around the fort, Liberia
Plantation: Accessibility limited to first floor of
house. Manassas Railroad Depot: Yes
Bus/Vehicle Accessibility: Yes
Season of Operation: All
year
Hours
of Operation:
The Manassas Museum is open Tuesday-Sunday
10:00 AM – 5:00
PM. Closed Mondays except on Federal Holidays. Closed New Year’s
Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.
Mayfield Earthwork Fort is open daily from dawn to
dusk.
Liberia Plantation is open by appointment only.
Manassas Railroad Depot is open daily from 9:00 AM – 5:00
PM.
Picnic facilities/Nearest
restaurant options: Picnic and playground facilities
are located at Baldwin Park, directly behind the Museum. Also, many
restaurants are located in Old Town Manassas, within easy walking distance
of the Museum.
Restroom accessibility:
Manassas Museum: Yes
Mayfield Earthwork Fort: No
Liberia Plantation: No
Manassas Railroad Depot: Yes
Chaperone Requirements
( No. chaperones/no. of students): 1:10
Is there anything
else we should know about your site? Most of the programs
offered by the Manassas Museum have been designed with particular grade
levels in mind; however, we are able to adapt each of our programs
to fit a variety of grades.

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