Tours and Field Trips
The Castle Museum offers the students of the Saginaw Valley a great place to learn about local history. They can experience firsthand what this area was like hundreds of years ago. They will see the progression from ancient times and its artifacts in our archaeology exhibits to the lumberjacks who made history with green gold. From the early businesses and inventors of the Saginaw Valley to the development of the City of Saginaw and other communities, students will learn about their county, culminating in our newest permanent exhibit, Geared for Production: The Story of Automotive Manufacturing in Saginaw.
It is easy to bring your students here! We are close by; you will have more time for touring with little class time used for travel. Most of our tours generally last from one to two hours. To help bring history to life we offer educational activities to enhance the exhibit experience. We are able to focus the tour based on your classroom’s needs and study requirements. You will find the Michigan Benchmarks and Standards for our exhibits here. Our tours are reasonably priced. A guided tour is $2.00 per student and a guided tour with an activity is $3.00 per student. Teachers and chaperones are always free.
For more information and to schedule a tour to the Castle Museum, contact Sheila Hempsted at 989-752-2861, Ext. 311. Sheila will be able to find a date that works for you.
You can also fill out this form and email to shempsted@castlemuseum.org
Snail Mail to
Historical Society of Saginaw County
Sheila Hempsted
500 Federal Avenue
Saginaw, MI 48607
989-752-1533
Field Trip FAQ
How long will we be at the Castle Museum?
A guided tour normally lasts for one hour, depending on the age of the students and the exhibit. If your group is also doing an activity, that would add an additional hour, making your total stay two hours. However, we can adjust the length of your tour to the Castle Museum to fit your classroom needs. Just let us know when reserving your tour what your time restraints you have.
When should I book our tour?
We suggest you contact Sheila Hempsted as soon as possible to help insure a date and time that fits your schedule and gives the staff at the Castle Museum ample time to prepare for your visit. Remember that spring and fall are especially busy times for classroom visits, so we encourage you to plan your visit well in advance during those peak times.
Are chaperones required?
Chaperones are a great help to both the teacher and the docents, tour guides, and the Castle Museum. Chaperones help keep students organized and focused on their visit. Chaperones also provide extra helping hands with the craft activities. Remember not only teachers, but also all chaperones are admitted to the tour for free.
What is the cost of a guided tour?
The cost of our guided tour is $2.00 per student. Teachers and all chaperones are always free.
What is the cost of a guided tour with an activity?
The cost of our guided tour with an activity is $3.00 per student. Since teachers and chaperones do not participate in the activity they are always free.
Is an activity required?
No, you are not required to schedule an activity. However, research has shown that students retain much more information when participating in hands-on activities.
Does the school or classroom need to supply anything for the activity?
While the Castle Museum does supply all of the materials to complete the activity, each teacher may want to bring a tote to carry the crafts back to school. Each classroom that requests the pottery activity will need to bring a box to transport the pottery back to school. While this box does not need to be deep, it is suggested that the box be the size of a copy paper box. The lid is an excellent size for a classroom of 30 students.