School Tours

Please contact Education Director Diana Overbey with any questions and to schedule your field trip.

Take your class on a field trip back in time. When students visit Historic Bethabara Park, they learn what life was like for children living in the 18th century Moravian settlement of Bethabara. While engaging in fun, hands-on activities, children will experience a world from long ago and understand what was necessary to live in colonial North Carolina.

Historic Bethabara Park offers two different field trip experiences, one for Lower Elementary (grades 1-3) students, and one for Upper Elementary (grades 3-5) students. Both our Lower and Upper Elementary tours are an extension of the elementary Social Studies classroom curriculum and meets many NCSCS Curriculum guidelines.

Admission is $1 per student (plus tax). Teachers and school employees are free of charge. Admission for parents is $2 (plus tax).

Tour Guide with KidsLower Elementary Tour (Grades 1-3)

What did children in the 18th century wear? What sort of chores did they have and how did they have fun? What did they eat, and where did their food come from? What was school like in the 1700s?

Our costumed interpreters answer these questions and more as they bring the past to life in our Lower Elementary tour. Taking place in our 1788 Gemeinhaus (which served as the settlement’s church along with the minister’s living quarters), students will experience what life was like as a child living in 18th century Bethabara. While doing so, they can compare their lives today with those lived long ago. 

Available: September-November, April-June

Duration: Approximately 1.5 hours

Group size: Minimum number of students is 10, maximum number of students is 50 (if your group exceeds this number, we can discuss implementing our large group tour, which accommodates up to 65 students)

Upper Elementary Tour (Grades 3-5)Guides with Kids at Cellars

Our Upper Elementary tour emphasizes the importance of community and working together to accomplish a task, concepts that helped the Moravians build a home in colonial North Carolina more than 260 years ago. 

On this tour, guides help students explore our 1754 Village, which features reconstructions of the first buildings the Moravians built in Bethabara. There, they will participate in activities such as wood-sawing, shingling, and plowing as they learn what it took to build the settlement around them.

Available: September-November, April-June

Duration: Approximately 2 hours

Group size: Minimum number of students is 10, maximum number of students is 50 (if your group exceeds this number, we can discuss implementing our large group tour, which accommodates up to 65 students)

Chaperones

To help us provide a safe and enjoyable experience for our young visitors, we request the assistance of adult chaperones. We ask tour leaders to provide one chaperone for every 10 children in their group. Please advise your students to wear clothing and footwear appropriate for outdoor activities.

Booking & Cancelling

If you must cancel your tour or change the number of students expected, please do so at least one week in advance so that our guides may adjust their schedules accordingly.

Please book your school tour in well in advance. Dates fill up fast! To schedule your school tour, please contact us at: 336-397-7587 or email Diana Overbey, Director of Education.