Middle & High School Programs
Preservation & Presentation
Grades 6–12
Students explore the skills curators need to study and interpret objects and the techniques used to preserve them. Students handle and examine objects and take a tour through period rooms to observe whether objects are perceived differently when they are displayed in different types of settings and to learn about design history and principles. Ideal for history, visual art, art history, and interior design students.
Program length: 2.25 hours
Maximum 80 students
Reinforces Delaware Standards: Visual Arts 4, 5, 6; History 1, 2
Reinforces ELA Common Core Standards: RH9-10.9, RH11-12.1, RH11-12.7; RI11-12.3; SL11-12.1, SL11-12.4
Ritual and Revolution: The Importance of Tea
Grades 6–12
Students discover how Colonial America’s ritual of tea drinking helped create the social, economic, and political forces that played a role in the Revolution. Investigate 18th-century life through tea drinking and discover tea’s social rituals, political symbolism, and economic power. Includes a primary-source activity relating to the Boston Tea Party.
Program length: 1¾ hours
Reinforces Delaware Standards: Civics 1, 4; Economics 1, 4; Geography 4; History 2, 3, 4; Visual Arts 4, 5, 6
Reinforces ELA Common Core Standards: RH11-12.1, RH11-12.2, RH11-12.6, 11-12.7
Discover the Science of Museum Collections
Grades 7–12
Meet with art conservators at the museum and explore their role in caring for collections. Through hands-on activities students discover the behind-the-scenes world that uses the sciences to keep our historic objects safe for generations to come! Ideal for science, chemistry, and art students.
Program length: 2 hours
Maximum 72 students
Reinforces Next Generation Science Standards: HS-PS1, HS-PS3, HS-PS4
East Egg, West Egg
Grades 9-12
Tour the home of Henry Francis du Pont and compare and contrast his lifestyle with that of a few of his contemporaries: the major characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. This program can also be readily adapted to a 45-minute in-class experience.
Program length: 2 hours
Available March-October
Reinforces Delaware Standards: History 1-4; Visual Arts 3, 4, 6
Reinforces ELA Common Core Standards: RH11-12.1; RH11-12.9; RL11-12.1; RI9-10.3; W11-12.