School Programs

At Historic Cherry Hill, we are dedicated to bringing history to life for students through immersive and interactive programs. Our tailored school tours transport students back to 18th- and 19th-century life, and are designed to inspire curiosity and deepen understanding of local and national history by exploring real-life stories, artifacts, and the unique atmosphere of our historic home.

Elementary School Programs
7-12 Programs

Teaching Units & Online Collections
Download Program Portfolio & Resources

For inquiries about any of our school programs please contact:

Holly Kilgore
Director of Education

Or submit a program request form.

Field Trip Funding Opportunities

An evaluation of Historic Cherry Hill’s K-12 programs, which informed program development, was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAMS

The *New* Cherry Hill Case

Grades 4&5

Students exploring the Cherry Hill Case

GROUP SIZE: Up to 1 class (25 students) per program, 2 classes per outreach visit
PROGRAM LENGTH: Approximately 90 minutes

Through hands-on exploration of primary source documents, photographs and objects, students work together to investigate the roles, relationships, and every day lives of people who shared a home at Cherry Hill during the mid 1800s. The Cherry Hill Case is “closed” when students test their hypotheses through participation in a document-based Reader’s Theatre.

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Hudson River Trading Game

Grades 4&5

Hudson River Trading Game

GROUP SIZE: Up to 25 students per program, 2 classes per outreach visit
PROGRAM LENGTH: Approximately 60 min. (depending on group size), with additional time to set up & pack up.)

KIT OPTION: A more cost efficient way to play- borrow the Hudson River Trading Game as a board game to facilitate at your school!

This hands-on program creatively combines history, economics, science, ELA and math. Students role play using a 34-foot game board to experience the challenges of 18th-century trade and travel on the Hudson River and discover how Hudson River trade was linked to global trade.

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Mining the Untold Stories: Time Capsules Through History

Grades 4-8

GROUP SIZE: 30 students max. (up to 90 students for a 3-site visit)
PROGRAM LENGTH: 60 minutes per program (approx. 4 hours for a 3 site visit)

Schools are invited to visit up to three historic sites in the City of Albany on the same day to build a stronger understanding of New York State history and the diverse voices in our historic communities. Each site guides students through an examination of the experiences of underrepresented people living in Albany during three different periods, from the turn of the 19th century through the late 1800s.

Pre-visit materials, digitized collections, and other teacher resources are available on Consider the Source New York.

Programs are divided by grade into 2 grade level offerings:

Grades 4 & 5: Time Capsules Through History

Students work in small groups to learn about 3 generations of families who lived and labored at Cherry Hill and in Albany’s South End during the 1800s. They explore time capsules left by individuals affected by slavery, industry, immigration, urbanization and other changes. Students also tour this historic house and tie it all together with an interactive timeline activity.

Research and planning for “Mining the Untold Stories” was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the American Rescue Plan (ARP).

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7-12 GRADE PROGRAMS

The 1827 Murder Mystery at Cherry Hill

Grades 7-12

Group size: Up to 30 students, split into 2 groups
Length: This program runs 60 minutes

Students take on the role of coroner to investigate the suspicious murder of John Whipple on May 7, 1827. Working together, participants analyze primary source documents and object clues to learn about the roles (and experiences) of different members of the Cherry Hill household. This interactive tour uses the unique circumstances of the infamous murder at Cherry Hill in Albany to examine how attitudes about class, race and gender shaped life in early 19th century America.

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Mining the Untold Stories: Greetings from Cherry Hill

Grades 7&8

Students examine letters and other primary sources to compare and contrast the experiences of two wards and domestic workers who grew up in Van Rensselaer households between 1850 and 1900. They tour the historic house, participate in a letter reading workshop, and interactive timeline activity to discover change over time, particularly for women and people of color. Students leave with materials to write their own postcards “19th century style.”

Research and planning for “Mining the Untold Stories” was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the American Rescue Plan (ARP).

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