Middle School (GRDS 5-8) Field Trips

Naper Settlement field trips focus on inquiry-based learning that promotes curiosity and critical thinking skills in elementary and middle school students.  Sign-up for one of our in-person options, or enjoy the museum virtually with one of our three new virtual field trips. For questions, please call 630-420-6010 or email us at grouptours@naperville.il.us.

Onsite Field Trips at Naper Settlement

Voices of the Past: Northern Illinois and the Underground Railroad

Grades 6-8 • January - March • $8/Student •  Learning Standards  
Filling the role of a newspaper apprentice at the DuPage County Observer, students will explore a pivotal historical period prior to the Civil War through personalized accounts immersing them in an investigation of the multiple perspectives on slavery found in Illinois during the 1850s. Students will engage with primary and secondary sources to learn how historians study the past. The program duration is 2.5 hours. 

Student learning outcomes include:  

  • Practice historical thinking, including chronological understanding, historical analysis and interpretation, and evaluating the factors in historical decision-making   
  • Form an understanding of various perspectives and positions on enslavement found in Illinois and in the United States in the years leading to the Civil War   
  • Appreciate the agency and leadership of Black abolitionists, Freedom Seekers, and Underground Railroad supporters

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Time Travel Trip

Grades K-8 •  April - June &  September - October,  • $8 Student •  Learning Standards   
Follow the development of a typical Northern Illinois town as it grows from a frontier outpost in the 19th century to a thriving agricultural center in the early 20th century to a 21st century community where people live and work. Meet museum educators and volunteers who will engage your students in inquiry and discovery along your self-guided tour of our spacious 13-acre campus. Classes are able to choose the duration of their visit anytime between 9:30 am and 3 pm.

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In Your Classroom


1890s Schoolhouse Classroom Visit

Grades 3-8  •  $150 per Class/30 Students  •  Learning Standards    
Transform your 21st-century classroom into a one-room schoolhouse. Your students will take on the role of 19th-century students with a schoolteacher in period clothing leading the class. Our staff will provide old-fashioned classroom instruction and supplies, including slates, slate pencils, and McGuffey Readers. The program lasts approximately 1.5 hours. Consecutive programs may be booked.

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Virtual Field Trips

Voices of the Past: The Underground Railroad Virtual Field Trip

Grades 6-8 • Year-Round Program  • $150 per Class, up to 30 Students  •  Learning Standards      

Filling the role of a newspaper apprentice at the DuPage County Observer, students will explore a pivotal historical period prior to the Civil War through personalized accounts immersing them in an investigation of the multiple perspectives on slavery found in Illinois during the 1850s. The Underground Railroad digital field trip experience will take students through our historic grounds and houses to learn about different viewpoints represented in Northern Illinois in the years leading up to the Civil War.   

Student learning outcomes include:  

  • Describe Illinois’ significant and unique role in the Underground Railroad and anti-slavery activity  
  • Analyze and evaluate primary and secondary sources to gather historical evidence  
  • Practice historical thinking, including chronological understanding, historical analysis and interpretation, and evaluating the factors in historical decision-making   
  • Describe the roles of political and social organizations in reflecting and shaping opinions  
  • Form an understanding of various perspectives and positions on enslavement found in Illinois and in the United States in the years leading to the Civil War   
  • Appreciate the agency and leadership of Black abolitionists, Freedom Seekers, and Underground Railroad supporters  
  • Explain complex interactions of cause and effect between people, places, organizations, and events 

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Lessons in Resilience Virtual Field Trip

Grades 5-6 • Year-Round Program • $150 per classroom, up to 30 students •  Learning Standards 

Through historical examples, students will hear the stories and strategies that illuminate the ways Americans have endured hardship, solved problems, and envisioned strong community futures. This program prioritizes social-emotional learning skills that today’s students can develop as they discover how weather, illness, and discrimination affected local individuals, families, and communities in the past. 

This program prioritizes social-emotional learning skills. Student learning outcomes include:  

  • Analyze and evaluate primary and secondary source documents and images
  • Use historical thinking skills, including asking historical questions, seeking evidence, and constructing interpretive narratives   
  • Cite three major kinds of challenging events that can be found across time, culture, and history   
  • Define “Resilience,” elaborate on how resilience is expressed at the individual, family/household, and community levels  
  • Synthesize characteristics of resilience from three discrete historical narratives   
  • Explain complex interactions of cause and effect between people, places, organizations, and events 

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