Living History Field Trips
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For Third Grade in Morgan Hill
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The Morgan Hill Historical Society, in conjunction with retired Morgan Hill teachers, has developed “Living History” Field Trips for the Morgan Hill area. This hands-on educational experience takes students through three stations at the Villa Mira Monte History Park in Morgan Hill.
1. At the Hiram Morgan Hill House, students investigate life in the Victorian Age as they role play the lives of servants and upper class citizens. As servants, they will prepare butter for a formal tea and try out household chores with hands-on activities. As upper-class individuals, they will don hats, collars and vests to investigate the house and learn about the lives of the Hills. They will sit down for a formal tea of their churned butter, commercially made tea cakes, and herbal tea while learning about the social graces of the 1800’s.
2. In the Morgan Hill Museum (Acton Home), students examine artifacts and learn about Native American (Amah Mutsun) and settler life in Morgan Hill. Students may write their own origin story or make a tribal insignia. They will also tour the new native plant garden where they will learn about native plants and their medicinal use.
3. The Centennial History Trail is an outside venue with a spiral walkway that takes students through events in Morgan Hill’s history while at the same time incorporating world history. A scavenger hunt adds to the learning experience of using a time-line. Students then draw something related to their visit on an individual home picture. They will also make their own toy (whirly gig) and a calling card which was used in the 1800’s to RSVP for an invitation. Calling cards were used before phones and computers.
Reservations Required
Field trips are held each year from March through May on Thursday and Friday mornings from 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM with an optional lunch on the veranda, leaving by 1 PM, To book a field trip, email Kathy Chavez Napoli at kathycnapoli@gmail.com for reservations and open dates. These field trips fill up quickly and use volunteer docents to run the stations.