Hands on History

Hands on History is a flexible field trip option designed to engage students wherever they are on their learning journey. This program was designed with mixed-age and mixed-skill classrooms in mind but is adaptable to fit a variety of classroom structures and student needs.

At the heart of the program is a facilitated, hands-on primary source and artifact investigation, with a selection of activities chosen by MOHAI Educators to tailor the experience to specifically fit your group’s needs.

After receiving your reservation request, we will contact you with questions to help MOHAI’s educators pick the best activities and resources for your group.

Due to the individualized nature of this program, booking is required 4 weeks minimum ahead of field trip date.

Every educator is encouraged to consider the needs of their students when considering our Hands on History field trip. The following details can be helpful in deciding if this is the right field trip for your students:

• Grade Level: Grades 2-12
• Price: $225 per group of 10-30 students
• Duration: 1 hour per group
• Available:
  • 2025–26 School Year: September 22, 2025 – December 19, 2025 / January 20, 2026 – June 17, 2026; Monday – Friday, 10 am – 4:30 pm
  • 2026–27 School Year: September 21, 2026 – December 18, 2026 / January 19, 2027– June 18, 2027; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 10 am – 2 pm
• Accommodations: 30 students maximum per program, up to 2 programs (60 students) per day; one chaperone for every six students required, up to one chaperone for every two students maximum included under the group rate are included in the field trip fee (additional chaperones must pay regular museum admission rates).

• Settling Around the Sound (Grades 2–12) – Students will investigate primary sources reflecting different groups of people traveling to or living in the Puget Sound region during the 1800s. Students then use their findings to reveal what daily life was like in the Puget Sound in this time period.
  • Themes focus on different groups of people – explorers, traders, Coast Salish peoples, Oregon Trail, farming/settlement.
• Seattle Innovation & Industries (Grades 4–12) – Students will investigate primary sources from five key Washington industries that have a strong history of innovation and an outsized impact on the history and economy of the region. Through exploring methods of problem solving within these industries, students will reflect on the skills required to innovate successfully, such as creativity, risk, collaboration, and observation.
  • Themes focus on different industries – fishing, aviation, medical, computers, logging.
• Community Snapshots: Photographs of Al Smith (Grades 2–12) – Students will explore the photographs of Al Smith plus additional primary sources to explore life in the Central District in the mid-20th century. Students will look at examples of the people and places that make up a community, consider how points of view influences historic documentation, and examine the ways people shape and are shaped by their communities.
  • Themes focus on different aspects of a local community – family and friends, gathering places, businesses.