SCHOOL TOURS

SCHEDULING A TOUR

To schedule a tour of Trail End for your school group, please phone 307-674-4589 three weeks or more in advance. Be prepared to supply the following information:

• Name of school or group
• Contact name, address and telephone number
• Grade level and/or ages of students
• Number of students and adults
• Preferred date and time for visit
• Secondary choice for date and time

​At the time you call, we will attempt to confirm your tour. Since we are not always able to do so, however, we will confirm as soon as possible.

TOUR TIMES

​Trail End is open seven days a week from April 1 through December 14. We are available for tours between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (meaning the last tour of the day would start at 3:00). Because of staffing issues, it is best to plan your guided tour for Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. As the house is open to the general public, it is better to schedule school tours during the quieter morning hours whenever possible. 

GROUP LIMITS

Trail End can accommodate a maximum of thirty-two (32) students per tour. Each tour group will then be subdivided into smaller groups of no more than eight students and one adult chaperone. Trail End will provide an adequate number of tour guides for each tour group. 

NOTE: To save time, you should assign students to their groups before arriving at the museum.  
If you have a group larger than thirty-two, please consider the following options:

• Divide your group in half and have the students come to Trail End on two separate days. This is the preferred option, as it only requires students to be away from school for an hour or so. 
• Have half your students at Trail End while the other half visits another local historic site or museum. Switch after an hour. Allow for a minimum of two hours total.
• Arrange (in advance) for half your students to tour the house while the other half remains outside working on a project of your choice. We suggest you use one of the exercises found in the Trail End Living Laboratory notebook, a copy of which should be available at your school. This options requires a two-hour commitment. 

If your class numbers change significantly after scheduling, please contact us immediately so that we can plan accordingly.  

FEES

No entrance fee will be charged for chaperones accompanying educational groups on tours of the Trail End State Historic Site; nor is there a fee for students. We must, however, limit the number of adults to one for every eight students. Extra adults will have to pay the entrance fee. If your class contains special needs students that need full-time adult supervision, please make sure that there are enough adults in attendance to act as both supervisors and chaperones. These adults will be admitted without charge.

Unfortunately, home-schooled groups are not included in the fee waiver at this time. Anyone eighteen years of age and older accompanying home-schooled students will have to pay the regular entrance fee.

STUDENT PREPARATION

Please prepare students for a museum visit by discussing the following:

• Trail End is a public place and the students need to use their public manners; running and yelling are not allowed inside the museum.
• Food, candy, gum and beverages (including bottled water) are not allowed inside the museum.
• Photography is allowed inside the museum. Cameras, video cameras, cell phone cameras and iPads are all allowed.
• Please remind students that touching the fabrics and woodwork is not allowed because of the damage the dirt and oils on their hands can do to the historic finishes. 
• Ask students to please be attentive, listen to their tour guide, and raise their hands if they have questions.
• Lunches, backpacks and other items must be deposited either on the front porch or in the Foyer.
• In case of inclement weather, students will be asked to remove their shoes as they enter the house. Bare feet, however, are not allowed, so it is recommended that students wear socks.