Living History Tours
Experience our living history tour options for student groups. These school and student group tours will provide an unforgettable visit through hands-on activities. The tours are designed to help students experience daily life at a Cherokee plantation in the mid-19th century. A variety of customizable options will provide the perfect tour for your group!
Who Can Participate?
Student groups of between 10 and 65 students. The activities are geared toward elementary, middle school and high school students.
What Will We Do?
Tours are tailored to your group. Every group will be given the opportunity to tour the mansion, log cabin, outbuildings and gift shop. In addition, group leaders may choose from the following living history activities for a hands-on experience:
- Graces - Learn to play the game of graces, a hoop-tossing game also known as French hoops, that taught 19th-century children manners and how to move gracefully. Outdoor activity.
- Laundry - Try your hand at laundry techniques of the 1800s. Take a turn at washing a piece of fabric using washboard and tub methods.
- Cooking and Gardening - Take a tour of the Murrell Home gardens and learn what foods were grown on the plantation. Seasonal availability, subject to weather and growing seasons.
- Corn Production - Learn how the staple crop of corn was produced on the plantation. Try your hand at shelling corn from the cob and grinding it into flour.
- Weaving/Looms - Learn beginning weaving techniques. Use a cardboard loom to make a small weaving project, and take the woven fabric and loom home with you!
- Felting - Learn how to make felt. Students will make a piece of felt from carded wool and be able to take their piece home. Participants will use water, so clothes may get slightly wet.
- Drop Spindle - Students will learn to spin carded wool into yarn using a drop spindle and be able to take home their own piece of homespun yarn.
- Dancing - Learn about social customs and participate in a traditional lawn dance from the 1800s.
- Pressing Flowers - Pressing flowers was a common craft for youngsters in the 1800s. Learn to press and dried flowers as keepsake items, and take your project home.
How Long is the Tour, and What Does It Cost?
Cost for living history tours is based on the length of the tour and the number of students. Teachers and adult chaperones are always free. The following options are available:
- 2-hour tour – Includes 2 living history activities ($2.00/student)
- 3-hour tour – Includes 4 living history activities ($3.50/student)
- 4-hour tour – Includes 6 living history activities ($5.00/student)
How Do I Book a Tour?
Contact our education staff at (918) 456-2751 to reserve a date and time. After you have reserved a date, download this form to customize your activities. Please return the completed form by mail, email or in person to:
Amanda Pritchett, Historical Interpreter
George M. Murrell Home Historic Site
19479 E. Murrell Home Rd.
Park Hill, OK 74451
Murell Home Girl Scout Patch Program
Girl Scouts can now earn a Murrell Home patch. Museum admission, hands-on activities, and a patch are included in the special Girl Scout price of $5 per scout (for groups of 5 or more.) Find out more: Download PowerPoint | Download PDF
Brownies (2nd-3rd Grade) Complete four activities.
- Take a tour of the George M. Murrell Home Historic Site. After the tour, draw a picture of your favorite piece of furniture from the house.
- Learn a dance or game from the nineteenth century and demonstrate it with friends or family. (Hint: Have an adult download the teacher's guide at www.okhistory.org/murrellhome to find some ideas, or ask museum staff to arrange an activity.)
- Visit George Murrell's general store. What were the most popular items in the store? Do people still buy them today?
- Take a hike on the Murrell Home's nature trail. Pick up any trash you see to help keep the site in good condition for others to enjoy.
- Find out the purpose of the smokehouse and springhouse.
- A plantation is a large farm. Both people and animals worked on the farm. Visit the chicken coops to learn about farming and what crops were harvested.
Juniors (4th-5th Grade) Complete six activities, including the one starred activity.
- * Take a tour of the George M. Murrell Home Historic Site. Name at least 3 ways in which people's daily lives in the 1800s were different than your daily life.
- Learn about clothing that women wore in the 1800s. Using original photos as an inspiration, design a dress that you would have liked to wear during that era.
- Pressed flowers were a popular keepsake for girls in the nineteenth century. Learn how to press and dry your own flowers. Write a letter to a friend and include a pressed flower for her, or make a scrapbook of different flowers you find when traveling.
- Learn about the different activities that female slaves engaged in at the Murrell Home. Try your hand at one of their daily chores, like laundry, making yarn or felt, weaving, preparing food, gardening, etc. (You can do these on your own or plan a special activity session with the Murrell Home staff. Just make sure the materials and techniques you use were available in the nineteenth century.)
- Visit the chicken coops on the grounds of the Murrell Home. What role did animals play on the plantation? What housing and supplies are needed to take care of them?
- Find a way to help preserve a local historic site for future generations to enjoy. You could pick up trash, clean out flower beds, paint fences, or help with a public event. Make sure to get permission from museum staff first.
- At home or on a camping trip, prepare a nineteenth century recipe using a dutch oven or other traditional method of cooking. (Hint: With an adult's help, download the teacher's guide at www.okhistory.org/murrellhome to find some sample recipes.) Share your creation with friends or family.
- Learn a dance or game from the nineteenth century and demonstrate it with friends or family. (Hint: With an adult's help, download the teacher's guide at www.okhistory.org/murrellhome to find some examples, or arrange a lesson with museum staff.)
Cadettes, Seniors & Ambassadors (6th Grade & Up) Complete 7 of the 10 activities, including the one starred activity.
- * Take a tour of the George M. Murrell Home Historic Site. Find out about the Cherokee Trail of Tears and how the Murrell/Ross families came to be located in Northeast Oklahoma. How did the American Civil War affect the Cherokee Nation?
- Learn how to handle and care for fragile artifacts. What special treatment is needed to preserve old furniture, photographs, or other items? What is the best way to clean them? How should they be stored?
- Find out about 3 different career opportunities in the history or museum fields (historical interpreter, archaeologist, curator, program director, etc.). Ask someone in the field about their job, including required education, qualifications, and training.
- With permission from employees, plan a service project at an important historic site. Look for a need, come up with a solution, and volunteer your time to carry out the project. You could do yard work or gardening, help at a special event, or clean the inside of a historic building.
- George Murrell's general store was an important part of the Park Hill community. What forms of currency or payment were used to buy goods in the store? What items were pre-manufactured, and which items had to be made by hand?
- Identify at least 3 plants or trees found on the grounds of the Murrell Home that were used for practical purposes other than food (such as medicines, dyes, etc.) in the 1800s.
- How did people cook and store food before refrigeration? Visit the Murrell Home kitchen, smokehouse and springhouse to learn about how food was prepared in the nineteenth century.
- Try your hand at historic techniques for producing clothing. Murrell Home staff can teach you how to spin yarn, make felt, or weave yarn into clothing. You can also search for fiber arts techniques on YouTube.
- Go for a hike on the Murrell Home Nature Trails. Write a poem or short story, or create a work of art or song that expresses your feelings about the area and its history. Share your project with friends.
- Create a promotional piece (brochure, poster, PowerPoint presentation, etc.) that markets the value of history to your local community. Share your project through a display at a public venue, such as your school or local library.
I would like to schedule a tour for my school group or organization.
Group tours for schools and student organizations are available year-round. Regular tours include the mansion, gift shop, outbuildings, replica Murrell Mercantile store (in season), and grounds. The museum also hosts an annual living history education day for students on the first Friday in May. Our adjacent park, nature trail, and playground are open everyday for group picnics or activities on a first come, first serve basis. To schedule a tour or for more information contact educational coordinator Amanda Pritchett at (918) 456-2751 or email email@example.com.
Download our free teacher's curriculum and activity guide for your students. You are welcome to photocopy the activity pages to familiarize your students with the Murrell Home before their visit.
If you are a teacher and would like to be added to our email list for programs please sign up online.