Educational Programs

Salisbury House & Gardens has created an engaging set of tours to enhance the curriculum for elementary, middle and high school students. The programs include six topical areas to best suit your classroom needs. The content will be directed to the age of the group.

The tours can be booked under any of the following focus areas, though all tours include a history of the Weeks family, and their collections in Salisbury House & Gardens. Each experience is approximately one hour in length.

To book a school tour click here!

Polk County students are eligible for support to visit Salisbury House & Gardens from the Connecting Kids and Culture program, to learn more please visit: http://www.connectingkidsandculture.org.

Tour Themes

ART AND ARCHITECTURE AT SALISBURY HOUSE & GARDENS
Suggested Grade Level: Grades 4 – 12
Objective: Does style follow use, or not? Why did the Weeks family build and furnish their house like they did, and what would you do if money was not an object?

IOWA IN THE JAZZ AGE
Suggested Grade Level: Grades 4 – 12
Objective: The 1920s marked a decade of incredible cultural change in America; students will explore events and issues through the experience of the Weeks family and other Des Moines residents to learn how it affects and relates to them.

TECHNOLOGY IN THE 1920S
Suggested Grade Level: Grades 4 – 12
Objective: Americans are characterized by their rapid embrace of new technologies; students will learn about the innovations of the early twentieth century and their effect on American society.

TASTE IN THE TWENTIES
Suggested Grade Level: Grades K – 12
Objective: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Americans express their connection to their culture in many ways; students will learn about and discuss the role of culture through a program on art history and food history connected to the 1920s.

MADE IN IOWA
Suggested Grade Level: Grades 4 – 12
Objective: An individual can create a successful business through a number of strategies; students will explore the life of Carl Weeks, the Weeks family, and other stories of Iowa and Des Moines entrepreneurs to consider how they can be one, too.

SURVIVING THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Suggested Grade Level: Grades 4 – 12
Objective: It took old and new strategies for Americans to overcome the upheaval caused during the Great Depression; students will explore issues of resourcefulness as they learn how families in Iowa coped.

Group Educational Tour Hours:

Tuesday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., or by appointment
Tours typically last 60-75 minutes
Fee: $3 per student, $5 per chaperone, teachers are free

Educational tours should be scheduled two or more weeks in advance of the date requested.
Please use the form below to schedule your tour.
For additional information, contact Salisbury House & Gardens at 515-274-1777 or llandis@salisburyhouse.org.