Historic Landmarks Foundation's Indianapolis tours for kids highlight the history and landmarks of the capital city.

The world is your classroom. Our tours and trips offer students a chance for hands-on, eyes-on, sneakers-on learning. Bring your class to one of our historic sites, or take to the sidewalks on one of our Indianapolis walking tours designed especially for kids.

 

Historic site field trips

Historic Landmarks Foundation owns and operates two historic house museums open for school tours and programs.

Huddleston Farmhouse in Cambridge City originally welcomed travelers heading west on the National Road beginning in the 1840s. The travelers’ stories fascinate children and teach them about what daily Hoosier life was like in the pioneer era. Huddleston Farmhouse is located 47 miles east of Indianapolis and 17 miles west of Richmond.

Morris-Butler House Tours and programs at the 1865 Second Empire mansion in Indianapolis highlight urban life during the nineteenth century, focusing on arts, architecture and family life in the Victorian era. The Morris-Butler House is located in the Old Northside Historic District approximately one mile north of downtown Indianapolis.  

 

 

Walking tour field trips in the capital city

Designed to correlate with school curricula, Historic Landmarks’ guided expeditions for school children teach state and local history, art and architecture and encourage students to become observant and informed citizens of the man-made environment. Pre- and post-tour materials and in-class presentations are available. For more information on the following tours, contact our heritage tourism department, 317-639-4534 or 800-450-4534, or indytours@historiclandmarks.org.

Indiana War Memorials Walking Tour provides middle school and high school students with the opportunity to explore all seven blocks of the Indiana War Memorial Plaza Historic District. Students will learn what role Hoosiers have played in fighting and defending our freedom and how we collectively choose to remember their sacrifices through sculpture and architecture. [Meets Indiana Department of Education Social Studies Academic Standards 4.1.10, 4.1.11, 4.2.7]

Capital City Critters Walking Tour introduces children in first through third grades to architecture and the art of observation by challenging them to find the animals and mythological creatures that are surprisingly prevalent in Indianapolis’s downtown architecture. Along the way, students learn about the historical figures represented in public sculpture. [Meets Indiana Department of Education Social Studies Academic Standards 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.3.4, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.2.4, 3.1.2, 3.1.4, 3.5.1, 3.5.3]

Historic Downtown Indianapolis Walking Tour blends discussions of architecture and history in an ideal guided tour for fourth and fifth grade students. Students learn how the development of Indiana as a territory and a state affected the city of Indianapolis. They also learn about the preservation of historic buildings from different eras of the city’s history, and hear about modern buildings that dominate the city’s skyline. [Meets Indiana Department of Education Social Studies Academic Standards 3.1.2, 3.1.4, 4.1.6, 4.1.8, 4.1.9, 4.2.3]

Lockerbie Square Walking Tour offers students from grade four and above a three-dimensional lesson in history, architecture, urban settlement, restoration and historic preservation. This small, completely restored historic district combines imposing and modest nineteenth-century houses. (Note: walking tour could include a visit to the James Whitcomb Riley Home, but your school must make its own arrangements for such a visit.)

Downtown Canal Walking Tour gives students an opportunity to learn about the development--and failure--of the canal system in the 1830s and its impact on the state. Modern additions to the revitalized canal include the U.S.S. Indianapolis Memorial, and the National Congressional Medal of Honor Memorial, as well as the new Indiana State Museum. NEW: Tour the canal with a guide from Historic Landmarks Foundation, or explore on your own by following our scavenger hunt map (838k PDF) to answer questions about historic and modern sites along the canal.


Policies for school group walking tours:
To ensure that teachers and students have a rich and safe educational experience, we require:

• Reservations must be made a minimum one 3 weeks prior to tour date.
• No groups larger than 70 students, please. For a teacher with a larger group, we can divide the group and do back-to-back tours, paired with another educational field activity in the downtown area.
• Permission to divide a class into smaller groups; each group should have one adult chaperone.
• Each child wears a nametag, with first name only.
• A fee of $3.00 per student and chaperone; one teacher is complimentary.
• Notification in advance if students will be taking photographs.