Educational Field Trips
Bringing History to Life
Visit Historic Fort Snelling for a unique 19th century program on daily life at a frontier fort.
Costumed
staff will help your students discover the everyday lives of soldiers, traders,
officers, servants, and slaves who lived at the Fort from 1820-1840. Students
help the laundress, march with the soldiers, visit the kitchens and meet the
Snellings during their 90-minute tour.
Reservation Information
Reservations are required for field trips. We recommend you contact us well in advance if you have specific dates for your field trip.
- Call 612-726-1171
- Online Field Trip Request Form
- Email ftsnelling@mnhs.org
Legacy Field Trip Support Fund
Financial assistance is available to offset field trip transportation costs in the 2010–2011 school year.
Learn more!
School Tour Season
Historic Fort Snelling is open for reserved field trips April through early November each year.
Hours of Operation
Tours are generally scheduled between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Times may be adjusted to meet school needs.
Cost
Unless otherwise noted, admission is $5 each for students and adults in educational groups. There is a $50 minimum charge (10 student minimum) for school tour and program. Payment or arrangement for payment may be made on the day of the tour. Groups that visit both Fort Snelling and the Sibley House Historic Site (across the river) in the same day receive a discount.
Group Size
We welcome groups of all sizes. Larger groups can be subdivided into smaller classroom-size groups. Tours may include an optional movie in the visitor center. Groups will begin at the Front gate every ten minutes and spend about 90 minutes outdoors touring the Historic Fort. Time required to complete the program increases proportionately with the number of classes scheduled.
Lunch Facilities
Fort Snelling has several outdoor areas for groups to eat lunch, including a large picnic area on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi. In inclement weather, groups may eat inside on a first-come, first-served basis. Groups are asked to place their trash in the appropriate receptacles.
Accessibility
Historic Fort Snelling is accessible to all and is ADA-compliant. Wheelchairs are available as needed.
Spring and Fall School Tours
Living History Tours
Spring
Tours: April 13 - June 5
Fall Tours: September
8 - October 30
Living History Tours begin every 10 minutes and last 90 minutes. All tours start at the Fort Snelling History Center and continue through several buildings at the historic fort. Students will visit with costumed guides dressed as soldiers, laundresses, cooks, and the doctor in stations around the fort. The guides, speaking as modern interpreters of the past, will inform and engage the students in the daily lives and activities of the people who lived at the fort from 1820-1840.
New to the tour is the Dred Scott Quarters, where students will hear the story of Dred and Harriet Scott, who sued for their freedom and helped ignite the Civil War.
Students will understand the multiple perspectives of those who lived and worked at the fort in pre-territorial Minnesota. Extra time should be allowed to visit the Round Tower, Guardhouse and archaeology exhibit “History Under the Floorboards.” Groups may also visit the gift shop at the Visitor Center, where their purchases help support Fort Snelling programs.
Summer Programs
Weekend and summer visits are self-guided. Day camps and immersion experiences are also offered.
Homeschool Programs
Designed for Home School Groups, these programs are offered once a week in September. Hands-on activities, tours and costumed presenters. Discount
for groups attending multiple sessions.
Contact: Historic Fort Snelling at 612-725-2407
Sibley House Historic Site
Add a trip to the Sibley House Historic Site to your field trip day. Located in nearby Mendota, just across the river. Mendota was the center of the fur trade with the Dakota and the home of Henry Sibley, Minnesota’s first governor. Groups that visit both sites in a day receive a discounted admission.
