Programs and Tours


 

Programs and Tours

Historic Oak View County Park offers programming for history lovers of all ages!

Staff-led program and tour offerings
Self-guided opportunities


Staff-led program and tour offerings

For Elementary School Students (Grades 2–4):

Historic Oak View offers educational programming Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–noon. Your students will receive three great programs in one trip!

All of Oak View's programs are written to comply with the Social Studies requirements in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study!

Program fees (instituted July 1, 2011) for these curriculum-based programs are $8/program/class, so $24 per set of three programs for each class that visits (and we can accommodate up to three class-sized groups per day). Please note: Fees are waived for Title I schools.

Choose three programs from this list to customize your program:

  • From Field To Fiber: During this interactive program, presented in the early-20th-century Cotton Gin House, students will learn about the history of cotton in North Carolina. They will even get to try their hand at picking cotton! (Weather permitting)
  • All in a Day's Work: This program focuses on chores that were done in and around the farm's barn, with hands-on activities including milking a cow, feeding the horse, slopping the pig, and collecting eggs. (All activities use fake animals!) Students will learn how farms today differ from those smaller family/local farms of the past like Oak View, and will learn about farm work by examining some barn-related artifacts.
  • Change Over Time: Through an interactive presentation in Oak View's Farm History Center, your students will learn about 400 years of agricultural history in North Carolina and visit a real sharecropper's cabin.
  • In the Farm’s Kitchen: This program will allow students to explore the daily work done in the farm’s kitchen through hands-on and sensory activities. Students will try their hands at butter making, and cleaning laundry with a scrub board and lye soap!
  • Exhibit Tour: There is no exhibit scheduled for 2012, and therefore this program is not an option for the 2011–2012 school year.

Also available for early elementary-age students:

History Hike: This one-hour program offers a docent-led tour of the old farmstead, including all of the buildings and the pecan grove, gazebo and water tower, examining what life would be like for a child growing up on the farm. This option is especially popular for groups with fewer students, or for younger audiences (K–2nd grade). Along with the property tour, this is the only program offered on the weekends.

The fee for the History Hike is $15 per group.


For Middle School and High School Students or Adult Groups:

Historic Oak View Property Tour: Learn about the past of a Wake County farm on the Oak View property tour. Tour group will visit the 1855 farmhouse and detached kitchen, the livestock barn, carriage house and turn-of-the-century cotton gin to learn about the changing face of farm life in Raleigh from the mid-19th century until today. Watch the past come alive as you hear stories from the many Raleigh families that lived at Oak View and made their living off its land.

The fee for a property tour is $15 per group.


For Adult Groups:

Historic Oak View Property Tour: Learn about the past of a Wake County farm on the Oak View property tour. Your group will visit the 1855 farmhouse and detached kitchen, the livestock barn, carriage house, and turn-of-the-century cotton gin to learn about the changing face of farm life in Raleigh from the mid-19th century until today. Come during an exhibit and receive an exhibit tour, as well!

The fee for a property tour is $15 per group.


Historic Oak View also offers Christmas at Oak View Farm programs in early December.

 
To reserve one of these programs for your school or group, contact Sara Drumheller at:
919-212-7695 or by email at: sara.drumheller@wakegov.com





Self-Guided Opportunities

Historic Oak View County Park is proud to offer two activities for small groups or families which can be "checked out" in the Farm History Center (our visitor's center). These self-guided activities allow you to see all the buildings on the property on your own, free of charge. Ask any staff member about these two fun activities!

We have “B.W.'s Artifact Adventure” for young audiences (preschool–kindergarten age), which features a workbook (that you keep at the end of your activity) to guide your 'adventure' around the property and to discover what artifacts are.

Our “Get Your Bearings” Compass Activity for older kids (upper elementary students), allows kids to use a compass to 'get their bearings' at Oak View to lead from one place to the next! (Please note: This self-guided activity requires a short (5–10 minutes) set-up time, so we encourage you to let us know if you plan to use this activity, so we can have it ready for you when you arrive and you won't have to wait while we set it up!)