Field Trip Programs
Our field trip programs are a great way to bring hands-on, object-based learning about history to your students in a fun environment! For questions about our programs or to reserve a date, please contact Sean Redmiles at Sean.Redmiles@fairfaxva.gov or call 703-385-2943. See below for a list of our current offerings or contact us if you have a request for a program that better fits your group. The deadline to reserve a field trip program for the Spring 2027 season is December 31st, 2026, after which we will not be reserving additional field trip programs for the 2026-2027 school year.
Field Trip: The Civil War at Historic Blenheim
This field trip program focuses on using primary sources and object-based learning to tell the story of the site and the people who interacted with it during the Civil War. The program is geared toward fourth graders. Students will take a tour of the historic house to see the original soldier graffiti on the walls, learn about the experience of the common Civil War soldier in our museum gallery, analyze historical artifacts, and learn to march like a Civil War soldier.
Fee: $3 per student; teachers and chaperones are free. There is no charge for schools located within the City of Fairfax.
Duration: 2.5 hours. SOLs addressed: VS.4a, VS.4b, VS.4e and VS.4g.
To book, please contact Sean Redmiles at Sean.Redmiles@fairfaxva.gov or call 571-363-0039.
Scout Programs
Our scout programs are available by request. If you are interested in booking a program with the Historic Resources Division for the Fairfax Museum, Historic Blenheim or the Ratcliffe-Allison-Pozer House, please contact Sean Redmiles at Sean.Redmiles@fairfaxva.gov or call 703-385-2943. See below for a list of our offerings.
Finding Your Way Scout Badge
This program will cover the requirements of the Finding Your Way Wolf Scout Adventure. Activities will include map reading, navigation lessons, practicing with a compass and an orienteering activity on the historic grounds.
Duration: 1 hour. Fee: $3 per scout; adults are free.
Fairfax Museum Scout Badge
This program is open for all scouting organizations and is a fun, history-oriented program that takes scouts through the Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center, where they will see historical artifacts, complete a scavenger hunt, analyze objects and learn the fascinating local history of Fairfax City. The museum sells a special patch that scouts may purchase at the end of the program.
Duration: 1 hour. Fee: $3 per scout; adults are free.
Group Tours
Guided adult tours for groups of eight people or more at any city historic site may be reserved for a fee. See below for fees and booking process at each site. To book a group tour at any of our three sites, please contact Sean Redmiles at Sean.Redmiles@fairfaxva.gov or call 703-385-2943.
Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center
Tour description:
Learn about the history of Fairfax City on this docent-led tour of the museum’s permanent exhibition, “The Fairfax Story.” The tour covers the exhibit’s full timeline, highlights significant objects from our collection, and explores how broader historical events affected Fairfax and its residents. Visitors will also learn about the building itself. Built around 1873, it once housed Fairfax Elementary School, which served white students during segregation. Today, it is home to the Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center. The tour lasts approximately 45 minutes. The second-floor exhibit gallery is accessible by elevator.
- Fee: $5.00 per person
- Minimum Charge: $75.00 for visits scheduled outside of regular museum hours
- Group Definition: Groups are defined as eight (8) or more participants
- Maximum Group Size: 30 participants per hour, divided into subgroups of no more than 15 each
- Reservation Requirements:
-
- Must be booked at least one month in advance
- Full payment required within two weeks of the scheduled date
- Reservation is not confirmed until acknowledged by the Program Coordinator
Historic Blenheim
Tour Description: Explore the history of this house, built around 1859, where soldiers left signatures, drawings, messages, and games on the walls in 1862–1863, creating a “diary on the walls” of their experiences.
A docent will guide you through the first floor and explain how the arrival of soldiers changed the town and its inhabitants. Discover how the house reflects these changes through interactions among the soldiers, the family who lived here, and the men and women enslaved by the family. The tour lasts approximately 45 minutes and is ADA-accessible.
- Fee: $5.00 per person
- Minimum Charge: $75.00 for visits scheduled outside of regular museum hours
- Group Definition: Groups are defined as eight (8) or more participants
- Maximum Group Size: 30 participants per hour, divided into subgroups of no more than 15 each
- Reservation Requirements:
-
- Must be booked at least one month in advance
- Full payment required within two weeks of the scheduled date
- Reservation is not confirmed until acknowledged by the Program Coordinator
Ratcliffe-Allison-Pozer House
Tour Description: Walk through the oldest residence, built in 1807, in the original Town of Providence and learn about life in Fairfax City over the last 200 years through the stories of the many families who lived there. The tour will last 45-60 minutes and take visitors through all rooms on the first level of the house.
- Fee: $5.00 per person
- Minimum Charge: $75.00
- Maximum Group Size: 15 participants per hour
- Reservation Requirements:
-
- Must be booked at least one month in advance
- Full payment required within two weeks of the scheduled date
- Reservation is not confirmed until acknowledged by the Program Coordinator