School programs at the Santa Elena History Center are a great way to extend learning outside the classroom and ensure that students learn the history of the area in which they live. Many programs are also a great introduction into the field of archaeology.
- A minimum of 10 people are needed for a school program.
- Groups of 30 or more can be divided among multiple programs.
- Programs are preferably held at the Santa Elena History Center, but can also travel to your school or other location with the exception of the museum tour.
- Reservations must be made at least two weeks in advance with confirmation from the Program Coordinator.
- Bus parking is available next to the History Center free of charge.
- Lunch areas can also be provided if needed.
- A gift shop is available for students in small groups at a time.
- Our programs can also be combined with programs at the Verdier House Museum and the Beaufort History Museum all of which are in walking distance of each other and the History Center.
- Programs at the Verdier House Museum and the Beaufort History Museum need to be scheduled through each institution separately.
Customize your field trip by selecting one or more of the programs below. Groups that would like to schedule educational field trips at the Santa Elena History Center should contact the Program Coordinator at programs@santa-elena.org or 843-379-1550.
Museum Tour (Grades 3-8)
After viewing the introductory video, participants will be able to tour the main exhibit “Santa Elena: America’s Untold Story” where students will learn why Spain, France and England were interested in settling the “New World” in the 16th century and why Santa Elena became the Spanish capital of la Florida.
Social Studies Standards: 3-1.3, 3-2.1, 3-2.2, 3-2.3, 4-1.3, 4-1.4, 6-6.4, 6-6.5, 8-1.2
Terms: Santa Elena, Charlesfort, tailor, armor, colony, rival, archaeology, artifacts
Length: 1 hour
Price: $6.00 per student. No charge for teachers and chaperones unless the number of chaperones is greater than a third of the total number of students.
Camp Dig It! Archaeology Program (Grades 3-8)
Students will get an introduction into the field of archaeology by a professional archaeologist. In this program participants will excavate a simulated site in dig boxes using the same methods archaeologists do to uncover and record their finds. They will also have to identify artifacts they discovered and figure out who might have lived at their site.
Social Studies Standards: 3-1.3, 3-2.2, 3-2.3, 4-2.2, 6-4.4, 8-1.2
Terms: Archaeology, artifact, excavating, prehistoric, historic
Length: 1 hour
Price: $6.00 per student. No charge for teachers and chaperones unless the number of chaperones is greater than a third of the total number of students.
Cultures and Conflicts (Grades 3-8)
Students will examine the lifestyles of Native Americans in the low country and compare it to the Spanish who came to settle Santa Elena. Through pictures and artifacts participants will examine the relationship between the Spanish and Native Americans. Students will explore the periods of cooperation and conflict that arose between the two groups.
Social Studies Standards: 3-2.3, 4-1.2, 6-4.4, 8-1.1
Terms: Santa Elena, artifacts, trade goods, Native Americans
Length: 1 hour
Price: $6.00 per student. No charge for teachers and chaperones unless the number of chaperones is greater than a third of the total number of students.
Living History with Captain William Hilton (Grades 3-8)
In this program students will hear from Captain William Hilton about his life and harrowing adventures on the Carolina coast. Students will learn that in 1663, almost 100 years after the Spanish had started their settlement at Santa Elena on Parris Island, an Englishman—Captain William Hilton, who had been commissioned by settlers in Barbados to explore the Carolina coast for a suitable site for a colony—entered Port Royal Sound. As he did so he noticed a high bluff or headland on an island that could serve as a navigational marker and called it Hilton’s Head. Participants will be able to interact with Captain Hilton and ask him questions.
Social Studies Standards: 3-1.1, 3-1.2, 3-2.2, 3-2.3, 3-2.4, 4-1.3, 4-1.4, 4-2.3, 6-6.4, 6-6.5, 8-1.2
Terms: Hilton Head, Santa Elena, Charlesfort, Port Royal, Barbados, Lord Proprietors, astrolabe, compass, cartography
Length: 1 hour
Price: $6.00 per student. No charge for teachers and chaperones unless the number of chaperones is greater than a third of the total number of students.
Colonial Medicine (Grades 4-8)
What was health care like for people in colonial South Carolina? Students will learn how people in the past dealt with sickness and disease by role playing and examining reproduction artifacts. They will then analyze the treatment given to George Washington during his final illness.
Social Studies Standards: 4-2.2, 7-1.1, 7-1.2
Terms: Infection, inoculation, contagious, theory
Length: 1 hour
Price: $6.00 per student. No charge for teachers and chaperones unless the number of chaperones is greater than a third of the total number of students.