Group Tours

Roanoke Island Festival Park offers a group rate of 25% off admission prices to groups of ten or more who make advance reservations. For information on adult tours call 252-475-1500 ext. 253 or email gilda.ford@ncdcr.gov 

The rates for tours planned in advance are: 
$6 for adults 
$3.75 for children 
2 complimentary tickets are given per bus

School Tours 
  
The museum community has made a conscious effort to create bridges between the classroom and cultural institutions.  Crafting a variety of dynamic education programs at Roanoke Island Festival Park does more than bring history to life, it invites students to explore specific abstract ideas they learn in school in a very concrete way.  So how do we do that, and why?  All educators start with State or National Standards.  These are the guidelines set by the state that vary from grade to grade and subject to subject.   For example, one eighth grade social studies standard requires, “the learner to analyze important geographic, political, economic and social aspects of the region (North Carolina)…” specifically they look for the students to learn how to “describe diverse groups such as American Indians, African-Americans…landed gentry, tradesman…”  

It is our job to take these standards and make them concrete and interesting, and therefore fun.  This is why we let students pump the bellows in the blacksmith shop or use a cross-cut saw to cut a log. They become a tradesman, even if it is for a few minutes.  We’ve gone as far as fashioning a set of 16th century handcuffs so we can “show” the students what crime and punishment was like in the days of the Roanoke Voyages.  Of course, we don’t stop with social studies nor have we stopped with North Carolina history.  We incorporate science, math and the arts to integrate subjects and teach a broader curriculum in our programs.  This is where it gets fun and allows us to create new programs such as Culture and Society in 16th Century Europe, or Math Mysteries and The Roanoke Voyages.   

So yes, we stare at those abstract standards and say, “How can we bring that idea to life?” or “How can we make that concrete?”  But when we see students and teachers learning and smiling and wanting to know more, it truly is a beautiful thing.  Intrigued?  Good! We hope to have you visit us.

Our School Programs page details the curriculum based tours we offer and academic standards we engage. 

Teacher's Packet