On-Site Middle & High School Programs

American Decorative Arts

Grades 6–12

Explore the characteristics of decorative arts and furniture styles popular from 1640 to 1860. Students handle and examine objects and take a tour through period rooms to observe design history and principles. Ideal for history, visual art, art history, interior design, and home economics students.

Program length: 2 hours

Maximum 45 students

Reinforces Delaware Standards: Visual Arts 4, 5, 6; History 1, 2

Ritual and Revolution: The Importance of Tea

Grades 6–12

Students discover how Colonial America’s ritual of tea drinking helped create the social, economic, and political forces that played a role in the Revolution. Investigate 18th-century life through tea drinking and discover tea’s social rituals, political symbolism, and economic power. Includes a primary-source activity relating to the Boston Tea Party.

Program length: 1¾ hours

Reinforces Delaware Standards: Civics 1, 4; Economics 1, 4; Geography 4; History 2, 3, 4; Visual Arts 4, 5, 6; English/Language Arts 3, 4

East Egg, West Egg

Grades 9-12

Tour the home of Henry Francis du Pont and compare and contrast his lifestyle with that of a few of his contemporaries: the major characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. This program can also be readily adapted to a 45-minute in-class experience. 

Program length: 2 hours

Available March-October

Reinforces Delaware Standards: History 1-4; English/Language Arts 1-4; Visual Arts 3, 4, 6