We are eager to share an interactive, conversational tour that deeply considers history and today.

School Groups

At the Stowe Center, we encourage students to see themselves in history and as change-makers in our own historic moment. Tour Stowe’s Hartford home, a National Historic Landmark, and participate in extended learning programs where ideas turn into inspiration and positive change.

  • All school programs support Common Core Learning Standards and the Connecticut Social Studies Framework.
  • Guided tours and programs are open to K-12 students. Available year round by advance reservation; reservations must be made 30 days in advance of proposed visit date. A ratio of 1 adult: 10 youth is required.
  • School groups are for 10 students or more. Minimum of 10 people. (Maximum per day is 40.)
  • Stowe House tours are available year-round with four (4) weeks of advance reservation.
  • Inheriting Freedom is the tour required for all Hartford Public School 4th and 5th graders. Please select this option at checkout. 

Select your preferred tour date and time below. Full tour descriptions are listed underneath. Choose your tour experience at checkout.

To inquire about availability, email our Senior Education Coordinator, Yateena Young at YYoung@StoweCenter.org or call 860-522-9258 ext. 381.
If you would like to book a tour with both the Stowe Center for Literary Activism and the Mark Twain House & Museum, please fill out this email link with your information. 

Tour Groups

September 9 @ 9:30 am - 11:30 am

Tour Groups

September 9 @ 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Tour Groups

September 10 @ 9:30 am - 11:30 am

Tour Groups

September 11 @ 9:30 am - 11:30 am

Tour Groups

September 11 @ 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Tour Groups

September 16 @ 9:30 am - 11:30 am

TOUR OFFERINGS

One tour, two stories! Enter Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1870’s historic home for our 1-hour conversational tour about the Black abolitionist Frederick Douglass and the white anti-slavery author Harriet Beecher Stowe.

We’ll explore their stories from the time they were young children until they became famous authors, paying special attention to the importance of love, family, and education in their lives. Did you know that Frederick Douglass taught himself to read and write in secret as a child? Or that Douglass was aided in his extraordinary escape to freedom by his wife-to-be, Anna Murray? Did you know that Harriet Beecher Stowe’s famous work of anti-slavery fiction, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, was directly inspired by Frederick Douglass and other Black activists of the 19th century?

Our interactive, conversation-based tour is designed to explore some of the hardest moments in U.S. history in an empowering, age-appropriate way. Step back in time with us, touch and hold historical objects and documents that help this history come alive, and join in a conversation about how all of us have the power to create change.

 [Designed to be enjoyed by visitors ages 6 and above.]

Tour Overview
Enter Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1870’s historic home, where we’ll make space for powerful stories from history.

What is a Freedom Narrative? Historically referred to as a “slave narrative,” a freedom narrative is a true, firsthand account of liberation by a Black storyteller, describing their efforts to free themselves from slavery and to build a life in freedom. Thousands of freedom narratives were written, dictated, and shared before and after slavery legally ended in the United States. Their creators used the power of their words to speak out against injustice, assert their humanity, and record the truth of our nation’s history.

On this tour, we’ll learn about three 19th-century Black abolitionists: Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglass, and Josiah Henson. Each of these authors had a direct connection to and impact on the writing of Harriet Beecher Stowe, but this tour focuses on their lives and activism. We’ll have the opportunity to hear portion of their stories, told in their own words, and to consider the lessons these stories hold for our own time.

Enter Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1870’s historic home for a 1-hour conversational tour about the power of words to change the world.

We’ll explore the life and writing of Harriet Beecher Stowe, best known for authoring Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), a complex and controversial anti-slavery novel that had a massive impact on American history and culture. What made Stowe, a white woman from Connecticut, decide to write an anti-slavery novel? We’ll learn about Harriet’s childhood, her adult years in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the sources she drew on to write and defend Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a work that went to be the best-selling novel of the entire 19th century.

We’ll also use Stowe’s life as a jumping off point to tell a larger story about the U.S. abolitionist movement, exploring the influence of Black activists, storytellers, and enslavement survivors on Stowe’s views and anti-slavery writing. We’ll pay particular attention to the life and work of Josiah Henson, the 19th-century Black abolitionist who became the major source of inspiration for the titular character of Tom.

Delve into the historic, social, and political context of the 19th century and explore the role of spiritualism in the lives of reformers, suffragists, and Black activists.

Guided audio tour exploring Stowe’s House.

SCHOOL PROGRAMS

  • Draw Yourself Into History: Zine Edition – 30 minutes
    • Zines let you say whatever you want. You have complete control over the words, pictures, and ideas that you share. In this program, visitors will use zines to tell their story.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Here are just a few things to keep in mind for your upcoming visit:

General Information

  • Large backpacks, gum, food, and beverages are not permitted in the Stowe House. We provide bins to store bags and lunches. Your group is welcome to picnic on the grounds or inside of the neighboring Katherine Seymore Day House depending on weather.
  • Allow time for shopping in the Stowe Museum Store for Stowe-inspired books, toys, jewelry and souvenirs.

Covid-19 Guidelines
The Stowe Center is continuing to recommend masks but not required to be worn inside all indoor spaces across the Stowe Center Property. We are also encouraging social distancing when possible inside of the house. Hand sanitizer is available in every building and masks can be provided to those who need one.

Weather/Delays/Arrival

  • In the event that the Stowe Center or your school is closed due to inclement weather, we will make every effort to re-schedule your group.
  • If you will arrive more than 15 minutes early or late, please notify us at 860.522.9258 x317.
  • We can accommodate vans and individual cars in our parking lot at 77 Forest Street. Buses can drop off students at the curb in front of the Stowe House and then park on Forest Street.
  • Tours require two chaperones for every 10 students (3rd grade through 8th grade); one chaperone for every 10 students 9th grade and up.
  • Teachers/Chaperones are responsible for the group at all times.
  • Because the Stowe Center is comprised of 19th century landscape and buildings, some ADA adjustments require advance arrangements for the best experience for your youth. Please indicate if we can provide accommodations and services in advance by calling 860.522.9258 x317, or send an email to tickets@stowecenter.org.

If you have any further questions about your visit, please email or call yyoung@stowecenter.org or call 860.522.9258 x319.

  • Student Group Guided House Tour: $10 per student
  • Student Group Guided House Tour + Program: $15 per student
  • Hartford Public Schools Student Group: $5 per student
  • Hartford Public Schools Student Group + Program: $8 per student
  • Chaperones receive discounted admission of $10 per person.
  • Complimentary admission for all teachers.
  • Major credit cards, check, or cash are accepted. PO and school invoicing processes are allowed.

Refund Policy: The Stowe Center does not provide refunds for group tours if the itinerary is changed within two weeks of the scheduled tour date.

Staff at the Stowe Center may join the tour and will take pictures of the students. We do this with the utmost care and consideration, but it is so important for us to document our work with a range of audiences for our funders who underwrite our work, for grants we are writing to support us, and for marketing our work to build new audiences. Per CT state law, this is permissible without a prior authorization from the guardian. Should any student or caregiver choose to opt out of this request, we can be completely respectful of such requests. Teachers will point out any student who wishes to be excluded.