HANDS-ON HISTORY
Civil War School Days
Grades: 3rd through 12th
2026 Dates:
Tuesday, May 5
Wednesday, May 6
Thursday, May 7
Friday, May 8
Rain or Shine
This award-winning educational event is specially designed to meet the curriculum standards for students in grades 5th through High School. Midway Village Museum’s campus makes this an exceptional field trip destination with more than 25 historic buildings and from 30 to 40 different living history sites offered each day. Groups will visit the sites that they choose.
The program is open to public, private or home schools from northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. In 2018, more than 6,000 students participated in this program. Space is limited and advance registration and payment is required.
You can download a packet of suggested pre-, during- and post-lessons and activities here. The file is divided into two parts to help with the download:
Examples of stations that students can visit:
- President and Mary Todd Lincoln
- Harriet Tubman
- Recruitment
- Camp Fuller Muster
- 17th Corps Field Operations
- Undertaker, 17th Corps Field Operations
- Civil War Music
- Civil War Era Cricket
- Civil War Sword Instruction
- Frederick Douglass
- Songs and Stories of the Underground Railroad
- Battery G Union Artillery Unit/Cannon
- Ellis Rifles Maneuvers
- General Grant
- Ink & Pen
- The United States Colored Troops
- Blacksmith
- Telegraph
- The Civil War Soldier & Technology
- Sutler
- War Correspondence
- The Civil War Soldier & Technology
- Dancing
- Civil War Drumming
Cost is $10 per student; 1 complimentary chaperone for 10 paid students (ex. 100 students = 10 complimentary chaperones); additional adults $8.
Educational Standards
To view how Midway's programs meet state educational standards, download our 15-page Illinois State Standards overview in PDF format. To see how they meet National Social Studies Curriculum Standards 2, 3 & 4, download our 3-page Program Education Standards guide in PDF format.
Questions or need assistance? Please contact our Museum Educator, Teresa Streed, at 815-397-9112, ext. 106 or email her at teresa.streed@midwayvillage.com.
