SDHC now offers a variety of programs for the 2021/2022 school year!

Click here for the virtual programs flyer

Single-Session Virtual Programs:

  • History At Home: History is all around you! Learn the skills of a historian, compare primary sources from the SDHC collection, and discover the photos, objects, and stories in your own home. (Grades 1-5)

  • Stories of San Diego: Discover San Diego’s early beginnings and how the history of San Diego is reflected in our culture today by exploring the changes that have occurred here over time. (Grades 2-5)

  • San Diego Before Statehood: Journey back in time and explore Presidio Park to reveal the daily life of the Kumeyaay, the Spanish, and the Mexican inhabitants of early California. (Grades 3-5)

  • Mapping Balboa Park: Explore the buildings and features that form the foundation of the modern Park. Use the tools of a historian to learn about Balboa Park, then and now! (Grades 3-8)

Multi-Session Virtual Programs:

  • San Diego, A City in Motion: Discover the changing shape of San Diego and the people and cultures who have affected our region. Learn map skills, explore San Diego's natural resources, and compare historic primary sources with what you observe about your neighborhood today. (Grades 2-5)

  • San Diego History Makers: Examine primary source materials from the SDHC collection to discover influential San Diegans and become a living history exhibit. Engage in discussion to answer “What is a History Maker?” and “How can I be a History Maker?” (Grades 2-5)

  • San Diego, Here I Come: Explore primary sources that illuminate the experiences of San Diego citizens over time to uncover the reasons people have come to settle in our region from 1850 to the present day. Discuss the experiences of contemporary and historic San Diegans to discover if these experiences have changed over time. (Grades 3-5)

  • Listen Up! Youth Oral History Workshop: Discover the importance of oral histories and the unique role they play in documenting and understanding our past, hear examples of fascinating oral histories in the History Center’s permanent collection and learn how to conduct your own Oral History. (Grades 2-12)

Onsite Field Trip Programs:

  • San Diego Before Statehood: Discover the changing shape of San Diego and the people and cultures who have affected our region. Learn map skills, explore San Diego's natural resources, and compare historic primary sources with what you observe about your neighborhood today. (Grades 2-8)

  • Stories of San Diego: Examine primary source materials from the SDHC collection to discover influential San Diegans and become a living history exhibit. Engage in discussion to answer “What is a History Maker?” and “How can I be a History Maker?” (Grades 2-8)

  • Scenes of San Diego: San Diego History through Fine Art: Explore pieces from the SDHC fine art collection using Visual Thinking Strategies. Engage in discussion and answer “What is San Diego” and “Whar does it mean to be a San Diegan?” and "How has San Diego changed over time?" (Grades 2-12)

  • Mapping Balboa Park: Explore the buildings and features that form the foundation of the modern Park. Use the tools of a historian to learn about Balboa Park, then and now! (Grades 3-8)

  • Gallery Highlights and Exhibition-specific tours (Grades 2-12)

Classroom Outreach Programs:

  • Listen Up! Youth Oral History Workshop: Discover the importance of oral histories and the unique role they play in documenting and understanding our past, hear examples of fascinating oral histories in the History Center’s permanent collection and learn how to conduct your own Oral History. (Grades 2-12)

  • San Diego Before Statehood: Discover the changing shape of San Diego and the people and cultures who have affected our region. Learn map skills, explore San Diego's natural resources, and compare historic primary sources with what you observe about your neighborhood today. (Grades 2-5)

  • Stories of San Diego: Examine primary source materials from the SDHC collection to discover influential San Diegans and become a living history exhibit. Engage in discussion to answer “What is a History Maker?” and “How can I be a History Maker?” (Grades 2-5)

History Kits:

  • Available for grades K-12, with or without live virtual instruction, on many topics of San Diego history! Share your topic request or idea in the program request form.

Important information about programs from SDHC:

  • Each virtual session and classroom outreach is approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour in duration and each onsite field trip is approximately 1 1/2 hours.

  • Maximum capacity for programs is 25 students per session; multiple visits and sessions can be scheduled to reach all students.

  • The suggested per student fee is $5; grant funding for educational programs is available.

  • All programs include optional pre- and post-session bridging materials and activities to enhance student learning.

  • All programs combine whole group exploration, small group discussion, and individual reflection, with short brain breaks built in.

  • Scheduling is flexible for both single-session and multiple-session programs.

  • We can customize programs to meet your students' needs! Submit a request to start the conversation!

To fund your virtual field trip Xperience with SDHC, visit ArtsBusXpress and apply today!

Please be prepared to identify yourself, your school, grade level and preferred date(s) for your Virtual Field Trip Xperience. Once you submit, ArtsBusXpress will review your application and will notify SDHC upon approval. We’ll be in touch to confirm the specific time, discuss your class's needs, and answer any additional questions you may have.

We’re excited to work with ArtsBusXpress to “enrich our students one field trip at a time, with or without the bus!”

THE SAN DIEGO HISTORY CENTER THANKS PRICE PHILANTHROPIES, PATRONS OF THE PRADO, THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO COMMISSION OF ARTS & CULTURE, AND THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO FOR SUPPORTING OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING.