School Tours

Gold intricate floral pattern borders on a dark green background, depicting traditional ornamental design inspired by Heritage Square, Oxnard.

School Tours & Outreach Program

Some of the most exciting and rewarding ways of learning about history are to see, talk about, and even touch real objects that help tell the stories of how people used to live in the distant past and not so long ago. Heritage Square offers a program that helps to engage students, teachers and parents by exploring Oxnard’s history.

School Tours at Heritage Square are available year-round by appointment. We also offer an Outreach Program where our docents come to you. Please allow at least three weeks prior to the requested date of your visit. Before filling out a reservation form please read the ETIQUETTE AND TOUR TIPS document.

For students and teachers alike, Heritage Square offers a step back in time. Students learn firsthand about how these families lived and about what they did to help shape the community we know today. Call us today to book your tour (805)483-7960.

Resources

An ornate green divider with a symmetrical, curling design and a diamond shape in the center, reminiscent of Heritage Square.
VISITORS
TEACHERS

All Programs include:

  • Hands-on materials and experiences
  • Costumed docents, trained by teachers
  • Interactive  presentations
  • Based on specific grade level California History/Social Science standards, English Language Arts standards
  • Follow-up classroom activities provided to continue development of standards

Field Trips

Activities at the Square are 90 minutes with a tour and hands-on experiences

Grade 3 Students will step back in time to 1903, the year that Oxnard became a city, and be treated to a tour of the colorful history and architecture of early Oxnard with an architectural scavenger hunt.

Grades 4-5 Students will tour the exteriors of pioneer houses at Heritage Square, with an architectural scavenger hunt activity learning about the people who lived in the homes. Tour content sets the historical stage for this period of local community development within the context of The Westward Movement of US and CA history, including immigration and migration to California from the 1850s to the early 1900s. Students will explore why people came here and the routes they traveled, with stories and adventures of real people who settled in this area and lived in the houses at Heritage Square. Hands-on activities will give students a taste of pioneer farm life.

History/Social Science Standards Addressed in Our School Programs:

  • Grade 3  3.3, 3.3#2 and 3.3#3
  • Grade 4  4.1 #3,4,5; 4.2 #3,6,7,8; 4.3 #2,3;  and 4.4#2,3
  • Grade 5  5.2 #2; 5.3 #1; and 5.8 #1,2, 4.

Cost for Field Trips:

  • $3 Per student, with free admission for one teacher and 3 adults per class
  • $4 Per student for Combo Trips to Farmer’s Market

Outreach Program

An Interactive Hands-on Experience for Third-Grade students. Costumed docents will come to your school to help bring history alive for your students.

Activities may include:

  • Oxnard: Then and Now
  • Prediction Game: Artifacts from Early Oxnard Life
  • 1903, the Year our City Came to Be
  • The Sugar Beet Factory
  • Old Fashioned Toys and Games
  • The Story of Oxnard through the Kaufman Family
  • Farm Chores
  • How did kids dress over 100 years ago? What was school like?
  • Tea Party with the First Lady
  • Story Telling

Requirements:

  • A large indoor space (like a cafeteria or library) to accommodate 6 activity tables for approximately 2 and one-half hours
  • Parent volunteers to help with activities

Fees:

  • $150 per museum session for up to 60 students
  •  $2.00 additional for each student over 60

For more information or to request a reservation, call (805)483-7960 or e-mail: HeritageSquareOxnard@gmail.com