Cahill: Field trips

Cahill School & Grange
at Tupa Park
4816 Eden Avenue
Edina, MN
952-448-4022

Hours:
By reservation only

Directions and map

History-themed programming at Cahill School and Minnehaha Grange No. 398 are offered by the Edina Historical Society. Both buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and owned by the City of Edina.
Limited spaces available in Spring 2013 - book now!
There are still open days available for field trips to Cahill School in January, February and March. Call Schoolmarm Carol Kuhlman at 952-448-4022

Cahill School field trip recreates 1900s school day

School field trips are offered September through May to Edina’s historic Cahill School and adjacent Grange Hall. Students travel back in time and, with the help of a costumed schoolmarm, experience a typical 1900 day in a one-room schoolhouse. Children experience history by living it – answering the call of the schoolmarm’s hand-rung bell, entering through either boys’ or girls’ doors and hanging up outerwear in the cloak room, sitting in old wooden desks, using slate boards, looking through school books of the period and playing old-fashioned games.

Students second grade and up are able to comprehend and relish the role-playing done by the schoolmarms during the historical day. Typically, first-grade students toward the end of the school year have adequate focus to fully enjoy their historical experience. Some exceptional kindergarten classes have successfully participated in a shortened day toward the end of the school year. Home school groups routinely bring children through the high school years and rate the experiential historical day as both academically challenging and extremely enjoyable. About four hours of focused learning and fun in a new setting is all that attention spans can usually manage and that travel time from another school will allow. The scheduler works with the visiting teacher to plan a time frame that adapts to the needs of the guest class. The most popular visiting times are 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A trip to Cahill School also includes a visit to the adjacent Grange Hall, where students eat lunch. Built in 1879, and restored to the year 1935, the Grange Hall is a building where the Grange, a farming society, met. Also serving as a town hall, it hosted many community gatherings.

Only one school group is booked at a time. Teachers and school leaders tell us they like Cahill as a field trip destination because they can easily supervise students in a controlled setting, compared with outings to large facilities.

Reservations
Reserve your field trip by calling schoolmarm Carol Kuhlman at 952-448-4022. We serve public and private schools, church schools, charter schools and home-school organizations. Preference is given to returning schools, then on a first-come, first-served basis.

Fees and Registration
• Fees: $180 for a class of up to 30 students for field trips from November through May. An additional $5 will be charged for each additional student. Note: A special early booking rate of $170 for field trips in September and October.
• Double bookings: Some schools save on transportation costs by booking two classes on one day. Two schoolmarms teach for a double tuition of $360 ($340 in September and October). The two classes switch between our two historic buildings — Cahill School and the Grange Hall — and so get to experience both settings.
• Payment: Send checks payable to the Edina Historical Society at least one week prior to your scheduled visit. Mail to Edina Historical Society, Cahill School, P.O. Box 390126, Edina, MN 55349-0216.
• Field Trip Grants: Target makes grants available to schools specifically for field trips. For more information, see Target's web site for more information and application materials.

Clothing
To enhance their experience, students and teachers are encouraged to dress in pioneer clothing.
Boys: shirts with collars and cuffs, patched pants, bib overalls, lightweight caps, thick socks, boots, bandana neckerchiefs, and/or knickers (socks rolled over trouser legs).
Girls: dresses, petticoats, bloomers, long white or black stockings, large hair ribbons, scarves wrapped like shawls over the shoulders, aprons, high laced boots, and bonnets.
Everyone: Each student should wear a NAME TAG WITH LARGE PRINT that can be easily read by the schoolmarm from the front of the classroom.

Lunches
Also for fun, students are encouraged to bring a 1900-style lunch in a pail, pie tin or basket. Containers are covered with a cloth knotted at four corners. The cloth serves as a placemat. Typical lunch fare in 1900 included cheese chunks, dried meat, hard-boiled eggs, sandwiches, fresh fruit and raw vegetables. IMPORTANT: Because so many children have serious nut or fish allergies, please do not pack nuts of any kind, peanut butter, seafood or fish in your child's lunch.

Please see feature story for more information on our program and
see what others say about our program.