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Educational Programs

The Southeastern Railway Museum offers a wide variety of opportunities for educational field trips and tours, both Guided and Self Guided, for all ages. We have a small picnic area for our group visitors available on a first come basis.

Summer Camp 2013

Session 1 : June 17 - June 21
Session 2 : July 15 - July 19

9 AM - 1 PM

All Aboard for the Southeastern Railway Museum's Summer Camp!
The theme for 2013 is "Trains through Time!". Your child (aged 4-12) will learn about many railroad inventions and how trains changed throughout time while exploring over 50 historic trains. Each day your child will learn about trains and railroading during a different time in history, make a railroad craft, and do related railroad activities. He will even ride in a real caboose! The charge for the camp is $165 per child. Summer camp is limited to children aged 4 - 12.

An early bird discount of $20 per child applies to registrations received before May 1, 2013.

Each day the child will rotate with their group through each of these stations:

Crafts
Activities
Learning time
Snack
Music
Reenactments

During the week your child will learn about:

Monday:: The First Trains, Railroad Invention
Tuesday:: Early Steam Trains (Late 19th- Early 20th Century)
Wednesday:: The Golden Age of Railroading (Mid 20th Century)
Thursday:: From Steam to Diesel Electric (Late 20th Century)
Friday:: Trains of Today and Tomorrow

Signup form (PDF) will open HERE. OR Use Paypal.. If you have any questions or would like to sign-up for camp, please contact the museum's Education Coordinator, Beth Kovach, at 770-495-0253 extension 2, or education@southeasternrailwaymuseum.org.

Guided Tours: Guided tours are best suited for groups of all ages that are seeking a more detailed educational experience. Our tour guides will lead you through each of the exhibits explaining the historical significance while describing what it was like to ride the rails during the Age of Steam. Guided tours are only available by advance reservation with two weeks notice. Tour prices are $7 per child (2-12), $9 per adult, $7 per senior. For school tours, one chaperone is allowed in free of charge per each 8 children.

Our education department offers guided tours Thursday - Saturday throughout the year and also on Wednesdays May - August.

If you have any questions or would like to book a tour please please contact the museum's Education Coordinator, Beth Kovach, at 770-495-0253 extension 2, or education@southeasternrailwaymuseum.org.

Our School/Homeschool Programs :

The following programs are available as fieldtrips at the museum, or as outreach programs at your school. They are available for public and private schools and preschools as well as for homeschool groups, moms groups, and scout groups. All programs include a hands-on experience with artifacts. Programs that are held at the museum generally* include a train ride and program-specific tour. Programs are $7 per student, Title 1 schools please call for pricing. If you have any questions or would like to book a program please contact the museum's Education Coordinator, Beth Kovach, at 770-495-0253 extension 2, or education@southeasternrailwaymuseum.org.

*Please note
Train rides are generally available subject to the weather, equipment and staff availablility.

Pre-K to Kindergarten

All Aboard!
Fieldtrip program length: 2 hours, including tour, craft and train ride

This program covers the following Georgia Performance Standards and Gwinnett County Academic Knowledge and Skills:

GPS (SKP2), AKS (KSC C2007-10) - Students will investigate different types of motion.
GPS (ELAKLSV1), AKS (KLA A-2009-1,3 & 6) - Students use oral and visual skills to communicate.

This program is all about trains!
This program starts with a 45 minute interactive program where children will encircle a model railroad and learn:

How a train works
What is transported by train
Train jobs
Whistle, lantern, and flag signals
Train safety
Do a train craft

Following the interactive program the children will take a 45 minute tour through two historic passenger cars, a steam engine a caboose, a refrigerated car, and others

Lastly the children take a ride on a real train.

Elementary School

Georgia on the Move
Fieldtrip program length: 2.5 hours, including social studies program, science program, activity, tour and train ride.
This program covers the following Georgia Performance Standards and Gwinnett County Academic Knowledge and Skills :

GPS (SS2G1>, AKS(2SS_C2008-18-19) - The student will locate major topographical features of Georgia and will describe how these features define Georgia's surface
GPS (SS2H1b) - Describe how everyday life of these historical figures is similar to and different from everyday life in the present (food, clothing, homes, transportation, recreation, rights and freedoms)
GPS(SS2E1), AKS(2SS_H2008-42)- The student will explain that because of scarcity, people must make choices and incur opportunity costs.
GPS(SS2E3), AKS(2SS_H2008-44)-The student will explain that people usually use money to obtain the goods and services they want and explain how money makes trade easier than barter.

Teachers must pick ONE of the following science programs:

GPS(S2P1), AKS(2SC_C2007-10)- investigate the properties of matter and changes that occur in obects
GPS(S2P2), AKS(2SC_C2007-11)- identify sources of energy and how energy is used
GPS(S2P3), AKS(2SC_C2007-12)-demonstrate changes in speed and direction using pushes and pulls

In this program, children are divided into groups and rotate through three different stations:

Social Studies lesson (45 minutes) - The lesson overviews how goods are transported through, into and out of Georgia today. Then the group goes over the give geographic regions of Georgia and their products. The students then must choose a product from their region and are given coins to pay to transport their item through Georgia and overseas. The students must then decide how to transport the item using only the amount of money they are given.

Science Lesson (45 minutes)- When the program is booked, the teacher chooses whether they would like the science lesson to cover the properties of matter and their changes of state (which will be covered by discussing steam power), or the sources of energy and how they are used (which will be covered by discussing how trains move). The lesson continues on a ride on an actual train!

Tour (45 minutes) - The students will tour historic passenger cars, steam engines, freight cars, kitchen cars, and post office cars. They will see how past Georgians traveled and shipped goods(including mail). The students will also do a quick activity of loading a tender with pretend wood.

Railroads expand America
Fieldtrip program length: 2 hours, including history program, science program,panning for gold, tour and train ride

This program covers the following Georgia Performance Standards and Gwinnett County Academic Knowledge and Skills:

GPS (SS4H6 b), AKS (4SS A2008-11)

Describe the impact of the steamboat, the steam locomotive, and the telegraph on life in America

SS4E1 f

Give examples of technological advancements and their impact on business productivity during the development of the United States (such as the steamboat, steam locomotive, and telegraph).

GPS (Map and Globe Skills 11), AKS (4SS A2008-11)

Compare maps of the same place at different points in time and from different perspectives to determine changes, identify trends, and generalize about human activities.

In this program, children are divided into groups and rotate through three different stations:
History Lesson - (45 minutes)- In this program students will be organized around a giant map of the United States and interact with various artifacts, trains, boats and historic maps and learn:

Where railroads went
How railroads changed where Americans lived, worked and communicated
How railroads impacted the American economy

Science Lesson (45 minutes) - Students will learn how a steam engine works and then watch one work. They will also participate in various experiments on force and motion to discover how a locomotive works. The science lesson continues on the train ride where the instructor continues the lesson by reviewing the forces being acted on to make the train move.

Tour (45 minutes) - The students will tour historic passenger cars, steam engines, freight cars, kitchen cars, and post office cars. They will interact with a working telegraph at the depot exhibit. Students will also pan for gold; the California gold rush being one of the leading pushes for westward expansion of the United States.

Second Thursday Preschool Program

10:30 AM-12:00 noon
The Second Thursday of Each Month

All Aboard the Southeastern Railway Museum's Preschool Program! The second Thursday of each month the Southeastern Railway museum will present a new program for children ages 1-4. The program will include circle time, songs, activities, and a craft. When possible, children will get to climb on board the featured vehicle of the month. The cost is $7 per participating child. One adult is free per family. You do not need to sign-up for the program. To attend, check-in at the ticket counter by 10:20 AM on the second Thursday of any month. We can't wait to see you there. If you have any questions please contact the museum's Education Coordinator, Beth Kovach, at 770-495-0253 extension 2, or education@southeasternrailwaymuseum.org. Schedule:

Jan 10
Feb 14
Mar 14
Apr 11
May 9
Jun 13
Jul 11
Aug 8
Sep 12
Oct 10
Nov 14
Dec 12

Mom's Group Program

Thanks to popular demand we now offer mom's group programs. These programs are similar to the preschool programs but can be scheduled for a day and time that best suits your mom's group. The program is suited for children ages 1-4 and includes a circle time, songs, activities, and a craft. The cost is $10 per participating child. One adult is free per family. There is a 10 child minimum for this program. Available Themes:

Trains
Fire Trucks

If you have any questions please contact the museum's Education Coordinator, Beth Kovach, at 770-495-0253 extension 2, or education@southeasternrailwaymuseum.org.

This page last updated on Thursday May 02 2013