School Group Tips

The Mackinac State Historic Parks are the perfect destination for student groups visiting the Straits of Mackinac. Site visits are exciting for the students and can help teachers to meet the standards of the Michigan Curriculum Framework Strands (MEAP).

Contact and arrange for your visit as soon as possible. While the Mackinac State Historic Parks do not take reservations (to the exclusion of other groups), we do attempt to guide groups into the best possible time slots (check 2008 Hours of Operation) that will allow them to make the most of their visit. See our 2008 Group Admission Rates section for the latest student & adult rates. Also, we will give one free adult admission for every twelve paid students. In addition, it is a good idea to call two weeks in advance of your visit to re-verify your arrival time and expected numbers.

Upon arrival, pick up site maps and watch the orientation program. If there is a group already watching the program, perhaps spend some time in the Museum Stores or go directly into the site. The orientation program at Fort Mackinac is located in the Fort Commissary Building, while at Colonial Michilimackinac and Historic Mill Creek, the program(s) are located in the visitor’s centers. If you miss the orientation program on the way in, you can always try to see it before leaving.

All of our historic sites feature self-guided tours, but our historical interpreters are always on site and are easily identifiable in their historic costume. Each living history site features a different schedule of daily events and these are indicated on the back of the site maps as ‘Today’s Events." Don’t hesitate to divide your group if your numbers are too large and have a plan before arriving. Create an activity (scavenger hunts, photojournalism projects, etc.) which will keep your students occupied while on site. Our Educational Programs, and Museum Educator can provide suggestions for on site activities and can further explain how a visit to the Mackinac State Historic Parks can help classes to meet certain MEAP benchmarks and standards. Visits to our historic sites can help students experience:

Strand 1 Historic Perspective
Our sites can give students an opportunity to gather information the sites and their corresponding history. They can learn how this area played a major role in the development and settlement of Michigan and the United States and the major individuals and groups involved throughout this timeline of events.

Strand 2 Geographic Perspective
Students are right in the middle of the biggest inland water "highway" in the New World. They can see different cultures come together at this gathering place, how they interacted and why this area was chosen

Strand 4 Economic Perspective
Students can see ports that were developed as a result of economically important fur trade and how that effected Michigan. They can see first-hand how this international trade built and settled this area and how it influenced the settlement of Michigan.

Strand 5 Inquiry
Students can gather information about communities of Michigan by on-site observations and can use this information to construct an answer with support by this evidence to answer a question posed about Michigan.