For Educators

Planning a field trip? Please read this information before attending.

What to Wear

Most HRMM programs take place rain or shine and some activities may take place outdoors. Please have students dress accordingly.

Proper footwear is key as students will be doing a lot of standing and walking. We advise against flip flops, high heels, and backless shoes.

Sunscreen, sunglasses, and protective clothing are encouraged on sunny days. Dress accordingly.

What to Bring

Students and adults may bring cameras and notebooks, but please leave backpacks and large bags on the bus as room in the museum can be scarce. Exhibits and galleries have many artifacts on display which may be damaged or knocked over by large bags. Photographs are allowed but flash photography is not.

Groups are encouraged to bring sack lunches and eat under our tents out of doors or at the nearby TR Gallo Park, but lunches should be left on the bus or in a container in a designated spot outside the museum. Lunches may not be carried through the museum while on tour. Food and beverages are not allowed inside the museum galleries. We would also be happy to assist you in arranging for pizza or boxed lunch delivery. 

Hand-held games and devices with internet access should be left at home or on the bus unless prior arrangements have been made to use items such as smart phones or tablets in activities or while on tour. Please turn all cell phones to vibrate or silent while on tour. If you or your chaperones must take a phone call, you will please leave the room so as not to disrupt the tour. 

Museum Etiquette

Please explain to students before your visit what an artifact is. In order to preserve artifacts for future generations, we ask that all students and chaperones refrain from touching artifacts on display in the museum.

In addition, because many artifacts are not roped off or behind glass in our museum, we ask that visitors move carefully through exhibits. No running is allowed in the gallery spaces.

Although a tour guide will lead you through the space, please assist and ask your chaperones to assist in keeping the group together as you move through the galleries. This will ensure that all the students get a chance to see everything and ensures that the guide can concentrate on engaging the students.

Safety

Because the museum is located on Rondout Creek it is important to stress safety measures with your students. Museum educators will remind groups on the day of their visit, but to ensure everyone's safety, please remind students ahead of time not to go on the docks, sit or stand on the bulkhead, or run near the docks or water. 

If an accident occurs at the museum, please alert administrative staff and contact emergency services if necessary. 

Pre-Visit Activities

Before you visit please prepare your students on some background history of the Hudson River and museum etiquette. Here are some great resources on Hudson River History:

• A Brief Overview. This great overview from Riverkeeper also includes a video about Native populations along the Hudson.
• Hudson River Panorama Explore the 1846 Hudson River with William Wade’s Panorama of the Hudson River. (Note: this website is old, but contains good information).
• Boats! Watch this 1930s education film about the Day Line steamship the Alexander Hamilton as it travels from Albany to New York City and observes other boats on the Hudson River (also plays in HRMM exhibits). For a breakneck, roller-coaster ride, here is a film that shows the entire length of the Hudson between Albany and New York City, but sped up, from 1903.
• Shipwrecks. Check out this New York Times article about the Wreck of the Henry Clay, a famous wreck between two racing passenger steamboats that actually resulted in legislation regulating steamboat traffic more heavily.

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