Students and youth can experience history at Columbia’s standout historic sites while touring the museums. Tour the Robert Mills House, Hampton-Preston Mansion, Mann-Simons Site or Woodrow Wilson Family Home: A Museum of Reconstruction to learn more about Columbia's history and relevance to our community. All school tours align with South Carolina academic standards.
House Tours for Students
Robert Mills House
Tour Themes: Architecture, Antebellum, Religion
Relating the story of nationally prominent architect and South Carolina native Robert Mills and the history of the building, this tour teaches students about life in 19th-century South Carolina, the story of the preservation of the structure in the 1960s, and this National Historic Landmark's important architectural features. When discussing architecture with students, guides teach them about key concepts in the house’s design including symmetry, balance, perspective, and reasoning behind the interior layout.
SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS
K-4, K-4.1 | 2-1.4 | 3.4, 3-4.1 | USHC-2.4
VISUAL ARTS STANDARDS
VAK-1.2, VAK-2.1, VAK-4.1, VAK-5.2 | VA1-1.2, VA1-3.1, VA1-4.1 | VA2-1.1, VA2-3.1, VA2-4.1 | VA3-1.2, VA3-3.1, VA3-4.1 | VA4-1.1, VA4-3.1, VA4-4.1 | VA5-1.1, VA5-3.1, VA5-4.1 | VA6-1.1, VA6-3.1 | VA7-1.1 | VA8-1.1
The Museum of the Reconstruction Era at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home
Tour Themes: Reconstruction, Citizenship, African American History
Former President Woodrow Wilson's family once called this site his home while living in Columbia during the midst of the Reconstruction era. This tour introduces students to the political, economic and social aspects of Reconstruction in Columbia, the changing definition of citizenship and the experiences of young Woodrow Wilson in Columbia during the 1870s.
SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS
K-1.1, K-1.2, K-1.3 | 1-1.1, 1-1.3 | 2-1.1, 2-2.1, 2-2.4 | 3-4.6 4th Grade: 4-6.5 | 5-1.1, 5-1.2, 5-1.3, 5-1.4 | 8-5.1, 8-5.2, 8-5.3, 8-5.4, 8-5.8 | USHC-3.3, USHS-3.4, USHC-4.6, USHC-5.4
Mann-Simons Site
Tour Themes: African American History, Reconstruction, Antebellum
The Mann-Simons Site was the home of Celia Mann, a free-black midwife who lived in Columbia before the Civil War. Mann’s descendants occupied the house until 1970 when preservationists saved the home from demolition. This tour can be used to introduce students to the history of Columbia’s African American community by examining the lives of the different generations of the Mann and Simons families who inhabited it during the antebellum, Reconstruction, Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras.
SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS
K-4, K-4.1 | 2-1.4, 2.3, 2-3.2, 2-3.5 | 3.4, 3-4.1, 3-5.1 | 5-3.1, 5-3.2 | 8-1.4 | USHC-4.3, USHC-6.1
VISUAL ARTS STANDARDS
VAK-1.2, VAK-4.1, VAK-5.2 | VA1-1.2, VA1-3.1, VA1-4.1 | VA2-1.1, VA2-3.1, VA2-4.1 | VA3-1.2, VA3-3.1, VA3-4.1 | VA4-1.1, VA4-3.1, VA4-4.1 | VA5-1.1, VA5-3.1, VA5-4.1 | VA6-1.1, VA6-3.1, VA6-4.1 | VA7-1.1, VA7-4.1 | VA8-1.1, VA8-4.1 | VAH1-4.2
Modjeska Monteith Simkins House
Tour Themes: Civil Rights
This one-story Columbia Cottage was Simkins’ home for 60 years and used not only as a residence, but for lodging and as a meeting space for local and national civil rights leaders and NAACP lawyers during a time when blacks were excluded from city hotels.
SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS
K-4, K-4.1 | 2-1.4 | 3.4, 3-4.1, 3-4.2, 3-4.4 | 8-4.5, 8-4.6 | USHC-2.4
Hampton-Preston Mansion
Tour Themes: Civil War Era, Antebellum, African American History, Gardens
The Hampton-Preston Mansion once was home to one of South Carolina's most powerful and prestigious planter class families. This tour introduces students to the site's black and white inhabitants, providing insight into their experiences here. Students will learn how enslaved African Americans and planter-class white residents interacted in the spaces of the house. Sensory-based activities allow students to explore the diverse plant species in the gardens and consider how the outdoor spaces tie into the site’s history.
SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS
K-1.2, K-4, K-4.1, K-4.2, K-4.4 | 1-1.3, 1-2.1, 1-2.2, 1-2.3, 1-2.4, 1-2.5, 1-2.6 | 2-1.4 | 3-1.3, 3-2.5, 3-4, 3-4.1, 3-4.2, 3-4.4, 3-5.6 | 6-2.3, 6-2.9 | 8-1.3, 8-4.5, 8-4.6 | USHC-2.4
VISUAL ARTS STANDARDS
VAK-1.2, VAK-2.1, VAK-4.1, VAK-5.2 | VA1-1.2, VA1-3.1, VA1-4.1 | VA2-1.1, VA2-3.1, VA2-4.1 | VA3-1.2, VA3-3.1, VA3-4.1 | VA4-1.1, VA4-3.1, VA4-4.1 | VA5-1.1, VA5-3.1, VA5-4.1 | VA6-1.1, VA6-3.1, VA6-4.1 | VA7-1.1, VA7-4.1 | VA8-1.1, VA8-4.1 | VAH1-4.2
SCIENCE STANDARDS
K.S.1A.1, K.S.1A.8 | K.L.2 | 2-1.4 | 1.E.4A | 1.L.5A | 1.L.5B | 4.L.5B
Digging History at Historic Columbia
This program teaches students about archaeology using Historic Columbia sites where archaeological digs have been done in the past. Students learn how archaeology helps us to understand history and perform a simulated dig to uncover and record information about artifacts. It addresses social studies standards as well as math and science skills.
SCIENCE STANDARDS
3-1.1, 3-1.3, 3-1.8 | 5-1.1, 5-1.4, 5-1.6, 5-1.8 | 6-1.1, 6-1.2, 6-1.5 | 7-1.1, 7-1.2, 7-1.7 | USHC-2.4
SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS
2-1.4
Resources for Teachers
Robert Mills House
The purpose of this guide is to provide teachers with important information regarding their class’ tour of the Robert Mills House. In addition to giving logistical information about visiting Historic Columbia, it will introduce teachers to the concepts their students will learn and how RM connects to the South Carolina Standards. The guide presents teachers with background information about the property’s history, and provides Pre- and Post- Visit Activities that will encourage students to think about the themes and lessons highlighted during their visit to Robert Mills House.
PDFResources for Teachers
Hampton-Preston Mansion
The purpose of this guide is to provide teachers with important information regarding their class’ tour of the Hampton-Preston Mansion. In addition to giving logistical information about visiting Historic Columbia, it will introduce teachers to the concepts their students will learn and how the historic house connects to the South Carolina Standards. The guide presents teachers with background information about the property’s history, and provides Pre- and Post- Visit Activities that will encourage students to think about the themes and lessons highlighted during their visit to the Hampton-Preston Mansion.
PDFResources for Teachers
Woodrow Wilson Family Home
The purpose of this guide is to provide teachers with important information regarding their class’ tour of the Woodrow Wilson Family Home. In addition to giving logistical information about visiting Historic Columbia, it will introduce teachers to the concepts their students will learn and how the historic house connects to the South Carolina Standards. The guide presents teachers with background information about the property’s history, and provides Pre- and Post- Visit Activities that will encourage students to think about the themes and lessons highlighted during their visit to the Woodrow Wilson Family Home.
PDFResources for Teachers
Mann-Simons Site
The purpose of this guide is to provide teachers with important information regarding their class’ tour of the Mann-Simons Site. In addition to giving logistical information about visiting Historic Columbia, it will introduce teachers to the concepts their students will learn and how the historic house connects to the South Carolina Standards. The guide presents teachers with background information about the property’s history, and provides Pre- and Post- Visit Activities that will encourage students to think about the themes and lessons highlighted during their visit to the Mann-Simons Site.
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Teacher Membership
Teachers who are members of Historic Columbia receive additional benefits! Email education@historiccolumbia.org or call 803.252.1770 x 26 for more information.