School Programs

The staff, volunteers, and concessionaires at Columbia State Historic Park take great pride in the quality of our school presentations.  We offer a variety of opportunities for school children to have first-hand experiences to augment classroom learning about the California Gold Rush. More than 15,000 fourth graders attend presentations at Columbia State Historic Park each year.

The park staff and volunteers offer 4 different formal programs aimed at the 4th-grade audience that meet California State Curriculum Standards for fourth grade social studies content. Financial support for these programs is provided by Friends of Columbia State Historic Park.

Parking and admission are free, and school groups are welcome to visit the park at any time for self-guided presentations. The park’s concessionaires offer many programs designed for school audiences.

The Columbia Passport, a self-guided touring aid, is available at the museum, or may be ordered in advance of your trip for $1.25 each.

IMPORTANT:  If you are making reservations, and you are not the classroom teacher coming to Columbia, the information given when a reservation is made must be given to the teacher(s).  There are rules, protocols, and information, disseminated through Bookeo, that are important for the visit to Columbia State Historic Park, and the specific program(s) the teachers and students are visiting.

 

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Columbia 4th Grade Town Tour

The 4^th grade town tour consist of a 1-hour program for up to 35 students that begins at the park museum and visits multiple locations in the park. This engaging program covers how the California Gold Rush influenced the culture, economy and environment in Columbia. Tour runs rain or shine.

Included in the tour is:

• An overview of what life was like in Columbia during the Gold Rush
• A hands-on mining demonstration *
• General mercantilism presentation
• Student involved bucket brigade activity*

* activities weather permitting

The maximum number of 4^th grade students per group is 35 with up to 4 adults. The minimum number of students is 12.

Reservation Information 

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Columbia Schoolhouse 4th Grade Living History Program 

The Columbia Schoolhouse Living History Program is a 1-hour program at the 1861 historic brick schoolhouse where a period attired schoolteacherpresents a program where 4^th grade students experience what it was like to go to school in a 1861 classroom during the Gold Rush. Students will use slateboards and chalk to engage in history, spelling, reading and math lessons of that time period.  

This “living history” program engages students by:

• Meeting inside the original two story brick schoolhouse built in 1860
• Sitting in historic wooden desks
• Participating in school lessons from the 1861 including history, rules/consequences, mathematics, (ciphering) reading, writing, and spelling.
• Using historic school tools like chalkboards and old textbooks
• Following instructions from a schoolhouse docents dressed in period clothing and teaching as if she was from that time period (1^st person interpretation)

The maximum number of students is 35 with up to 4 adults. The minimum number of 4^th grade students is 12.

Program Information 

Homeschool Option - Columbia Schoolhouse 4th Grade

The Columbia Schoolhouse 4th Grade program is available for 4th grade level students from formal homeschool programs.  Each student is allowed one parent chaperone.

Other members of the homeschool program are not able to participate in the guided walk. However, students and parents will be able to visit the historic buildings, exhibits, and merchants of Columbia State Historic Park while they wait for their 4th graders to complete the program. 

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Gold Trek Living History Program

The Gold Trek program at Columbia State Historic Park is a living history program for 4^th grade students that replicates the experience that many gold seekers faced as they traveled from Stockton to the Columbia diggings in search of gold. Through an interactive choose-your-own adventure experience, students themselves will face the same challenges and rewards as the original gold seekers.

When students arrive at the park, they participate as "companies" in an auction where they have the opportunity to spend or save their money, purchase maps, carts, supplies, and shovels, and start on their journey. Along the route to the gold fields, they encounter charlatans, merchants, ferry crossings, and opportunities to make critical decisions that affect their ability to arrive at the gold fields ready to work.

This program adheres to the state’s curriculum standards and provides an opportunity for students to experience first-hand what they’ve learned in the classroom. This program is very popular and reservations are required.  

This program requires a one-hour online pre-lesson with park's distance learning interpreter. The pre-lesson is offered in January and February to introduce students to the Gold Rush so they will be better prepared for the Gold Trek and can have a more enriching experience. The lesson covers historical Gold Rush history, Columbia’s town history, routes of travel, and information about the trek from the Port of Stockton to Columbia. The lesson is approximately ½ hour long. They will contact you once you are registered to schedule the online lesson. 

WAITLIST: If you are unable to make reservations for this program because the timeslot is full, please send an email to columbia.shp@parks.ca.gov with your name, school name, # of students, and phone number to be added to our waitlist. If there are additional spots available or a cancellation, the park will contact you.

Program Information 

Homeschool Option - Gold Trek

The Gold Trek Homeschool program is available for 4th grade level homeschool students from formal homeschool programs.  Each student is allowed one parent chaperone.

Other members of the homeschool program are not able to participate in the Gold Trek program. However, students and parents will be able to visit the historic buildings, exhibits, and merchants of Columbia State Historic Park while they wait for their 4th graders to complete the Gold Trek journey. 

For more information on park school programs contact the Columbia School Group Coordinator at columbia.shp@parks.ca.gov 

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Explore PORTS Columbia

Sign up for a virtual field trip to Columbia State Historic Park! Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students (PORTS) program provides FREE, live, interactive videoconference programs, also known as virtual field trips. K-12 students from California and around the world are connecting with live State Park Interpreters and learning academic content standards within the context of California’s dynamic state park system.

 You can view additional virtual field trips on the PORTS Programs page.

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Diggins Tent Town 1852

The 4^th Grade Diggins Tent Town Living History Program at Columbia State Historic Park consists of a 2-hour program lead by park staff and docents that is meant to replicate the experience of a Gold Rush era tent town in California. Students are provided the opportunity to directly engage in this “living history” town and find out what life was like in 1852.

Educational programs for 4th graders are offered on the Thursday and Friday of Columbia Diggins Tent Town. Students get a chance to tour the camp and interact with characters from 1852. 

This program adheres to the state’s curriculum standards and provides an unbeatable opportunity for students to experience first-hand what they’ve learned in the classroom. This program is very popular and reservations are required.  

The maximum number of 4^th grade students is 35 with up to 4 adults. The minimum number of students is 12.

To preserve the learning environment, classes without reservations are not admitted on Thursday or Friday of the event. 

The cost includes $5 worth of “Columbia Eagles” which are redeemed for goods, food or services in the camp, giving students an opportunity to interact in the mercantile economy of the camp.

WAITLIST:  If you are unable to make a reservation for this program because the timeslot is full, please send an email toColumbia.SHP@parks.ca.gov with your name, school name, # of students, and phone number to be added to our waitlist. If the park has additional spots available or a cancellation, park staff will contact you.

Homeschool Option - Diggins 

The Diggins Homeschool program is available for 4th grade level students from formal homeschool programs.  Each student is allowed one parent chaperone.

Other members of the homeschool program are not able to participate in the Diggins program. However, non-participating students and parents will be able to enter the Diggins tent town event as a public visitor and participate in the special event. General admission prices apply. 

For more information on park school programs contact the Columbia School Group Coordinator at columbia.shp@parks.ca.gov 

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Local Merchant Student Programs  

Students and teachers may also take advantage of the local merchants of Columbia that offer special student programs. These opportunities are separate from the state park programs and direct contact to the merchant is required.

Local Merchant Columbia Student Specials

For more information on park school programs contact the park at columbia.SHP@parks.ca.gov 

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Open Educational Resources

Columbia Padlet  Columbia YouTube  Flipgrid

Digital resources available through Smithsonian Learning Lab.

History of Columbia   Mining in Columbia   Mining Tools   Mining Techniques   Chinese in Gold Rush Columbia   

Introduction California's Gold Rush   Traveling to the Gold Rush  

Photos of the cultures who came to the Gold Rush   Coins of the California Gold Rush

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