Education
Schedule a Pitot House Field Trip
and Enrich your Classroom Experience!
At the Pitot House, we strive to spark curious minds and demonstrate that learning history can be fun.
Field trips to historic houses help students appreciate Louisiana’s interesting history. Filled with beauty and mystery, historic buildings offer valuable insight and a connection with those who have contributed to the beautiful fabric of our city. They are tangible records of the way people lived in the past.
The location of the Pitot House on Bayou St. John is a potent reminder of the importance of this waterway to the early settlers. Sailing into the city by this route shortened the distance from the Gulf of Mexico by 75 miles and the travel time by several weeks. Bayou St. John remained the preferred water route to New Orleans until the 1820s when sailing ships were replaced by steam ships. Comparing maps used in the 18th and 19th centuries with modern maps is an interesting experience which lends itself to numerous extensions.
The Louisiana Landmarks Society is a preservation advocacy organization that was founded in 1950. Its mission is to promote historic preservation through education, advocacy, and operation of the Pitot House. The Pitot House, built in 1799, was acquired by Landmarks in 1963 and has been a museum since the completion of its restoration in 1972. The house is interpreted as it would have appeared during the time of its occupation by James Pitot, the first Mayor of New Orleans.
Schedule a Field Trip
Admission: $7.00 per student
1 required Teacher/Chaperone per 10 students (complimentary); $10.00 additional adults
Field Trips are available Wednesday – Friday, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
To schedule a field trip call us at: (504) 482-0312 or fill out the webform below.
Educator Resources
The Pitot House provides a wonderful environment for any age group to engage in compelling curriculum enriched by the unique setting of Bayou St. John. Below you can find sample lessons and field trip ideas. Please contact us to learn more about how the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) can be addressed during a field trip to the Pitot House.
Below are examples of
SOCIAL STUDIES -
The following document references the Grade 3 iLEAP Social Studies Assessment Structure which is designed to assess the Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) of the Louisiana Common Core State Standards. Click below the document below for interesting field trip ideas.
MATH
Architecture presents many opportunities to nurture the awareness of geometry and at the same time instill an appreciation for the historic buildings in New Orleans and the value of preservation.
The CCSS recommends Grade 3 instructional time focus on these three critical areas:
developing an understanding of fractions, especially unit fractions
developing an understanding of the structure of rectangular arrays and of area
describing and analyzing two-dimensional shapes.
The following document references the Grade 3 Common Core State Standards for Math. Please click below for the full resource and ideas for a Pitot House Field Trip.
Helpful Links for Educators
For a look at a wonderful presentation on the Pitot House Parterre Garden:
Formal & French: Parterre Gardens, Connecting the Pitot House Garden to 3000 Years of Garden History, by Anna Timmerman. Click HERE
Plan of New Orleans the Capital of Louisiana with the disposition of the Quarters and Canals as they have been traced by Mr. de la Tour...CLICK HERE
Topographical map of New Orleans and its vicinity: Maps from The Historic New Orleans Collection... CLICK HERE for Map on THNOC website.
Parent & Educator Resources: Boston Children's Museum. CLICK HERE for site
Colonial Williamsburg: Games and Activities for Kids. CLICK HERE
Library of Congress: 10 Ways to Enrich your Classroom with Primary Sources. CLICK HERE.
History by Era, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - an Introductory video. Click HERE.