Education at Sotterley

Education is at the heart of Historic Sotterley. We seek to research, interpret, develop interactive materials, and execute programs that facilitate discovery and learning about the land, history and cultures, and environment of Sotterley, connecting relevance to our lives today. Today, Historic Sotterley serves as a resource to numerous students and teachers

“Historic Sotterley is a living history, a continuum of more than 300 years of life that provides students an opportunity to step back in time.” 

Historic Sotterley’s Maryland State Department of Education approved educational programs are interdisciplinary, focusing on environment, social studies and history.  Our hands-on activities allow learning to come alive, and our landscape and authentic structures give a reality to the concepts being taught in classrooms. 

Each year over 2,500 children take part in our programs. 

Sotterley partners with the St. Mary’s County Public Schools STEAM Academy to host STEAM education programs at its site, providing students with opportunities to learn concepts introduced in the classroom in a more exciting way, through sensory learning. 

 

Cultural & Heritage Events 


Exhibits 


K-12 Field Trips & Education

 

 

Interested in learning more, reach out to our Interpretative Programs Manager Katherine Humphries on edteam@sotterley.org

Cultural & Heritage Events and Programs

Each year, we offer events, webinars, lectures and programs as part of our mission to provide educational and cultural resources to our community.   

Exhibits

For those who prefer to explore on their own, we have four award-winning historical exhibits which are included in your Grounds pass. 

Site Square - Middle Passage

Middle Passage Marker

Learn about 165 years of the history of slavery, the legacy of systemic racism, and why Historic Sotterley is proud to be a UNESCO Site of Memory for the Routes of the Enslaved, Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project site, and a partner in the Return Passage Initiative.

ToursExhibits

Land, Lives, & Labor

Learn what life at Sotterley was for those that lived and labored at Sotterley from the 17th century through the 20th century.

SlaveDwelling

Slave Dwelling

Nothing is as powerful as experiencing the reality of our Slave Dwelling for itself. The award-winning exhibit offers a window into the lives of the enslaved in the decades before the Civil War. 

Site Square - Saving Historical Places

Saving History: The Urgency of Preservation

This exhibit features the story of Resurrection Manor and why saving our irreplaceable historic resources is so important.

K-12 Field Trips & Education Programs

Our MSDE approved educational programs for students K-12 allow learning to come alive, and our landscape and authentic structures give a reality to the concepts being taught in classrooms.  

Site Square - EnviroEd

Living on the Patuxent

This program is designed to give students a historical overview of life along the Patuxent River. Students learn how early colonists used the natural resources available for the settlement of the region and how it shaped social and economic activity in the 1700’s.

Site Square - Tidewater Plantation Life

Slavery to Freedom

Learn what the life of an American enslaved family was like and who lived and labored at Sotterley Plantation during the Civil War Era.  

Site Square - Games

Tidewater Plantation Life

Be immersed in the daily lives of children on a Plantation using hands-on activities that illustrate work, games, education, clothing, behavior, and food using the backdrop of Sotterley's outbuildings and gardens. Students will also complete a Colonial craft to take home. 

Site Square - Virtual Tour

Virtual Field Trips

Join us on a 2 part Virtual Field Trip to the Historic Sotterley Schoolhouse. 

Click here to watch Part 1

Click here to watch Part 2

Pricing for Field Trips

Groups under 20 students:

  • $175 flat rate for group

Group with 20+ students:

  • $9 per student in and out of county
  • $6 per student for Title 1 schools