Day 1 : SUNDAY

Early Evening arrival in Boston; meet your trip leader

  Day 2 : MONDAY

Freedom Trail Walking Tour; there is no other place in the United States where you can take in the rich history of America’s Revolution — the events that lead up to the historic break from Britain and the brave people who shaped our national government.

• Old South Meeting House - Tea Is Brewing Program; recreate the meeting that sparked a Revolution . . . the Boston Tea Party! Starting at Faneuil Hall, students are introduced to the history of town meetings. Onward to Old South Meeting House, where students role-play patriots and loyalists and reenact the fiery tea tax debate. Finally, your students will complete a scavenger hunt of the multimedia exhibit, Voices of Protest, to discover the dramatic results of the night of December 16, 1773.
• Old State House; built in 1713, played a central role in the story of the American Revolution. Today the Old State House is a museum of the city's history, operated by the Bostonian Society. The Museum houses a wealth of colonial artifacts that engage students in the history of the building and the pivotal revolutionary events that took place there.
• Boston Massacre Site; the Boston Massacre was the killing of five colonists by British soldiers on March 5, 1770. It was the culmination of civilian-military tensions that had been growing since royal troops first appeared in Massachusetts in October 1768 to enforce the heavy tax burden imposed by the Townshend Acts.
• Old North Church; is where the famous lanterns that sent Paul Revere on his midnight ride were hung. This active Episcopal church is a great venue for learning about the famous event. The church has an exciting history dating back to 1723 that provides a glimpse into religious worship in Colonial America. Lunch on own at Faneuil Hall, located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, Faneuil Hall has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. It was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain
• Museum of African American History (African Meeting House); a National Historic Landmark. The Meeting House (1806) is the oldest extant black church building in the United States built by free African American artisans. – Film & Exhibits (1 hr)
• Massachusetts State House; the magnificent setting of Massachusetts state government for over two centuries has become an outstanding museum reflecting the history of Massachusetts since colonial times. Its spacious marble-floored corridors are lined with the portraits of Massachusetts governors and murals depicting the state's unique heritage.
• “Glory” Monument; the Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Regiment monument located in the Boston Common. The movie "Glory" was based on this young officer and his regiment comprised of the first black soldiers recruited for the North during the American Civil War.
• Old Granary Burial Ground; is the city's third-oldest cemetery. It serves as the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence and the five victims of the Boston Massacre.
• King’s Chapel; King's Chapel was organized as an Anglican congregation at a meeting in Boston's Town House, the city hall of the day, on June 15, 1686.

  Day 3 : TUESDAY

MIT Museum – Exhibits and 2 hour Educational Program, “The Cell as a Factory”. Within human bodies lies a complex system as elegant and efficient as any factory-protein synthesis from instructions encoded in DNA. Students use the MIT Museum's new space, Learning Lab: The Cell for a lesson about DNA, RNA, ribosomes and proteins. Students will explore this fundamental basis of life with LEGO DNA kits, digital models, and guided discussion

  Day 4 : WEDNESDAY

Boston Duck Tour; you're off on a journey like you've never had before. You'll cruise by all the places that make Boston the birthplace of freedom and a city of firsts. And just when you think you've seen it all, there's more. It's time for "Splashdown" as your ConDUCKtor splashes your DUCK right into the Charles River for a breathtaking view of the Boston and Cambridge skylines, the kind of view you just won't get anywhere else.

Salem

• The Salem Witch Museum - brings you back to Salem 1692. Visitors are given a dramatic history lesson using stage sets with life-size figures, lighting and a narration - an overview of the Witch Trials of 1692.
• Salem Maritime National Park Visitors Center - Documents the development of the Atlantic triangular trade during the colonial period, the role of privateering during the Revolutionary War, and the international maritime trade, especially with the Far East, which established American economic independence after the Revolution.
• The Peabody Essex Museum - Discover a world of art and culture on this tour of PEM’s highlights. See Asian Export, American, Maritime, Native American, Oceanic, Indian Art and more.

  Day 5 :THURSDAY

New Bedford National Historic Park; New Bedford was the mid-19th century’s preeminent whaling port and for a time “the richest city in the world.” Come stroll down cobblestone streets, visit the world’s largest whaling museum, tour a whaling merchant’s home and whaleman's chapel, and walk a 19th century schooner’s decks. Walk in the footsteps of Herman Melville and Frederick Douglass and learn about a remarkable era.

• The New Bedford Whaling Museum is the largest museum in America devoted to the history of the American whaling industry and its greatest port. Through exhibits, publications, and programs, the Museum brings to life the whaling era and the history of the local area. It houses the most extensive collection of art, artifacts, and manuscripts pertaining to American whaling in the age of sail - late eighteenth century to the early twentieth, when sailing ships dominated merchant trade and whaling.
• Portraits of a Port Guided Tour w/ film
• Abolitionist sites
• Whaling monuments
• Seaman’s Bethel; known as the Whalemen's Chapel in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, today the Seamen's Bethel serves as a memorial to whalemen and fishermen who have lost their lives at sea.
• Modern Fishing Fleet; once lined with world-wandering whaleships, today the docks of New Bedford are home to hundreds of commercial fishing vessels. The fleet has consistently made New Bedford the number one fishing port in the country in terms of the dollar value of its catch. The waterfront is the essence of this community and offers an unobstructed view into the mechanics of the city's thriving fishing industry

Plymouth, MA, site of the first permanent European settlement in New England

• The Mayflower - The English ship the Mayflower carried the Separatist Puritans, later known as pilgrims, to Plymouth, Mass., in 1620.
• Plymouth Rock - According to legend, Plymouth Rock is the boulder upon which the Pilgrims landed when they arrived at the location of their permanent settlement in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620.
• Statue of Massasoit - the Pilgrims highly valued their friendship with the Wampanoags, and their leader Massasoit. It was after his death that relations between the two groups began to deteriorate. Without the friendly relations of surrounding Native Americans, the Colony could not have survived.

Top of the Prudential Center - the Sky Walk offers spectacular views of Boston and beyond

  Day 6 : FRIDAY

JFK Library & Museum - portrays the life, leadership, and legacy of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, conveys his enthusiasm for politics and public service, and illustrates the nature of the Office of the President.

USS Constitution / Old Ironsides - Launched in 1797, "Old Ironsides" sailed her way into the history books by taking on the British fleet in the War of 1812. She fought in 40 naval battles, and never lost. The vessel received her unusual nickname after French cannonballs bounced off her sides during an 1815 military engagement. Still seaworthy, the ship is the oldest commissioned warship in the world.

Depart from Boston airport

  WELCOME HOME!

  OPTIONS:

  Custom Performing Travel programs include:

Roundtrip air to Boston (upon request)

Motorcoach transportation; daily driver’s tip

Quality accommodations - quad occupancy

Breakfasts: 5 - Dinners: 5

One 24 hour-a-day tour escort

1:20 complimentary travelers (can be changed at your request)

All admissions, taxes, & gratuities per itinerary

Individual invoicing to parents – your choice

Insurance and financial protection

Standard behavior guidelines

Tiered pricing note: Tiered pricing gives you a smaller price per student as your group grows to fill more of your bus. At about 90 days before travel, we review your group for tiered pricing. Counting those who are on schedule with payments, we will decrease your price if you’ve reached a lower tiered price. Trips are usually billed on a higher tiered price. We hope for price decreases, rather than increases. Should you reach a lower tier, you and your group may decide to add something to the trip rather than have a price decrease. If there are overpayments, they are refunded before the trip travels.

  EXCLUSIONS:

• Transportation to/from an your local airport
• Rollaway beds
• Meals not indicated in the itinerary (airline meal allowance can be included at your request)
• Airline baggage fees; excess or oversized baggage fees (allowance can be included at your request)
• Music equipment rental fees and transportation (allowance can be included at your request)