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Group Programs
Experience Colorado history the hands-on way. The Astor House Museum and Clear Creek History Park invite you to step back in time and imagine yourself living, working and playing the way early Colorado settlers did.
Check out our programs below. We offer guided activities for all ages, all year round, at our historic hotel and homestead. Our programs are designed to engage students, small groups, adult tour groups, out of town visitors, elementary schools groups, younger kids/older kids, family reunions, folks who want to dig in and get their hands dirty, those wanting an in-depth view of gold panning, would-be miners, former and future miners, people wanting an overview of pioneer life, active adults, seniors, classes studying Colorado history, basically, everyone. Our information can be customized to your group.
Programs range from half an hour to two hours, but you must book a minimum of one hour. Minimum group size=10 people. Some programs have higher minimums; see details below. Maximum group size varies.
Two-hour Programs
Colorado Gold Rush
During the Colorado gold rush of 1859, pioneers found gold right here in Clear Creek, and fortune-seekers of all kinds hurried to the new frontier. Your group will travel together as a family to complete the four activities below. A costumed staff member will give a 5-minute orientation and be available to assist you, but this program depends on the active participation of your own group leaders as you move through the different interactive stations.
Station 1 - Pack your Wagon
Prepare for your journey west. The total group will split into smaller groups, or families, to purchase needed supplies, pack their wagons and make the long journey west.
Station 2 - Butter Making
Back in the 1800s, butter wasn’t found in a store—you had to make your own. Learn how pioneers made cream into butter. Make your own butter and taste your creation on a cracker.
Station 3 - Native People & Their Games
Pioneers often encountered Native Americans along their journey west. Take a break from your journey and learn a game played by Native American children.
Station 4 - Gold Panning and Mining
Try your hand at gold panning, hard rock mining and sluicing. Learn about Colorado miners. Hear the legend of the Tommyknockers, who were revered and feared by miners.
Cost: $6 per person, 15 person minimum & 80 person maximum (four groups of 20 maximum per station)
Eureka!
Mining has been an important part of Colorado’s economy ever since gold was found in 1858. This program offers an in-depth exploration of the Colorado gold rush. Learn about the tools and supplies that were needed to make a living as a hard rock or placer miner. Explore hands-on how these tools were used. Learn what hardness and density mean, and why they were important to miners. Be part of a jack team. Pan for gold, but watch out, don’t let the pyrite fool you!
Cost: $8 per person, 30 person maximum with one guide
What’s the Buzz?
Discover the history and mystery of bees. After this program you’ll be able to tell a honeybee from a bumblebee and know how they’re different from wasps. Have a seat in the one-room Guy Hill Schoolhouse and learn about the important role that bees play in pollination and why pollination is as crucial to our survival today as it was to the pioneers. We’ll show you how to identify the parts of an insect and the parts of a flower. Do a bee dance, and—best of all—taste honey from our bees.
Cost: $8 per person, 30 person maximum with one guide
One-hour programs
Astor House Museum Tour
Built in 1867, the Astor House was known as the finest stone hotel west of the Mississippi. Let us escort you through the kitchen, parlor and bedrooms furnished with chamber pots, beds, derby hats, and an assortment of other goodies from the early 1900s—not to mention what’s reputed to be Golden’s first bathtub and a perfectly functional high-tank toilet.
Cost: $3 per person, 15 person maximum per guide, maximum of 30 people per hour with two guides
Clear Creek History Park Tour
Experience frontier life during the 1800s. Imagine you are a pioneer, an adventurous soul traveling west as you explore over one-hundred-year-old log cabins, a blacksmith shop and our coop full of chickens. When you finally arrive, how will you start over? Look for clues. What will your homestead look like? How will you survive? Come and find out the answers to these questions and more.
Cost: $3 per person, 15 person maximum per guide, maximum of 30 people per hour with two guides
Pack Your Wagon
Who traveled west and why? Prepare for a journey west in search of gold or free land. What will you take with you? Your wagon is small, so you can’t take everything. The class will split into three groups, or families, to purchase needed supplies, pack the wagon and make the long journey west.
Cost: $4 per person, 30 person maximum with one guide
It's Our Town
Many different people helped settle the Golden and Denver areas in the late 1800s. Learn about the diverse minorities living here more than 100 years ago and imagine yourself as one of these frontier personalities as you adorn yourself in period clothing. Now you’ve got to pull together with the rest of your group to form a community. How will you do it? Show us with a skit.
Cost: $4 per person, 30 person maximum with one guide
Pioneer School
Hear the clang of the school bell? It’s time for school to begin. Get ready to raise the flag, grab your slates and McGuffey’s Readers, and line up, girls and boys separately of course! After your orthography and penmanship lessons, you’ll have recess with all of your favorite pioneer games. Your school day will end with pioneer dress-up time and a group photo in front of the Guy Hill Schoolhouse.
Cost: $4 per person, 30 person maximum with one guide
Half-hour programs
Gold Panning and Mining
Try your hand at gold panning, hard rock mining and sluicing.
Cost: $2 per person, 15 person maximum per guide
Pioneer Chores
Do your daily chores: wash the clothes, grind the coffee and feed the chickens.
Cost: $2 per person, 15 person maximum per guide
Butter Making
Make butter and taste it too!
Cost: $2 per person, 15 person maximum per guide
Pioneer Games
Play with games and toys that were commonplace during the 1800’s. Graces, hoop & stick, stilts, jump rope, and more were all the rage at home as well as on the playground.
Cost: $2 per person, 15 person maximum per guide
General Program Information
- We can accommodate group sizes as small as 10 people, but a $50 minimum fee applies to each group. Maximum group size differs depending on the program and is listed along with the explanation of each program.
- Groups larger than the maximum size can often be accommodated by having smaller groups rotating through multiple activities at the same time. We can also add a self-led walking tour of Golden’s historic sites.
- For student groups, one adult is required for every 10 students, and two adults per 10 students are admitted free. Additional adults pay the same fee schedule as students, i.e., if the program fee is $6 per student, each additional adult beyond the 2:10 ratio will also pay $6.
- All programs are led by guides with the exception of Colorado Gold Rush. However, a costumed guide is available throughout Colorado Gold Rush to assist and answer questions.
- Program materials and instructions will be mailed to you prior to your trip. It is important to read these materials and bring them with you on the day of your trip.
- Please make a copy of materials for each group leader.
- All programs begin at 10 a.m.
- One-hour program minimum. We offer 2-hour, 1-hour, and 30-minute programs. Total program time must equal one hour. Therefore, if you are interested in a 30 minute program, you must make a reservation for two 30-minute programs to meet our one-hour program minimum requirement.
- Bring water, wear closed-toe shoes, and dress for our ever-changing Colorado weather. Most programs take place outside.
- If weather permits, you can picnic at the park with your group. However, in the case of inclement weather, there are no indoor eating facilities.
For additional information and reservations call 303-278-3557.
Cancellation Policy:
- If weather causes school to have a delayed start time or if school is cancelled due to weather and the fieldtrip cannot be rescheduled for another day, the school is not responsible for any fee or program payment.
- If a group or school cancels a program within 24 hours of the program start time or just does not show up on the day of the program for any other reason other than a school weather delay or cancellation, full program payment is due within 30 days. We will invoice you.
- All other cancellations will incur a $50 cancellation fee.
