Educational groups are welcome at TumacácoriNationalHistoricalPark. Please contact the Park in advance to discuss your proposed trip and a ranger will be happy to talk with you regarding how to optimize your field-trip experience. Please call (520) 398-2341, extension 28 or e-mail us for more information, or to answer or clarify any questions. 

Whenever possible, we encourage classes to participate in a pre-scheduled tour or program, but we also understand that this might not be possible due to time constraints or ranger availability, and offer some suggestions and guidelines for teacher/adult-guided groups. 

For students up to 8th grade, we suggest touring the park with our Junior Ranger Photo Hunt, available by request for loan at the VisitorCenter. Please follow the guidelines outlined below to divide into smaller groups and follow the instructions on the Junior Ranger Photo Hunt link, also below.  If time allows, you may also arrange to use our Historical Activity Box that contains a variety of activities including touring the museum, drawing the church and more as outlined below.

For high school students, please start your visit with a short teacher/ranger/docent orientation before dividing into smaller, supervised groups to watch the video, and tour the museum and ruins. We also offer a self-guided booklet for visitors, available by request for loan or purchase at the VisitorCenter.   

Guidelines for Larger Groups

Welcome to Tumacácori National Historical Park. We hope that your field trip experience here is enjoyable and of value to you and your students. To accomplish this in large groups, we find that proper planning and field trip management will provide a more profitable trip for students, parents and teachers while insuring the park and its resources are preserved and protected. 

If you are planning on touring the grounds apart from a guided tour or living history presentation, please divide your student into smaller, adult-led subgroups before you arrive. By doing so, the students will have a better experience and it will minimize the chance of damage to the resources or student misconduct. Try to keep group sizes less than ten, and ideally six or smaller. Make sure to orient adult leaders and clarify their roles. We ask chaperones to be aware of and responsible for their students at all times. 

Upon arriving at Tumacácori, please take a few minutes prior to leaving the bus or once assembled in the garden area to review rules and proper conduct.  Essentially, general courtesy, safety, respect for other visitors and protection of the parks resources cover most bases. Please emphasize the following:

-   No walking or climbing on the ruins

-  Students must be under adult supervision at all times.

-   No running.

-  Use quiet voices, especially inside the church and museum.

-  No littering (please police areas if having a snack or lunch)

The Picnic Area is located between the back garden gate and the Boundy House. Feel free to use the area, but please insure that the area is cleaner than you found it. Trash cans are located nearby. If the cans are full, please remove the bag and replace it with extra bags located in the bottom of the can. Large boxes or excess trash can be deposited directly into the dumpster in the alley located behind the Boundy House.

There are three Restrooms located in the garden that can accommodate large groups. However, please supply adult supervision with groups. It is unfortunate, but not uncommon for students (usually boys) to play around and make a mess in the facilities.

Apart from tours and living history presentations that can accommodate larger groups, we have found that students visiting Tumacácori do much better when divided into small, adult-led groups. Each group can then rotate through different parts of the park or participate in activities. Rotate at random, allowing 10 to 15 minutes per station. Please avoid more than one group congregating at each station.

In addition, you are welcome to bring your own activities (Please let the ranger know beforehand.)

Following is a list of potential activities you may wish to consider while visiting the park. Click on any of the titles below to get more detailed descriptions. 

Mission 2000

Mission 2000 is a searchable database of Spanish mission records of the Pimería Alta (southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico) containing baptisms, marriages, and burials from the late seventeenth century to the mid-nineteenth century. Students of Hispanic descent may check to see if their family name appears in records from the Tumacácori, Guevavi, Calabazas, Tubac Presidio and other mission and presidio registers in the Pimeria Alta. Additional registers are currently being added. The computer in the bookstore may be used while visiting and the Park rangers or volunteers can assist you to look up family names.

WNPA Bookstore

If you intend to allow your students to make purchases, please do so only in adult supervised groups of no more than ten students at a time. Please ask students to OK their purchases with an adult before buying. We often find children buying expensive items they are unable to read or use when there are a number of inexpensive, age appropriate items for students. Ask at the front desk for assistance or suggestions.

Draw the Church

Many classes enjoy sketching the church.  We provide paper, pencil and clipboards.  Students normally sit on or near the benches in front of the Church.

Junior Ranger Photo Hunts  

Photo hunts are available for kids of all ages in which they seek the items depicted in the photographs to learn about the mission from text on the reverse side. The hunts start in the museum and end in the graveyard giving participants a thematic tour of the park. We recommend that adult leaders show students one card at a time and once found by the students, read and discuss the text on the back before moving to the next card. Two or more groups can also do the hunt simultaneously by starting in different locations. (Please avoid other conducted tour groups while doing these hunts.)

Museum and Garden

The museum and garden were created between 1937 and 1939 during the period after the great depression. Explore the museum using displays as topics to stimulate discussions. Check out the dioramas created by the Berkeley Museum Lab, part of the WPA (Works Project Administration), to talk about the work efforts after the depression. Check out the garden for smells, fruits, shapes, etc. The garden contains many foods and herbs used by the Indians and the Spanish.

Museum Story Hunt

A photographic treasure hunt specific to the museum follows a story line about life at the museum. Leaders read the story and upon coming to a pointing hand, students find the corresponding picture in the museum. Although designed for second grade, the story hunt has been used successfully used with pre-schoolers up to ten year-olds. You may request the Museum Story Hunt book at the VisitorCenter. 

Mano and Metate

O’odham women spent a good part of each day grinding foods such as corn and mesquite beans. Students are welcome to grind grain at the manos and metates (traditional grinding rocks) located at the O‘odham house or “Ki.”  

Pump Drills

Students may try using a traditional drill while practicing on wood. Traditionally used by O’odham men, good rhythm is better than brute force.  Although generally safe to use, sharp nails are used as the bit and students should be closely supervised when using them.

Pima Stick Game

Located in the garden portico (passage way), students may play a traditional O’odham game. Instructions are provided.  (The game is also available for sale in the bookstore.)

Tortillas

Tumacácori often has tortilla-making demonstrations for the general public. Anyone, including students are welcome to talk with and ask questions of the demonstrators as well as try making or eating a tortilla if available. As large groups can be overwhelming, please limit group size to no more than ten students at one time. In addition, because the program runs exclusively on donations, contributions are encouraged if at all possible. (Students often bring a little extra to contribute). Nobody, however, should be excluded because of money!

Video - Story of Tumacácori

A small auditorium in the museum has a 15 minute long, self-starting video that tells the story of Tumacácori.  (The video is also available as part of the Encounters Box.)