Field Trips

Our award-winning ship and maritime center programs offer students an exciting and unforgettable learning experience. The Kalmar Nyckel is an amazing educational resource—a full-scale replica of the colonial ship that brought European settlers to the Delaware Valley in 1638.

Students can travel back in time to discover Delaware's fascinating colonial and maritime history. Our hands-on history program encompasses an education sail on the ship complemented by experiential learning on our shipyard campus.

  • Standard ship and maritime center campus programs last 4 hours and are designed for groups of up to 86 students.
  • The experience includes sailing on the ship with 3 “underway” stations plus 4 interactive stations on land.
  • Students can pack lunches and enjoy our outdoor picnic area or eat at tables in our STEM room.
  • Participants discover how fun and interactive learning can be.


Program Options

  • Choose to stay on land and explore our unique learning stations in the Copeland Maritime Center and the outdoor shipyard campus.
  • Programs can be presented in a variety of formats and tailored to meet your group’s academic and age-appropriate needs. 


Scholarship Funding

We have scholarship funds available through the Flagship Field Trip Fund for all Delaware K-12 public schools during the 2023-2024 school year. For other school groups, limited scholarship funding is available based on need. 


Please email Kat Peterson, Assistant Director of Education, about potential opportunities to help underwrite your field trip.

Sail & Maritime Center Combination Program

The Sail & Maritime Center combination program includes a 1.5-hour sail along the Christina River, where students become immersed in the lives of the original Kalmar Nyckel sailors. They will set and douse sails, learn about early maritime navigation skills, and use our capstan to understand mechanical advantage.


Once on shore, students will rotate through four interactive education stations to round out the day:

  • Simulating firing one of our cannons
  • Visiting our blacksmith shop
  • Participating in an interactive trading game to see how the original Swedish settlers traded with the Lenape (Native Americans).
  • Exploring an artifact identification station to learn about life in Fort Christina in the 1600s (and beyond).


With larger groups, one half will start on the ship and the other on land; they will switch places after lunch. We can store your students’ lunches which can be enjoyed in our campus picnic area outside or in our STEM room.


Copeland Maritime Center Campus Program

Hands-on learning experiences are the focus of our Copeland Maritime Center campus programs in our building and on the shipyard campus. Students will discover the importance of cooperation, collaboration, and sailing skills utilizing our indoor 3/4-scale model of Kalmar Nyckel's ship deck. 


Educational Experiences

We can help you plan a series of educational experiences in the maritime center and outdoors based on your educational goals and the seasonal weather. Some of our most popular stations include:


World Trade Game

Brings history alive when students travel back to the 1600s to take on the roles of the original Swedes and Lenape. This trading simulation explains the economic factors that led to the Kalmar Nyckel's first transatlantic voyage and why New Sweden was founded in present-day Wilmington.


Finding Fort Christina

Looks at life in the 17th-century colony through artifact identification. Students can explore an original log cabin that was moved and re-built inside our building.


Navigation

Allows students to learn about colonial navigation tools and how they compare to today's methods.


Sail Handling and Furling

Provides active, hands-on shared nautical tasks including hoisting and setting sails as well as tying knots, dousing, and furling a sail.


Gun Stations (indoors and outdoors)

Brings maritime history to life and teach teamwork drills: working together to clean and fire a cannon.


Blacksmith

Presents popular demonstrations that give students experience with an essential colonial skill.


Watercraft of the World

Offers a scavenger hunt examining our collection of model boats and ships from every continent.

STEM Program

Exploring the principles of buoyancy, points/angles of sail, celestial navigation, and dead reckoning are some of the concepts we explore as your students delve into mathematics and engineering through the eyes of a sailor.

Plan Your Trip

For more information, pricing, or to schedule your field trip, please contact Kat Peterson, Assistant Director of Education:  Email Kat Peterson  or call the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation office at 302.429.7447. 

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