Rural Home Life School Tours

Take a step back in time while we engage, inspire, and educate your students!

We are currently not accepting reservations for the 2011-2012 Rural Home Life School Tours. By Filling out the reservation request you will be joining Cracker Country's School Tour waiting list.

Make your Reservation Request. Click Here.

During your visit, students will spend one morning immersed in a rural Florida community of the past. They will take back to their modern world knowledge of the differences and similarities between their lives and those of children in 1898.

Your class/group will have a docent leader, dressed in clothing accurate to the 1890s, as their guide in this adventure. This leader will take you along one of two separate, but very similar, learning tracks.  The tour focuses on farm & household chores, community buildings and the skills and trades of early settlers. Both tracks will offer activities appropriate to the season.  All groups will dip a candle, make a class jump-rope and shop in our Cracker Country General Store.

Download the School Tour Handbook for more information. Please share the School Tour Handbook with teachers who will be coming the day of the field trip.

Dates: We offer tours Tuesday through Friday. Fall Tours are offered September 27-December 2nd (No tours Nov. 11 and Nov. 22-26). Spring Tours are offered March 13-May 11. We do not offer tours during February due to the Florida State Fair.

Cost: Admissions is $6 per student. Cracker Country will admit one teacher/chaperone for free for every 10 students. Additional adults are $6 each. Minimum number of students is 10. If your group has less than 10, the minimum amount due is $60. 

Schedule your tour: Check your school calendar and please have three available dates for scheduling your tour. Then complete your reservation request form online or send in your reservation request by fax or direct mail. 

Online Reservation Request: Click on the "Make your Reservation Request" link. This is an online fillable pdf. Complete all the required blanks and click on submit. If you are having browser security issues download the form to your computer and then complete the process. If you are in need of more assistance please contact Jennifer Becker at 813-627-4225 or Jennifer.Becker@freshfromflorida.com.

Confirmation: A letter will be emailed to the main contact email within one business day after receiving your reservation request. A confirmation letter will be emailed confirming your reservation once your tour has been scheduled. 

Mail Your Deposit: A $50 deposit is required within 30 days of receiving your confirmation letter to reserve your tour. The remainder of your payment is due the day of your field trip.

Tour Enhancements

Look the Part of the Past: For an additional $4.00 per student, boys receive a period looking straw hat and girls receive a calico bonnet to wear during their visit.  The hats and bonnets are theirs to take home after their tour is over.

Be sure to check the “Look the Part of the Past” option on the reservation request form, and indicate the number of boys and girls to request this special option for your students.

Electronic Field Trips: Electronic Field Trips are videos and interactive E-learning activities that serve as a great supplement for classes that attend the museum.  Each episode expands on the content students learn during their visit and concentrates on expanding their knowledge of Florida’s history.  Electronic Field Trips are available for $15.00 each.

Be sure to check the “Electronic Field Trips” option on the reservation request form and indicate the quantity desired for each episode.

Directions: Cracker Country is located on the Florida State Fairgrounds. During School Tours the only entrance into Cracker Country is through the Orient Rd Entrance Gate. Our address is: 4800 Hwy 301 N. Tampa, Fl. 33610

If you have any further questions, please contact Jennifer Becker, Program Supervisor, at 813-627-4225 or Jennifer.Becker@freshfromflorida.com.