Missouri History Museum

Discovery Tours 2012

Discover the pieces of St. Louis's past in a history-based guided tour

The Missouri History Museum's Discovery Tours are local excursions designed to entertain and educate. Inspired by the Museum's exhibitions and programming, these tours explore historic themes at various sites throughout the city and the region. All tours will be led by trained guides with expertise in the tour topic's field.

The Discovery Tours will begin and end at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. Most tours will begin at 9:00am and return at 3:00pm. It is requested that all participants meet at the Visitor Service desk in the Emerson section of the Museum at 8:45am.

All of the tours will include deluxe motor coach transportation, tour guide, all admission and donation charges, water, snack and lunch.

It should be noted that there will be frequent, but generally not strenuous walking on every tour. To ensure a great day, plan on wearing comfortable shoes, bringing a jacket and having a camera handy to capture the wonderful memories that you will be creating on these fabulous adventures.

Rate

$65.00 per person for members of the Missouri History Museum
$75.00per person for non-members

To reserve your tour or for more information please call 314-361-9017 or email reserv@mohistory.org. Payment in full is expected at time of reservation. Cancellation must be made 48 hours prior to trip departure in order to receive a refund.

Discovery Tours 2012

Download 2012 brochure

Artifacts: Behind the Collection

Date: Saturday, March 10
Tour Leader: Linda Koenig
Anyone interested in the Museum’s objects will enjoy this behind-the-scenes tour of what happens when an institution receives an artifact. Join us for a look into the special collections and little-seen archives of local cultural institutions, including the Missouri History Museum, Washington University, and the Missouri Botanical Garden. Archivists will discuss where artifacts come from and much more! Lunch is included.

Mammoths and Mastodons: St. Louis in the Land before Time

Date: Saturday, March 31
Tour Leader: Linda Koenig
Discover what St. Louis was like during the ice age, when mammoths roamed the land we now call home. Begin at the Missouri History Museum’s exhibit, Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age. Next, we'll head to Principia College in quaint Elsah, Illinois, to visit the working excavation site where Benny the Mammoth was discovered. The tour concludes in a laboratory with a talk by Dr. Janis Treworgy, the professor who uncovered remnants from the ice age. Lunch is included.

Weaving a Community

Date: Sunday, April 22
Tour Leader: Linda Koenig
Weaving is an ancient and timeless art form, and who better to provide a retrospective than the Weavers Guild of St. Louis? The guild, which recently celebrated its rich 85-year history, collaborated with the Missouri History Museum on the exhibit Woven in Time. The day starts at the Museum with a talk by a member of the Guild, followed by a tour of Woven in Time.  Linda Koenig will then weave the tour through St. Louis to view installations at various sites, including the First Presbyterian Church, Temple Israel, the Holocaust Museum, and a private collection of artist Muriel Nezhnie Helfman. Lunch at Granite City Restaurant plus a fashion show of wearable fiber arts are included.

Civil War: A Soldier’s Story 

Date: Saturday, May 5
Tour Leader: Barnes Bradshaw 
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, we take an in-depth look at the life of a Civil War soldier. Start the day at the Missouri History Museum with a tour of The Civil War in Missouri exhibition. Then depart for the Soldiers Memorial to participate in the Freedom’s Gateway: St. Louis in the Civil War signature event series. Experience Union and Confederate encampments and enjoy a vintage baseball game, a theater presentation, and walking tours of  nearby Civil War sites. Lunch is included.

Devil at the Confluence: Blues and Jazz in St. Louis

Date: Saturday, May 19
Tour Leader: Kevin Belford
Get an inside look at the birth and beginnings of jazz and blues in St. Louis with local author Kevin Belford. Start the day with a private talk at the Missouri History Museum, followed by a tour of former music clubs and hot spots. Along the way, learn the stories behind the legends of Stagger Lee and Frankie & Johnny. Lunch is included.

Fire! Friend or Foe?      

Date: Saturday, June 9
Tour Leader: Linda Koenig
Fire is one of our essential elements. Explore how it helps us and what happens when fire burns out of control. We will begin with a private tour of the Missouri History Museum’s exhibition Fire!, which showcases the different uses—good and bad—of this ancient component of life, as well as local history and tales of blazes past. Watch fire create art in a glass-blowing demonstration at Third Degree glass factory, then visit the fire museum and see a Hazmat demonstration. The tour also includes sites of some of the most devastating blazes in St. Louis. Lunch at the Lafayette Fire Company No. 1, “A Firehouse Grille,” is included.

Guten Tag! German Influence in St. Louis

Date: Saturday, July 28
Tour Leader: Linda Koenig
German roots run deep in St. Louis’s history. Experience this guided tour of historic German St. Louis, which begins with a talk at the Missouri History Museum. We will tour a 160-year-old business started by German immigrants, and view German-influenced homes, institutions, and monuments. Also, we will enjoy a talk and performance at the German Cultural Center. Lunch at Gasthaus Restaurant is included.

Swing to Rock: Music in the River City

Date: Saturday, September 8
Tour Leader: Johnny Rabbitt
Relive the music of our lives as Johnny Rabbitt takes us on a trip beginning at the Missouri History Museum with a talk that winds a musical path from swing to rock and roll. The rest of the day bops into local hot spots of music’s past and present, including a recording studio, a classic ballroom, a jazz club, St. Louis’s first rock station, and a Southern Gospel center. Along the route, you’ll hear stories about Chuck Berry, Ike and Tina Turner, Bob Kuban, and much more! Lunch at Blueberry Hill is included.

Portrait of a City: Hidden Faces in Obvious Places

Date: Saturday, September 22
Tour Leader: Linda Koenig 
Join us as we discover well-known and unexpected faces in portraits from times past and present. We’ll enjoy a private tour and talk in the Missouri History Museum’s exhibition The Hidden Language of Portraits. Then, we will spend the day visiting sites containing local images, including the hall of mayoral portraits at city hall, the St. Louis Art Museum, the Cheshire Hotel, the Museum of the Dog, and others! Lunch is included.

Public Art: St. Louis Style

Date: Saturday, October 6
Tour Leader: Rosanne Weiss  
Public art can be defined by a statue of a heroic soldier in the park or a bronze eagle in the lobby of a neighborhood bank. In this tour around town, we will learn about the pieces we see every day. We will start at the Missouri History Museum with a talk about the Museum’s beautiful sculpture by Karl Bitter. Art historian Rosanne Weiss will help us explore Laumeier Sculpture Park, CityGarden, the Pulitzer Foundation of the Arts, and many neighborhood works of art. Lunch is included.

Haunted River City 

Tour Date: Saturday, October 20
Tour Leader: Johnny Rabbitt
St. Louis is one of the most haunted cities in America, so hold on tight as we take a tour of several of the city’s most mysterious and eerie places. We'll start at the Missouri History Museum with a private tour of the exhibition, Little Black Dress: From Mourning to Night. The macabre theme will continue as we head to Bellefontaine Cemetery and such haunted sites as a former hospital, police station, and hotel. Along the way, tour leader Johnny Rabbitt will reveal psychic twisted tales of hauntings and paranormal oddities. Lunch is included at Salt restaurant, a former mortuary!

In Vogue: St. Louis Fashion 

Date: Saturday, November 3
Tour Leader: Linda Koenig
The fashion industry is thriving in St. Louis. This tour uncovers our stylish past and explores the exciting things happening in St. Louis fashion today! The day begins with a private tour of the Missouri History Museum exhibitions, Little Black Dress: From Mourning to Night and Underneath It All. Then we will enjoy a presentation by the head seamstress at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. We will go beyond the runway to see the latest designs by local fashion designer KayOss, followed by stops at the Fontbonne University’s fashion program department and the historic garment district. Lunch is included. 

To reserve your tour or for more information please call

314-361-9017 or email reserv@mohistory.org