Explore the Historic Eldridge Street Synagogue
 
Museum at Eldridge Street
 
 
 
Visit the Newcomers to New York online exhibit
Bring Your School Group to Visit the Eldridge Street Synagogue
 
About School Tours of the Eldridge Street Synagogue
Step into history. Bring your class to the Museum at Eldridge Street and experience the 1887 Eldridge Street Synagogue, a National Historic Landmark. Explore immigration, Jewish life, architecture, and historic preservation in an interactive and engaging format. All programs are led by experienced educators and support National and New York State Learning Standards. Programs are customized for students of all ages and abilities.

Sunday - Thursday: 10am to 5pm
Each program lasts 75 minutes

$6 per child (ages 5-18)
Subsidies are available upon request.

For more information, email Miriam Bader or call 212.219.0302x2.

Program Menu

Architecture
What do buildings tell us about a community's values and history?
Learn how to uncover a building's story through its design. Students examine the majestic architecture of the Eldridge Street Synagogue and investigate its paint patterns, stained glass windows, and Victorian lighting. As students explore this century-old landmark, they gain a basic architectural vocabulary and the tools to discover history wherever they look.

Immigration
How do you pack your life in a suitcase?
Visit the 19th century Lower East Side through a high-tech interactive exhibit and delve into the Eastern European immigrant experience. This exploration of the Eldridge Street Synagogue uses the particular story of its immigrant founders to highlight the challenges and opportunities that all immigrants face when bringing traditions to a new place.

Jewish Life and Holidays
What are the core traditions of the Jewish religion?
Explore the Eldridge Street Synagogue, handle ritual objects, and hear Hebrew while learning about Jewish beliefs and traditions. Special programs focusing on the Torah, Sabbath, Hanukah, and Passover present the richness of these rituals through music, food, games, and dramatic play.

Turn-of-the-Century Bar Mitzvah
What does it mean to be a Bar Mitzvah? Examine how Jewish immigrants marked their coming-of-age. Hear popular speeches and oral histories highlighting how immigrant children balanced the traditions of their parents and grandparents with American sensibilities. Geared to bar- and bat-mitzvah age students, this program helps teens to incorporate this rich historical perspective into their own ceremony.

Lower East Side Walking Tour
What are the clues a neighborhood holds to its past?
Discover the history of the Lower East Side gateway neighborhood. Walk the streets and learn to “read” landmarks while investigating the social, political and cultural past. Tour routes are custom-designed and can include: Seward Park and Library, Jarmulowsky's Bank, Jewish Daily Forward Building, Educational Alliance, PS 42, tenement buildings and pickle vendors.

Multi-Visit Programs
Please contact us about multi-visit programs, including a series of programs in the Museum, around the Lower East Side, and in your classroom. Our education staff welcomes the opportunity to plan special programs to support and enhance your classroom learning.

Accessibility
The Museum is Wheelchair Accessible All public areas of the Museum at Eldridge Street are wheelchair accessible.

Reservation Form
Please complete this reservation form so that we can schedule your visit. Submitting this form is not a confirmation of your reservation. Upon receipt of the application, we will contact you to either confirm or reschedule your tour.

* -- Required field.

1. School Information
School Name: *

Type of School: *

Address: *

Address 2:

City: *

State: *

Zip code: *

Country: (if other than the United States)

Teacher's Name: *

Teacher's Email: *

School phone number (No spaces or dashes, please.): *

Teacher's cell number (For day of trip communication. No spaces or dashes, please.): *

Organizer's name (if different from teacher):

Best time of the day to reach you: *


2. Group Information
Number of Students: *

Number of chaperones *
(we require at least 1 chaperone/per 10 students):

Grade of students: *

Type of transportation expected: *


3. Tour Selection *
Please select the program(s) that are of interest. We will customize a program to best support your curricular needs.

Architecture

Immigration

Jewish Life and Holidays

Turn-of-the-Century Bar Mitzvah

Lower East Side Walking Tour

Multi-visit program


4. Scheduling
Tours last 75 minutes and can take place Sundays to Thursday between the hours of 10am & 4pm. All tours must be booked at least 3 weeks in advance.

Please select 3 potential dates & times for your visit:

First Choice: *
Date (tours offered Sun - Thurs):


Time:

Second Choice:
Date (tours offered Sun - Thurs):


Time:

Third Choice:
Date (tours offered Sun - Thurs):


Time:


5. Additional Information
Kindly answer the following questions, so that we can best support your students during their visit: What are you studying in the classroom:

What are your goals for the visit?

Please share anything else about your group that will help us plan for your visit, including special needs, interests, aptitudes or any other relevant information.

How did you hear about the Museum at Eldridge Street? Please check all that apply:

Previous visit
Museum website
Other website
Magazine/Newspaper
Radio/Television
Email
Brochure
Previous Visit
Word of mouth
Other – please detail:


6. Submit Request
Submitting a request for a particular date and time is not a confirmation of your reservation. Upon receipt of the application, a Visitor Services representative will contact you to either confirm or reschedule your tour.

 
 
Teacher Workshops at the Eldridge Street Synagogue
The Museum at Eldridge Street offers a variety of professional development workshops for teachers. Programs can be customized to support your schedule, learning interests, and classroom curriculum.

Contact Miriam Bader, Director of Education, to learn more about the ways the Museum can support teacher learning.

BRICKS AND MORTAR:
Architecture as Social History

Discover the history of the Landmark Eldridge Street Synagogue. Explore our magnificent building and learn about its Eastern European immigrant founders through a variety of primary sources including objects, images, and oral histories.

HUNGERING FOR AMERICA:
Learning Through Food

Explore the Lower East Side ’s ethnic eateries and investigate the role that food plays within the immigrant story. This workshop includes a walking tour.

STREETWISE:
Walking Tour Workshop

Take a walking tour of Lower East Side/Chinatown and acquire the skills and information you need to design your own customized walking tour that combines social history and architecture.

HISTORY SPEAKS:
Oral History Workshop

Learn strategies to incorporate oral history into your curriculum and gain helpful techniques to guide you and your students from crafting questions through the actual interview, as well as project culmination ideas.

 
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