Scout groups, retirement groups, school groups, enthusiast groups — we accommodate tour groups of all ages, and we offer unique opportunities to enhance your tour with a variety of add-on programs.

While the collection is moving in 2014, your field trip in 2013 will still provide educational memories for a lifetime! More information about the Higgins' integration with the Worcester Art Museum.

Basic Self-Guided group

Our basic Self-Guided group package lets you explore the museum's magnificent Great Hall at your own pace, where you'll discover more than 35 suits of armor and a wide variety of swords, shields and more. Give yourself time to visit our special exhibits, check out the interactive, hands-on Castle Quest, and shop our Museum Store.

Cost: $7.00 per person, including your group leader and chaperones. Please note that one chaperone is required for every 10 children in your group.

Time: Allow yourself a minimum of 1.5 hours to see the museum.

Make a group reservation and find basic information about group visits.

Are you a scout leader? Our OverKnight program is an excellent activity for scout groups.

Arms and Armor package

Enhance your visit with a private Arms and Armor show in our auditorium and/or a guided tour of our galleries, hosted by one of our knowledgeable staff members. The Arms and Armor show is a 45-minute interactive program where you will explore the history of armor, from its evolution from mail to plate armor to its disappearance (and modern reappearance on the battlefield). This program is appropriate for all ages.

Cost: $9.00 per person, including your group leader and chaperones. Please note that one chaperone is required for every 10 children in your group.

Time: Allow yourself a minimum of 1.5 hours to see the museum.

Special shows

These private auditorium presentations are perfect for groups who are studying a specific time period; they would replace the Arms and Armor show in the Arms and Armor package. Please note that these shows are an additional $3.00 per person. Age appropriateness for each show is listed below.

A Gothic Knight

The 15th-century battlefield witnessed both the emergence of the fully armored knight and the introduction of the handheld firearms that eventually brought about the knight's demise.

A Roman Legionary

Spanning from the Roman Republic to the end of the Empire, this program follows the evolution of a Roman Legionary's arms and armor. Learn about the changes in the Roman military by viewing examples of period equipment and participating in hands-on demonstrations. Grades 5 and up.

14th Century Knight

The 14th Century was a time of change in the world of arms and armor. At the beginning of the century, knights clad mostly in mail were a common site. By the end of the century, most knights would cover themselves in suits of overlapping articulated steel plates. Explore the reasons for these changes both in the equipment and in the men who used them through demonstrations and audience participation. Grades 7 and up.

Pike and Shot: the Decline of Armor

The 16th century would see the final flowering of chivalry even as the changes in warfare would cause the decline in the usage of armor on the European battlefield and the birth of modern warfare by the 17th century. Explore the wide variety of equipment used through demonstrations and participation, from elite armored cavalrymen to the common soldier armed with pike and musket. Much of the equipment used would have been commonly seen by William Shakespeare, who featured arms and armor in many of his plays. Grades 7 and up.