In partnership with the Alabama Tourism Department
Southern Railroad Depot Museum
A visiting class poses in front of the museum's red-and-yellow Southern caboose

Grades 3 • 4 • 5

Your One-Stop Alabama History Field Trip.

Aligned to the Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies — with a different tour for every grade, so your students never see a repeat.

Book a field trip
Students explore the Railroad Room with a museum guide
A class discovers the Cargo Room beneath the flags of Alabama's history
Lunch on the deck after the tour

Real field trips at the depot — this could be your class.

3

Grade 3 — Geography & Settlement

  • Alabama's land regions & rivers on our giant topographic map
  • Native American artifacts & prehistoric culture periods
  • Explorers & early settlement — De Soto to the French at Mobile
  • Map skills in action: legend, scale, latitude & longitude
  • State symbols, parks & landmarks

Different tour every year.

4

Grade 4 — Colonies to 1900

  • “Trails to rails”: Indian trails, the Federal Road, then the railroad
  • The Creek War, “Alabama Fever,” and 1819 statehood
  • Cotton, trades & everyday life in 1800s Alabama
  • Civil War & Reconstruction timeline stations
  • The best artifact of all: an actual 1868 depot

Different tour every year.

5

Grade 5 — Twentieth Century to Present

  • Out of cotton, into the mills: turn-of-the-century industry
  • The world wars, nearby Fort McClellan & real rationing stamps
  • The civil rights trail: Montgomery, Anniston, Birmingham, Selma
  • TVA & the Space Race at Redstone Arsenal
  • Songs of Alabama — 80+ songs that mention our state

Different tour every year.

Or choose the Overall Alabama History Experience — earliest displays to today. Open to every grade, K4–12 — great for mixed grades, homeschool co-ops, and GT groups.

Schedule your field trip

Simple by design

How a Visit Works

  1. 1.Book your date — morning or afternoon
  2. 2.We customize videos, kiosks & trunk to your grade
  3. 3.75-minute small-group rotation — about 15 minutes per room
  4. 4.Certificates & free return tickets

Small groups

Suggested 10–12 per historic room so every child can see and hear.

$5 max admission

Student admission is never more than $5 — the request form totals it for you, and you’ll get an itemized statement for your school.

Lunch made easy

Bring your own or have a local meal delivered right to our handicap-accessible deck — pick your plan when you book.

ADA accessible

Every area accommodates a wheelchair, including the caboose and deck.

Map of Alabama with a star marking Piedmont in the northeast corner

Easy to find, easy to reach

Piedmont sits in Alabama’s northeast corner: about 30 minutes from Anniston, 45 from Gadsden, and 90 from Huntsville or Birmingham. Most schools in the region can tour, eat lunch on the deck, and be back before the last bell.

Every student takes one home

The Junior Alabama Historian Program

Students who complete their grade’s museum tour, scavenger hunt, and vocabulary review earn a grade-level certificate from the Piedmont Historical Society. Visit in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade to collect all three titles.

Junior Alabama Historian certificate — Grade 3, Community Explorer
Grade 3 — Community Explorer
Junior Alabama Historian certificate — Grade 4, Alabama History Scholar
Grade 4 — Alabama History Scholar
Junior Alabama Historian certificate — Grade 5, Alabama Heritage Ambassador
Grade 5 — Alabama Heritage Ambassador
How students earn it

Complete the grade-level museum tour, finish the scavenger hunt, and review the vocabulary list with your class. Certificates are presented before you leave — every student goes home with one.

The free return ticket

Every student also takes home a free return ticket to come back with their family. The student's return visit is free; family members are just $5 each.

Collect all three

Visit in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade to earn all three titles — Community Explorer, Alabama History Scholar, and Alabama Heritage Ambassador. A different tour every year means no repeats.

Let's set your date

Request Your Field Trip

Pick an open day on the calendar and it’s yours — your date is confirmed the moment you submit, and your itemized statement is emailed right away. Admission is never more than $5 per student.

Admission is $5 per student. Nothing is due today. Your date is confirmed as soon as you submit, and an itemized statement with a pay link goes to your email right away.

Morning or afternoon? *

Choosing local delivery? We’ll send simple menu options to pick from once your date is confirmed.

September 2026

12 already booked · grey not available

Field trips run on school weekdays. Pick an open day and it's yours — the date is confirmed the moment you submit. Days already taken by a field trip, visit, or rental are crossed out.