An Unforgettable Indiana History Field Trip!

Bring your class to the canal!

You won’t want to miss this fun-filled educational excursion! School tours are available from April through October, and we can schedule the tour to fit your availability and bus schedule.

Our guided tours are ideal for 4th grade students learning Indiana history, but we can also adapt for other grade levels or homeschool mixed-grade groups. A typical tour includes any of the following elements:

  • Rides on our replica canal boat, The Delphi (plan for about one hour, including boarding and disembarking)
  • Guided tours through the Interpretive Museum devoted to Indiana’s Canal Era (plan for about 40 minutes per rotation)
  • Visits to the Pioneer Village with live demonstrations of historic trades and ways of life (plan for at least one hour)

Get Started on your tour today

Fill out the online school tour request form, and we’ll start building your tour! Read the info below for more details about organizing a tour with us.

Note: All credit or debit card transactions will be subject to a processing fee. This will typically add between 3%-4% to the purchase amount. There is no added fee when paying by cash or check.

School Tour Request Form

Important School Tour Information

While 60 students for a full-day tour is an ideal group number, we know that every school group has unique needs! We can offer custom-made tour options to groups as small as 15 guests and up to about 90 guests on a single day. For groups larger than 90 people (students and adults combined), we would need to split the tour into two days or more.

School tour rates are available to public or private K-12 educational institutions, homeschool groups, or organizations that exist to serve and educate K-12 students.

Part of your itinerary may include time on the canal playboat. Children of all ages enjoy the chance to create their own canal adventure with free play! The playboat is available free of charge.

School groups are welcome to pack their own picnic lunch to enjoy outdoors at the Speece Picnic Shelter or anywhere within Canal Park’s beautiful landscape. There is no food available at the Canal for purchase.

Please dress for the forecasted weather, since most of the tour will take place outdoors! Tennis shoes are highly recommended. The canal boat can operate safely in rainy or chilly conditions. If there are weather conditions that will prevent the boat from safely operating (such as lightning or extreme winds) we will contact the tour organizer immediately. If weather forces us to cancel your tour, we will work with the tour organizer to find an alternative date or issue a refund.

School tours are priced based on boat capacity and number of trips required. Fees include ride on the canal boat and guided tours through the award-winning interpretive museum. Note: All credit or debit card transactions will be subject to a processing fee.

Boat capacity is 30 students and 3 adults maximum. Minimum cost is one boat trip. Maximum group size is three boat rides for the full-day tour.

  • For itineraries with boat rides and museum tours, the cost is $235 for the first boat ride and $175 for each additional ride, with a maximum of three boat rides in a day.
  • To add on the Pioneer Village, the cost is $150 for the first boat ride, and $75 for each additional boat ride.
  • For schools touring only the interpretive museum, the fee is $25 per group of 10 students and 1 adult.
  • Self-guided canal walks (we provide the narration script) are $15 per class (maximum 25 students per class).
  • Payment is due before the tour begins. Payment may be sent in advance or presented upon arrival at Canal Park. We accept check, cash, or card. Payment must come from a single payer.
  • Please make checks payable to Carroll County Wabash & Erie Canal, Inc. and mail to 1030 N. Washington Street, Delphi, IN 46923.

At minimum, we require one adult chaperone per ten students.

The maximum chaperone ratio is one adult chaperone per five students. For any adults beyond this ratio, we will add a $12 fee per extra adult.

We recommend reviewing and distributing our chaperone guidelines in advance of your visit.

Wabash & Erie Canal Park offers a scholarship fund to allow more schools the chance to experience Indiana’s Canal Era! With all the difficulties and barriers to planning a school tour, we want to minimize the limitations of cost. Thanks to donations and local support, schools are invited to apply for a scholarship to reduce your tour cost by up to $150.00. Please email director@canalcenter.org to see if your school qualifies!

our location

Where We Are Located

Wabash & Erie Canal Park’s entrance is a little over a half-mile north of downtown Delphi. You can reach us by heading north on Washington Street from the Carroll County Courthouse or you can reach us via 9th Street off US 421.

call us
+1 (765) 564-2870
email us
info@canalcenter.org
Address
1030 N Washington St, Delphi, IN 46923
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