Some of the Illinois Historic Sites have recently changed days that they are open.   If you have a group tour pre-scheduled on a closed date, please be patient.  The Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, who operates the Central Reservation System for the sites, is aware of the situation and will be contacting all of the groups scheduled, in date order, to make adjustments to the schedules.  For obvious reasons, schedules need to be changed immediately for those groups with tours scheduled in the near future.  These schedule changes are a top priority, so you will hear from someone at the Bureau very soon.

• Site Tours
• Lunch Plans
• Learn More About Lincoln
• Illinois State Capitol Tour Information
• Student Overnight Packages
• Reservation Request Form

While planning your school tour of Springfield, include a visit to Watershed Park, a brand new interactive and educational exhibit on water quality protection. more . .

Youth Tour Guidelines

Due to a policy change at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum,
non-school sponsored youth groups touring the Presidential Museum will be charged the group rate of $5.50 per person. Youth groups, both school-sponsored and non-school sponsored are still free at all other local historic sites.

School/Youth Tour Guidelines

The following guidelines were established to give all student groups an equal opportunity to visit the Springfield sites and to keep the student tour process manageable for the sites, as well. Please read them over carefully.

If provided, all confirmed schedules will be sent via e-mail.

* * NO schedule changes done less than 30 days prior to date of visit.

• All groups of 15 or more people (including teachers/chaperones) must schedule site tours through the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau.
  
• All tours are scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Tours are scheduled based on site availability of your requested tour dates. Every effort will be made to accommodate your first date choice. All reservation requests are processed by season (fall/winter, spring/summer) in the order that they are received. Depending upon request volume and season, you may need to allow several (approximately 10) weeks to receive your tour schedule confirmation after you send in your request.
  
• No fee for all school groups scheduled through our office, however the ALPLM only comps 1 chaperone/teacher per 10 children. Youth groups require admission at the ALPLM.
  
• 1:10 chaperone ratio requires at the Presidential Museum; 1:15 at all other sites. Improper conduct or late arrival may result in forfeiting your tour. If your chaperone ratio is above 1:10 you may limit your chances of getting into the sites.
  
• Thursdays and Fridays for October and March-May are always very full days. You may still request tours during this time: however, please be aware your first choice date(s) or site(s) may already be reserved. For best results choose Monday or Tuesday and be flexible with your requests.

• Tour requests for March – May, 2009 will only be accepted postmarked June 1, 2008 or after, requests received early will be returned. Feel free to call our office in May and we will mail you a reservation form or access our web page @ www.visit-springfieldillinois.com. Fall 2008 requests are accepted after January 1, 2008.

• Due to the volume of requests, it may not be possible to process a request to tour with less than 30 days notice. Keep this in mind when submitting.

• All schedule changes must be requested in writing on your school’s official letterhead and signed by the school principal or tour coordinator and are processed in the order received (by fax or U. S. mail only, no less than 30 days prior). After submitting, the request will be reviewed in the order received.

• Average group size is 57-60. Please fax our office at 217.544-8711 if there is a change in the number of people in your group. Since all site tours are based on a certain number of people per tour (and this number varies by site), it is vital that we know ahead of time exactly how many people will be in your group.

• Depending upon request volume and season, you may need to allow several (approximately 10) weeks to receive your tour schedule confirmation after you send in your request.

• Tour day guidelines: see below

The following guidelines should be followed on the day of your tour:

• To avoid any confusion, please present your confirmation sheet at each site you tour.

• If there are any changes in the number of people in your group, please call us at 1-800-545-7300 as soon as possible. We will then do everything possible to try and accommodate the change.

• All sites require that a chaperone accompany children through each site. There should be one chaperone per fifteen students.

• For safety reasons, all sites recommend a chaperone accompany children to or into the restrooms.

• Any bus not attended by the driver should be shut off and locked.

• Cameras are allowed at all sites scheduled by our office.

• Backpacks and electronics, ie.: headphones, radios, and electronic games should be left on the bus or with a chaperone or driver.

• Illinois State Capitol Tour Information

• No food, gum or drink are allowed in the sites.

• While we do not discourage outside appointments made on an individual basis, please keep in mind that any delays in your confirmed site schedule could result in forfeiting the site tour.

• Please notify the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau any time there is a change in the number of people in your group. Since all site tours are based on a certain number of people per tour (and this number varies by site), it is vital that we know ahead of time exactly how many people will be in your group.

• Hospital phone numbers are as follows:
  St. John’s Hospital (217) 544-6464
  Memorial Medical Center (217) 788-3000
  In an emergency, simply dial 9-1-1.

Requires Acrobat Reader to view.

Click here to download this free software.