Image: A tour group enjoys the front garden following their visit.

Image: An early childhood centre group ends their tour.

 

Guided Tours and Education Visits

We offer guided tours for small (minimum two people) and large groups and education visits for school groups that take an active learning approach. Read on to find out more. Please note, guided tours and education visits must be booked at least 48 hours in advance and are based on the availability of our wonderful volunteer tour guides.

Guided Tours

If you want to make the most of your visit, we recommended booking a guided tour with one of our friendly and knowledgeable guides. We welcome small family, friend or interest groups as well as large tour groups. Tours last approximately 45 minutes and give an excellent overview of Mansfield’s life, the house and its collection, and Wellington history. Tours can also be adapted to focus on any area of particular interest. 

Pricing depends on the size of your group, but ranges from $10 to $20 per person. For more information, please contact us. Please note: Guided tours must be booked at least 48 hours in advance for a minimum of two people. During holiday periods, such as Christmas and New Year, there may be limited availability.

For large tour groups, we offer a seated introductory talk at a nearby venue (within easy, flat walking distance of the house) followed by a tour of the house in smaller groups. There is also the option of a light morning or afternoon tea for large groups depending on the time you have available for your visit.

Recent feedback from tour groups

"We had a great tour and enjoyed so many aspects of it: seeing the beautiful house and fantastic restoration, learning more about KM and her fascinating and quite sad life, thinking about how people used to live. Thanks again!" March 2023

"The guided tour was great and we were wowed by the detail of information shared. It really bought the house alive for us all. Thank you for hosting our group." July 2022

"The feedback received at our end was very positive, all commented on what a delightful host [our tour guide was] and an enjoyable visit, thank you so much for enabling our members’ visit to take place." June 2022. 

"We had a lovely time! Thanks for having us!" April 2022.

"We really enjoyed the tour thanks. There were some interesting insights into life in Wellington at that time as well as about Katherine Mansfield." December 2021. 

"Many thanks for our very informative visit yesterday. Our ladies were abuzz coming home and all enjoyed the day and the visit to the house and garden."  April 2021. 

Education

Katherine Mansfield House & Garden offers a selection of focused educational visits for school groups of all levels linked to New Zealand curriculum outcomes in Social Sciences, English and the Arts. Our visits use active learning and enquiry approaches to encourage students to question and explore. More than a simple tour, a focused visit to Katherine Mansfield House & Garden is an opportunity to experience New Zealand history and learn through active discovery. Your visit can be tailored to your students’ year level and area of study.

Click here to download our Education Information Sheet

To book a school visit, please contact us. The cost is $5 per student, with no charge for teachers or other adults accompanying the group. Education visits must be booked at least 48 hours in advance.

Recent feedback from teachers

"Every teacher who has been on the trip has been so impressed by what you do and our students just love to visit." Teacher on behalf of all Year 10 English classes from a Wellington school, December 2022.

 "We absolutely loved it and I will definitely return. Thank you so much." Teacher of Year 7 and 8 class from Wellington region, August 2022.

"Thanks so much for hosting us yesterday. We had quite a few teenagers reading Katherine's works last night. You've inspired us!" Teacher of a scholarship history class from Southland, August 2022.

"Thank you so much for a wonderful trip...I have heard our trip sparked lots of conversations at home too!" Teacher of a Year 1 class from Wellington, June 2021.

"I thought it was really well run. The division between discussion of the house, then the freedom to explore, followed by the poetry activity was a good balance of time. I thought the questions to position the students as they looked around the house were a good guide to get them thinking too. Overall it was great and I really enjoyed it and the students got a lot from it." Teacher of a Year 10 class from Wellington, November 2020.

"I thought it was great, a balance of exploration as well as focused activity...Thanks again and hope to see you in two years' time." Teacher of a Year 7 & 8 class who visited as part of a school camp to Wellington, September 2020.

"Our visit was effortless and perfectly targeted as our inquiry was about how toys and games had changed over time...The children especially enjoyed playing the game you taught them. It was a great amount of time for this age group too and you were lovely with the children." Teacher of a Year 1 class from Wellington, June 2020.