Field Trip: Folger Estate/Stable Homeschool Day

When: Homeschool Day,  usually in January (contact the History Museum in December to confirm)
Where: Folger Stable in Wunderlich Park (4040 Woodside Rd, Woodside, CA 94062)
Who:  3rd and 4th graders
Cost: $5/student as of January 2020

Note: Folger Stable is a working stable; it is a boarding facility for horses and it also hosts riding lessons. Students are asked to refrain from running or speaking loudly during the field trip.

In our day and age when housing increasingly means dense apartments with smart living spaces and minimalist decor, the Great Estates era of California (when millionaires from San Francisco built get-aways along the Peninsula) can seem like an alternate reality. Yet some remain in our midst and are open to the public. Folger Stable, nestled in the woods of Wunderlich Park in Woodside, carries such a serene atmosphere that we understand why it was an oasis for its magnates and their families.

To its credit, the History Museum does not center its field trip on appreciating the architecture and lifestyles of the rich and famous in the 1800s - that would be a tall order for third and fourth graders! Instead the docents contextualized history for the students using contemporary terms. Can you use the words "going viral" and "nineteenth century" in the same sentence? Our docent could and did! (Hint: finding gold was big news).

We started with a slideshow detailing the inhabitants of the area, from the Ohlone Indians, to the Portola Expedition when the Spanish found the San Francisco Bay Area, the land grants of the Mexican government and then the area under Californian ownership. One of the more fascinating tidbits was how owner James Folger's rocky start: he had spent all his money buying passage from Massachussets to California to join his brothers for the gold rush. Having no money left to travel to the gold fields with them, he was left on his own to work  - he was only fourteen years old.

A brief history of the area: Ohlone land, Spanish then Mexican ranchero, Californian vineyard and then estate.

After the slideshow, we met a special guest: Lightning, a Shetland pony. He may not be part of the regular activities on field trips, but the students were thrilled to take turns combing and currying him while volunteer Loren explained how not to approach a horse (from its back since there is a blind spot in its impressive range of vision - 350 degrees!) and the history of Shetland ponies including their use in coal mines.

Lightning, instant star with the students

As a tie-in to the estate's past when it had fruit orchards and a vineyard, students then got to press apple juice. This took place in three steps: peeling, crushing and pressing mechanically. Since the site isn't sanitized to food safety standards, the process was more for fun than for a gourmet experience and the students certainly enjoyed the work!

Cranking the crusher - apple pieces go into the wooden bucket

After many crushed apples and rounds around the press - juice at last!

The docent then brought the students to the Carriage Room which is now a museum showcasing the estate's history with lumber, farming and horses. Here, students practiced 'tacking up' a horse, which refers to putting on the equipment used in riding, e.g.  pad, saddle and cinch. Our horse was exceptionally well-behaved, understandable since it was a handsome plastic replica..

There wasn't time to explore all the exhibits in the Carriage Room Museum, so we recommend visiting during its regular hours (Sat 10a-4p as of writing). Be sure to look for the video of San Francisco's Market Street one week before the 1906 earthquake - this wasn't brought to the students' attention, but it is something worth pondering.

Finally, students got to stamp their own leather bookmark and build a 'stone' wall. The leather bookmark took most of the time as they could make it elaborate with lettering, pictures and edging.  The stones (really foam blocks) were for the students to have fun collaborating (or not) to build something, but they also served to remind them of the stone walls around the estate which were built by Chinese laborers without  mortar and which are still standing.

Choices, choices - what design should go on my bookmark?

The entire field trip took just over two hours but the docents/volunteers were generous with their time, staying back to answer questions and recommend resources, e.g. Tandy Leather Company was where they purchased the leather stamping equipment.

We recommend this field trip! Folger Stable only accepts third and fourth grade students, which can be difficult for homeschooling families with younger siblings; however, a group of families can get together so they can send in the older students with some parents while the other parents take the younger children exploring Wunderlich Park's trails. We think this is worth arranging as the San Mateo County History Museum has worked hard over many years creating these wonderful experiences, and they offer a tremendous opportunity to learn at a low cost (students also get a free bag with a visitor pass to the downtown History Museum).