Where Nature’s Beauty Meets Artist’s Canvas
Experience the rolling hills, scenic vistas and majestic trees that inspired noted Hoosier landscape painter T.C. Steele and his wife, Selma, to build their home and cultivate beauty and art in Brown County. The 211-acre site includes extensive gardens and grounds, the Singing Winds Visitor Center, the House of the Singing Winds and Large Studio, T.C.’s Outdoor Studio, five hiking trails and the 92-acre Selma Steele Nature Preserve.
Download the Educator Guide
Visual Arts
Natural History
Language Arts
4220 T C Steele Road, Nashville, IN 47448, USA
Take a trip to see us
School Group Tours
PreK-Grade 12
Fee: Admission is FREE for pre-registered, accredited schools or homeschool groups of 10 or more K-12 students. Free admission includes teachers and bus drivers, plus one additional adult chaperone per every five students. Additional chaperones pay the group admission rate of $10/person. Members of the Indiana Association of Homeschool Educators receive free daily admission with proof of membership.
Contact site for non-Indiana student rate.
Pre-registration required at least two weeks in advance.
The school group tour includes a guided tour of the 1907 home and 1916 Large Studio of artist T.C. Steele and his wife Selma, plus students will see the grounds, visitor center, and T.C.’s Outdoor Studio.
DISCOVER
Discover programs offer educator resources to supplement your classroom curriculum and e-learning, or to enhance a fieldtrip experience for PreK through grade 12 students with free, downloadable resources including exhibit guides, historic site correlations, learning guides, literature connections, community resources and website links.
T.C. STEELE BOOK LIST
Download our free book list provided by T.C. Steele State Historic Site.
Click hereExplore Programs
Whether it’s at the site, outreach or virtual, we offer hands-on, exploratory and interactive programs on a variety of topics that provide your students a fun way to learn about Indiana’s people, places and things. All programs fulfill select Indiana Academic Standards.
AT SITE
K-Grade 12
Length: 45-60 minutes
Max. number of students: 25
Cost: $4/student
PreK
Length: 45-60 minutes
Max. number of students: 20
Cost: $2/student
OUTREACH
Length: 45-60 minutes
Cost: $100/1st session; $75/additional sessions
Travel fees: 30-60 miles=$20; 60-90 miles=$40; 90+ miles=$60
choose your grade level
PreK
ART ELEMENTS!
At site, outreach
Experiment with line and color when we explore the works of the Hoosier artist T.C. Steele. Create your own masterpiece with paint you mixed yourself. Afterwards, make a splash creating a collaborative work of art.
Indiana’s Early Learning Standards: CA3.1, CA3.2, CA3.3, CA2.1, SS2.1, SS2.2, APL1.2, APL2.1, SC1.2, SC4.1, ELA1.3, M4.2, APL3.1, PHG3.1
ICE AGE ANIMALS
At site, outreach
BIG animals roamed Indiana a long time ago! Together we will identify Ice Age fossils and learn how paleontologists dig for these interesting creatures with hands-on activities.
Indiana’s Early Learning Standards: SC3.1, SC2.2, SC4.1, SC1.1, SC1.2, APL4.1, SC5.1, SC1.1, SC1.2, APL4.1, APL1.2, M3.1, M5.1, APL1.2, APL1.2, APL3.1, SS2.2, SS3.3, PHG3.1, PHG3.2
UNDERGROUND ANIMALS
At site, outreach
What is living under our feet? Identify and investigate what creeps and crawls underground at the T.C. Steele State Historic Site, and how these creatures prepare for the changing seasons!
Indiana’s Early Learning Standards: M2.1, M3.1, M5.1; M5.2, SE4.1, APL1.1, APL2.1, APL3.1, APL4.1, SC1.1, SC1.2, SC2.2, SC3.1, SC4.1, SS2.2, SS3.1, SS3.2, SS3.3, CA3.1, CA3.2, CA3.3, CA4.1, APL1.2; SC5.1; SS3.3, PHG3.1, PHG3.2
NATURE EXPLORERS
At site
You’re invited to be a naturalist-in-training, while we use our senses to experience and explore nature at the T.C. Steele State Historic Site. Weather dependent, we will spend a lot of our time together as outdoor explorers.
Indiana’s Early Learning Standards: ELA1.1, ELA1.3, M2.2, M3.1, M4.1, M5.2, APL1.1, APL1.2, APL2.1, APL3.1, APL4.1, SC1.1, SC1.2, SC2.1, SC3.1, SC5.1, SS3.1, CS3.1, CS3.2, CA4.1, PHG2.1, PHG2.2, PHG3.1
K – Grade 2
ART ELEMENTS!
At site, outreach
Line! Shape! Texture! Space! Color! How did T.C. Steele use art elements to create his masterpieces? Find out when your students create their very own three-dimensional sculpture. Students will explore how artists use these elements as tools to create with this hands-on workshop.
Indiana Academic Standards: VA:Cr1.1. Ka, VA:Cr1.2.Ka, VA:Cr2.1.Ka, VA:Cr3.1.Ka; VA:Cr1.1.1a, VA:Cr1.2.1a, VA:Cr2.1.1a, VA:Cr2.3.1a, VA:Cr3.1.1.a, VA:PR4.1.1a, VA:Re8.1.1a, VA:Re8.1.2a; VA:Cr1.2.2a, VA:Cr2.1.2a, VA:Cr3.1.2a; VA:Re9.1.2a
Grades 3 - 5
ART EXPLORATIONS
At site, outreach
Students will learn how artists create composition, using math. Using the Rule of Thirds, they’ll create their own compositions in a sketch and use that to paint their one-of-a-kind masterpiece, keeping in mind the art elements, principles of design, subject matter and characteristics of form.
Indiana Academic Standards: VA:Cr1.1.3a, VA:Cr1.2.3a, VA:Cr2.1.3a, VA:Re7.1.3a, VA:Re.7.2.3a, VA:Re8.1.3a, VA:Cn10.1.3a; VA:Cr1.1.4a, VA:Cr2.1.4a, VA:Cr2.2.4a; VA:Pr5.1.4a, VA:Re8.1.4a, VA:Re8.1.4a; VA:Cr1.1.5a, VA:Cr2.1.5a, VA:Cr2.2.5a; VA:Re7.1.5a, VA:Re8.1.5a, VA:Re8.1.5a, VA:Cn10.1.5a
NATURE’S ENGINEERS
At site
Nature is full of engineers! Explore how our animal friends construct their homes and select their habitat. Students will use the design process to brainstorm solutions, build prototypes and test their own habitat design.
Indiana Academic Standards: 3-LS1-1, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS4-2, 3-LS4-3, 3-LS4-4, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-3, 4-LS1-1, 4-LS1-2, 5-LS2-1
Grades 3 - 8
IMAGINING THE PAST, PREDICTING THE FUTURE
Virtual (upon request)
Fee: $75/1-hour Zoom call for classrooms with 25-30 students
Registration required two weeks prior
Practice the elements of design and basic art elements through the art of T.C. Steele. Create your own masterpiece as you examine contemporary and historic photographs and envision what the historic site will be like in 100 years! This program includes a one-hour Zoom call with a museum educator. Materials needed: white paper, pencil, crayons/colored pencils/markers.
Indiana Academic Standards: VA:Cr1.1.3a, VA:Cr1.2.3a, VA:Cr1.1.4a, VA:Cr1.1.5a, VA:Cr1.2.5a, VA:Cr2.1.Ka, VA:Cr2.2.Ka, VA:Cr2.1.1a, VA:Cr2.2.1a, VA:Cr2.1.2a, VA:Cr2.2.2a, VA:Cr2.3.2a; 6.1.16; 6.1.20; 8.1.28; 8.1.31; VA:Cr2.1.6a; VA:Cr2.1.7a; VA:Cr2.1.8a; VA:Cr2.3.6a; VA:Cr2.3.7a;VA:Pr4.1.6a; VA:Pr4.1.7a; VA:Pr6.1.6a; VA:Pr6.1.7a; VA:Pr6.1.8a; VA:Re7.1.6a; VA:Re.7.1.7a; VA:Re.7.1.8a
ARE YOU AN IMPRESSIONIST OR A REALIST?
At site, outreach
Inspired by Steele’s paintings that model Realism and Impressionism, your students will discover their own tastes and aesthetics when they experiment with their preferred style, and subject!
Indiana Academic Standards: VA:Cr1.1.6a, VA:Re8.1.6a; VA:Cr1.2.7a, VA:Re8.1.7a; VA:Cr1.2.8a; VA:Cr2.3.8a, VA:Re7.1.8a; HS Proficient VA:Cr1.1.la, HS Accomplished VA:Cr1.2.lla,HS Advanced VA:Cr1.2.llla, HS Accomplished VA:Cr2.1.lla, HS Accomplished VA:Pr6.1.lla, HS Accomplished VA:Re.7.1.lla; DSF-3.1, DSF-3.2, DSF-3.3, DSF-3.4
EUREKA! EKPHRASIS!
At site, outreach
An ekphrastic poem is inspired by a work of art. Students will read poems inspired by two famous paintings, then look to one of T.C. Steele’s paintings to inspire, then write, their own poems.
Indiana Academic Standards:
VA:Cr1.1.6a, VA:Re8.1.6a, VA:Cr1.2.7a, VA:Re8.1.7a, VA:Cr1.2.8a; VA:Cr2.3.8a, VA:Re7.1.8a; HS Proficient VA:Cr1.1.la, HS Accomplished VA:Cr1.2.lla, HS Advanced VA:Cr1.2.llla, HS Accomplished VA:Cr2.1.lla, HS Accomplished VA:Pr6.1.lla, HS Accomplished VA:Re.7.1.ll; 3.RC.1, 3.RC.3, 3.RC.4, 3.RC.5, 3.RC.11, 3.RC.13, 3.W.2, 3.W.3, 3.W.4, 3.CC.1, 4.RC.1, 4.RC.3, 4.RC.4, 4.RC.5, 4.RC.8, 4.W.3, 4.CC.1, 5.RC.1, 5.RC.3, 5.RC.4, 5.RC.6, 5.RC.11, 5.RC.12, 5.W.3, 5.CC.1, 6.RC.1, 6.RC.3, 6.RC.4, 6.RC.6, 6.RC.7, 6.RC.10, 6.W.3, 6.CC.1, 7.RC.1, 7.RC.6, 7.RC.7, 7.RC.10, 7.RC.11, 7.W.3, 7.CC.1, 8.RC.1, 8.RC.4, 8.RC.5, 8.RC.8, 8.RC.11, 8.W.3, 8.CC.1
DESIGN YOUR VISIT
Educators may request a specialty program or activity for an additional fee. Programs include art, history, nature, science, engineering and multidisciplinary learning. Call 812.988.2785 for details.
