Homeschool Discounts in New Hampshire (2026) — Aquariums, Castles & Science Centers

New Hampshire packs an unusual density of homeschool-priced attractions into a small state. Squam Lakes Natural Science Center runs hands-on homeschool mornings November through April for $15 a child — and a participating adult comes free against a $30 gate. The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center admits school and homeschool groups for $9 including a planetarium show, Living Shores Aquarium drops its $27.99 gate to $9.99 on school-year field trips, and Castle in the Clouds lets a 20-person co-op tour the mountaintop Lucknow estate for $10 a kid on weekdays.

The seacoast holds its own. Strawbery Banke's October Homeschool Day runs $15 hands-on workshops through the historic Puddle Dock neighborhood, the Children's Museum of New Hampshire books homeschool groups at $9 a head, and Seacoast Science Center's $8 group rate includes Odiorne Point State Park. Add the Wright Museum's $5 student rate, the Millyard Museum's $10 homeschool programs (homeschools named on the museum's own fee schedule), and the NH Farm Museum's brand-new $15 homeschool series on a 1700s farmstead, and the Granite State turns out to be one of New England's strongest homeschool states.

Confirmed homeschool pricing

Published price on the venue's own homeschool page — most under $20 per child.

Recurring

First Thursdays

Nov–Apr, 10–11:30 a.m.

$15

per kid · adult free

Squam Lakes Natural Science Center

Holderness · 4–10 · Advance registration required; ages 4–6 sessions fill fast

Monthly hands-on nature mornings split into ages 4–6 and 7–10 cohorts, aligned to NGSS standards, each ending with a live animal-ambassador visit. Homeschool groups can also book any of the center's school programs at school rates — the live exhibit trail of bears, bobcats, and raptors is the backdrop.

Regular admission: $30 adults / $24 ages 3–15 (trail admission) — Adult comes free — a parent-and-child visit drops from $54 to $15

Homeschool page at nhnature.org →

Recurring

Tue–Thu

School visits, Oct–June

per kid · adult free

McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center

Concord · 15 participants (or $135 minimum); book via the school-visit form

New Hampshire's space-science museum — named for astronauts Christa McAuliffe and Alan Shepard — folds a full-dome planetarium show in its 10K digital theater into the $9 school-visit rate, plus exhibit-gallery time and an educator demonstration. A separate semester-long homeschool program runs for local families who want more.

Regular admission: $14 adults / $11 ages 3–12, planetarium extra — Planetarium show included — normally a $7 add-on

Homeschool page at starhop.com →

Recurring

Weekdays

While school is in session

$9.99

per kid

Living Shores Aquarium

Glen · Book through group sales

The White Mountains' interactive aquarium — touch tanks with stingrays, skin-eating doctor fish, reptile encounters, and Gulf of Maine exhibits across 32,000 square feet — covers New Hampshire and Maine science standards just by walking through. A homeschool co-op of 15 turns the priciest family ticket in the valley into a $10 day.

Regular admission: $27.99 gate / $19.99 online — About 64% off the gate price

Homeschool page at livingshores.com →

Recurring

Weekdays

May 23 – Oct 25, 2026

$10

per kid · adult $18

Castle in the Clouds

Moultonborough · Groups of 20+; payment in full two weeks ahead

Self-guided tours of Lucknow, the 1914 Arts-and-Crafts mansion perched over Lake Winnipesaukee, plus the carriage house, exhibit gallery, and estate grounds. The education team also runs 'A Look at Lucknow' field trips with guided hikes and a mansion-tour workbook for every student — inquire when booking.

Regular admission: $23 adults / $15 ages 5–17 (weekend gate) — A third off youth admission, with trolley service included

Homeschool page at castleintheclouds.org →

Recurring

May–Oct

Group visits by appointment

per kid

Wright Museum of World War II

Wolfeboro · Schedule by phone in advance

Students tour 14,000 home-front and battlefield artifacts, a Time Tunnel of 1939–45 American life, and 20+ military vehicles including a working Pershing tank. Activity pages keyed to the NH social-studies framework split into grades 4–6 and 7–12 tracks, and docents roam the galleries answering questions.

Regular admission: $17 adults / $8 ages 5–17 — Under a third of adult admission

Homeschool page at wrightmuseum.org →

When

Oct 6, 2026

10 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

$15

per kid

Strawbery Banke Museum Homeschool Day

Portsmouth · 5–13+ · Register online; workshops are age-banded

'Building the Past' Homeschool Day fills the 10-acre Puddle Dock neighborhood with hands-on architecture workshops — assembling timber-frame and wigwam models, hunting 'architectural ghosts' through 17th-century houses, reading rooflines like a historian. One of New England's great living-history museums at a fraction of gate price.

Regular admission: $25 adults / $12.50 ages 5–17 — A hands-on workshop for less than a child's gate ticket

Homeschool page at strawberybanke.org →

Recurring

Tue–Fri

School year, 9:30–11:30 a.m.

per kid · adult $9

Children's Museum of New Hampshire

Dover · Book online; not available school-vacation weeks

Two floors of hands-on exhibits — dinosaur dig, yellow submarine, flight simulators, music studio, STEAM Innovation Lab — reserved each weekday morning for visiting groups before public play sessions. A homeschool co-op of ten kids qualifies, and the free Dover Adventure Playground next door extends the day.

Regular admission: $14.50 per person over 12 months — About 38% off for everyone in the group

Homeschool page at childrens-museum.org →

Recurring

Weekdays

Programs for preK–8

$14

per kid · adult free

SEE Science Center

Manchester · Plan by phone: (603) 669-0400

Slime chemistry labs, LEGO race-car engineering, and demonstration shows lead into free exploration of the science center and its three-million-brick LEGO Millyard — the largest permanent minifigure-scale LEGO installation anywhere. Field trips take groups 'of all ages and sizes,' so co-ops slot in easily.

Regular admission: $15 per person ages 3+ — A guided NGSS program added for less than walk-in admission

Homeschool page at see-sciencecenter.org →

Recurring

Tue–Sat

Programs 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

$10

per kid · adult $12

Millyard Museum

Manchester · Advance reservations required

Museum-educator programs on Native peoples at Amoskeag Falls, child labor, immigration, waterpower, and the world's largest textile mill — adaptable for grades 1–12 and paired with gallery or millyard walking tours. The 20-person minimum is the only catch; two co-ops together clear it.

Regular admission: $12 adults / $6 ages 12–18 / Free under 12 — Educator-led program included at student rate

Homeschool page at manchesterhistoric.org →

Recurring

Weekdays

Explorer Groups, 8+ people

per kid · adult $12

Seacoast Science Center

Rye · Groups of 8+; currently booking spring 2026

Tide-pool touch tanks, Gulf of Maine aquariums, and the seven shoreline habitats of Odiorne Point State Park — the Explorer Group rate covers both the science center and park entry. Naturalist-led programs from tide-pooling to whale biology can be added from $150 per group.

Regular admission: $15 ages 12+ / $10 ages 3–11, plus park fee — Nearly half off, park entry included

Homeschool page at seacoastsciencecenter.org →

When

Fall Fridays

Sept 11 – Oct 2, 2026, 10–11:30 a.m.

$15

per kid · adult free

New Hampshire Farm Museum

Milton · Designed for elementary ages · Pre-register; capped at 12 kids

Brand-new for 2026 and built specifically for homeschoolers: story-and-craft mornings on a 1700s farmstead — corn grinding and colonial cornbread, apple drying, sachet making, trail hikes past the 104-foot grand barn. Rain or shine, every session hands-on.

Regular admission: $15 adults / $10 ages 4–17 — Kid plus chaperone for less than two gate tickets

Homeschool page at nhfarmmuseum.org →

Recurring

Apr–Nov

Pre-arranged field trips

$10

per kid · adult $10

Woodman Museum

Dover · Groups of 10+; reserve a week ahead: (603) 742-1038

Four buildings of cabinet-of-curiosities wonder — polar bears, minerals, a 1675 garrison house, Lincoln's saddle — with field trips for homeschool groups named on the museum's own rate card. Educator-led visits explore the art, science, and history of the Dover region.

Regular admission: $18 adults / $12 ages 4–17 — 44% off adult admission for chaperones

Homeschool page at woodmanmuseum.org →

Recurring

Tue–Fri

10 a.m.–3 p.m.; Saturdays for youth groups

$5–10

per kid

Aviation Museum of New Hampshire

Londonderry · Book through the field-trip form

Field-trip programs inside the restored 1937 art-deco airport terminal — cockpits kids can climb into, the original control tower cab, and an Elite flight simulator experience for students 12 and up, available on request. Homeschool groups are named among the museum's field-trip audiences.

Regular admission: $15 adults / $7.50 ages 6–12 — A program plus tour for less than a child's gate ticket

Homeschool page at aviationmuseumofnh.org →

Recurring

Fri–Sun

May–Oct; schools can book outside normal hours

per kid · adult $8

The Fort at No. 4

Charlestown · 30-person minimum (combine co-ops); buy group tickets online

A reconstructed 1744 fortified village on the Connecticut River where costumed interpreters let students handle reproduction tools and goods — experiential French & Indian War history. Homeschool co-ops are named on the group-tours page, and the 250th-anniversary Revolutionary War event series runs through 2026.

Regular admission: $15 adults / $10 ages 6–18 / Free 5 & under — Nearly half off adult admission for everyone in the group

Homeschool page at fortat4.org →

Worth calling about

These venues run homeschool programs but don't publish pricing online. Call before you go.

Recurring

One Wednesday/month

Sept–June, 10–11 a.m.

Call

no public price

Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm

Tamworth

Monthly outdoor homeschool classes on a 200-year-old farmstead in the shadow of the Sandwich Range — season-based discovery of farm animals, gardens, and historic trades, rain, snow, or shine. Caregivers stay and participate.

Regular admission: Working farmstead; admission varies by season

How to reach them: The latest posted season ran $12 total for one student plus one caregiver ($5 each additional). Call (603) 323-7591 for the current schedule before driving out.

Homeschool page at remickmuseum.org →

When

Homeschool group tours

Call

no public price

Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum

Warner

Educator-guided tours through galleries of Northeastern Woodlands, Plains, and Southwest Native material culture — including a full-scale furnished tipi — plus guided walks in the Medicine Woods, where over 100 medicinal and food plants are interpreted.

Regular admission: $15 adults / $10 ages 6–12 / Free under 6

How to reach them: Home-school group tours with museum educators are offered by name; on-site rates aren't posted. Email education@indianmuseum.org to schedule.

Homeschool page at indianmuseum.org →

When

Group programs & field trips

Call

no public price

NH Audubon McLane Center

Concord

Homeschool science classes and workshops use the McLane Center's live raptor exhibits, pollinator gardens, and Silk Farm sanctuary trails as a classroom — and the Massabesic Center in Auburn doubles the options for Manchester-area families.

Regular admission: Centers free; program fees vary

How to reach them: NH Audubon invites homeschool cohorts to book youth-group programs and field trips at its Concord and Auburn centers; fees vary by program. Call (603) 224-9909.

Homeschool page at nhaudubon.org →

Plus more free and cheap educational outings in New Hampshire

Already on DiscoverCheapUS — free and low-cost New Hampshire attractions homeschool families plan whole field-trip days around.

Concord

6 free or cheap

New Hampshire State HouseFree
McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center$14 adults / $13 seniors & students / $11 ages 3–12 / free under 3
New Hampshire Historical Society$10 adults / Free age 18 & under
Pierce Manse$10 adults / $9 seniors / $5 children / $25 family
NH Audubon McLane CenterFree (donations welcome)
Concord Fine Craft Gallery (League of NH Craftsmen)Free

See all Concord attractions →

Portsmouth

9 free or cheap

Portsmouth Harbor TrailFree
Albacore Park & USS Albacore$14 adults (13+) / $10 seniors (62+) / $8 ages 2–12 / free under 2
John Paul Jones House$10 adults / $5 ages 5–18, seniors, students / Free under 5
Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden$14 adults / $12 seniors / $8 ages 7–12 / Free under 7 / Free active military
Portsmouth African Burying Ground Memorial ParkFree
Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion$5 adults (NH residents $4) / Free ages 6–17 NH residents and under 6
Portsmouth AthenaeumFree
Wentworth-Gardner House$8 adults / $3 students under 18 / Free under 7 / Free first responders & frontline staff
Black Heritage Trail of NH (Self-Guided Walking Tour)Free

See all Portsmouth attractions →

North Conway

3 free or cheap

Diana's Baths Waterfalls$5 parking / Free on foot
Kancamagus Scenic BywayFree to drive / $5 per day to park at WMNF trailheads
Madison Boulder Natural AreaFree

See all North Conway attractions →

Manchester

5 free or cheap

SEE Science Center$15 ages 3+ / Free under 3
Millyard Museum$12 adults / $6 ages 12–18 / Free under 12
Currier Museum of Art$20 adults / $5 ages 13–17 / Free under 13
Aviation Museum of New Hampshire$15 adults / $7.50 ages 6–12 / Free 5 & under
Stark ParkFree

See all Manchester attractions →

Dover

3 free or cheap

Children's Museum of New Hampshire$14.50 / $12.50 seniors / Free under 12 months
Woodman Museum$18 adults / $12 ages 4–17 / Free 3 & under
Faces of Dover Historic TourFree