The Emily Dickinson Museum is happy to arrange group tours for members of the general public and for education-related visits. The Museum defines a group as a party of six or more people. Groups of more than 12 will be evenly divided into smaller groups to insure a more enjoyable experience.

SPECIAL NOTE TO GROUPON PURCHASERS: Are you a March Groupon Purchaser for admission to the Emily Dickinson Museum?  There's actually no need to visit this page or to make special arrangements to visit the Emily Dickinson Museum as long as your party will have fewer than 6 people in it.  Just check out our hours and general tour information, print your Groupon, and come on over for a tour.  We hope you enjoy your visit!

The Museum welcomes groups with a variety of interests, including book clubs, literary clubs, Red Hat Society chapters, library friends groups, college alumni and family reunions, and garden clubs.

Educational field trips for grades K-12 and for colleges and graduate schools are also welcome at the Museum. More information on educational Field Trips »

What your group can do while here

The Museum offers a variety of tours, all of which are available to arrange as a group tour. Please see Tour Options for more information about Emily Dickinson's World tour, "This was a Poet" tour, and "Grounds of Memory" landscape audio tour.

Group tours and educational field trips can be supplemented by off-site or classroom visits by museum guides and collections of reproduction artifacts. Please see Museum Outreach for more information about all these activities.

Scheduling a group tour or school visit

To arrange a visit to the Museum, please complete the Group Tour and Outreach Visit Request Form. Upon receipt of this form, the group tour coordinator will contact you to discuss details.

Before doing so, please note the following:

• Groups may visit the Homestead, The Evergreens, or both. For more information about options, read the Tour Options BEFORE filling out the group tour request form.
• Reservations for group tours must be made at least two weeks in advance and are subject to availability. Please note:  large groups (coach tours or groups larger than 25 people) must contact the Museum at least one month in advance.
• The Museum is best able to accommodate groups that can begin their tours between 9 am and noon, Tuesday through Saturday.  Large groups (more than 25 people) that need to schedule a tour outside of these times may be subject to an additional charge.
• Most school visits for grades K-12 take place at the Homestead only. Because May and June are especially busy, we recommend that you schedule your class trip early!

Fees for the 2013 Season

Please note:

• A 50% non-refundable deposit is required two weeks prior to the tour in order to hold the desired date.  The balance is due upon arrival.
• Please let us know if you or any tour participants are an Emily Dickinson Museum Member.
• Landscape audio tour is free when combined with guided tours (above).
• Groups from the Amherst Public School District, and the five colleges, (Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, University of Massachusetts-Amherst) are admitted at no charge.
• Teachers and chaperones are admitted free of charge up to 1 per 10 students.  Each extra chaperone will be admitted at the adult rate.

Logistics and Visitor Amenities

Parking

There is no on-site parking (except for marked handicapped vehicles). Metered parking is available in front of the Homestead and The Evergreens, as well as in the town’s parking garage (a five-minute walk from the Museum).

Drop-off information and parking for buses will be confirmed with your reservation.

Restrooms

Restroom facilities for visitors are limited. If you are traveling with a large group, please make arrangements to stop at a highway rest area PRIOR to your arrival in Amherst.

Accessibility

The Tour Center and first floors of the Homestead and The Evergreens are handicapped accessible. Because of the historic nature of the two Dickinson houses, neither house includes an elevator to the second floor. Visitors who are unable to use stairs are provided with illustrated notebooks that describe the exhibits upstairs in each house, and guides and other staff are happy to answer questions about the content of those notebooks.   Because of the wealth of original materials at The Evergreens, visitors with respiratory difficulties may be sensitive to the air quality in the house.  The recent addition of air-conditioning has improved air quality. For further questions about accessibility, please contact the Museum at csdickinson@emilydickinsonmuseum.org or call 413-542-8429.

Museum Shop

The Museum has a small shop with a range of items about Emily Dickinson, from pencils and t-shirts to books. If your visit is scheduled to occur outside of the Museum's regular hours of operation, special arrangements can be made to open the museum shop for your group. Go to the Shop page.

Mealtimes

The Emily Dickinson Museum does not have a café or picnic area on site. For suggestions about where to eat in Amherst, please visit www.amherstarea.com, the website of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce.