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Step out of the textbook and into the picture.
Experience life in the early 19th century!
Choose from a variety of programs that engage students and make history meaningful.
(Please click on the program title to view more information.) To register, please call (508) 347-0285.
Online registration available for many programs. |
 Self-Guided Investigation - Register Online |
Self-Guided Visit All grades
Admission $7.00 per student.
Explore the Village at your own pace. Enhance your visit using optional themed self-guides and optional pre- and post-visit classroom activities available online. Tied to the museum’s exhibits and learning opportunities, these newly developed free resources allow you to construct a more meaningful experience.
Themes include:
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| New! Village Classroom |
Let us engage your students in an interactive experience through these new offerings. Each 30-minute program takes place in a Village exhibit and is led by a costumed historian. Through the application of cross-curriculum concepts and skills, these interactive lessons introduce topics in early American history using primary sources and reproductions of artifacts. Teachers are encouraged to take advantage of OSV online curriculum, self-guides, and/or pre- and post-visit classroom activities.
To register, please call (508) 347-0285.
Traveler's Trunk grades K to 3
$7 per student village admission; plus $50 per class of up to 30 students
Meet a traveler from the 1830s and discover what the objects in a traveler's trunk reveal about transportation, communication, education, economics, childhood, and early American life.
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The District School grades 1 to 6
$7 per student village admission; plus $50 per class of up to 30 students
How did New England achieve the highest literacy rate in the country by the 1820s? Compare educational practices of the New Republic to those of today. Participate in a school lesson led by a schoolmistress or schoolmaster. Curriculum is available online. Resources:
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Going to Market grades 3 to 5
$7 per student village admission; plus $50 per class of up to 30 students
Who made, distributed, and consumed the goods and services available in a country store? Explore how new technologies and global expansion made merchandise from distant lands available to New Englanders. Learn about account books and their role in documenting debit and credit transactions. Resources:
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Grandma's Trunk Tells a Story grades 3 to 6
$7 per student village admission; plus $50 per class of up to 30 students
Put the ‘story' back in ‘history'! Using a timeline and objects from pre-Revolutionary War to early 1800s, help put events and reproduction artifacts in sequence to tell the story of how the Colonies became a new nation. Resources:
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Your Day in Court Grades 5 to 8
$7 per student village admission; plus $50 per class of up to 30 students
Discover the democratic principals and customs that our justice system was built upon. Through observation and participation in an authentic 19-th -century court case under the authority of a 19-th century Justice of the Peace, students actively learn about United States citizen's freedoms and rights. Additional information on town officers and town government in early 19th-century New England:
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| Hands-on Activities - Register Online |
Hands-on Studio Activities All grades
$7 per student village admission; plus $50 per group of 10 students
Get your hands on history during a 50-minute activity led by a museum teacher in our dynamic education center. Studio activities may include decorative arts, cooking, home remedies, textile production, leisure pastimes, celebrations, archaeology, printing, farm work, or a school lesson.
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| Civic Programs - Register Online |
Anti-Slavery Petition Campaign Grades 7 and up.
Requires pre-visit classroom preparation using online materials.
$7 per student village admission; plus $100 per activity group of up to 125 students
Help end slavery and the slave trade in Washington, D.C! Use our online resources prior to your visit to explore the constitutional rights and attitudes toward slavery and abolition in 1830s New England. At the museum, students visit with Villagers and try to convince them to sign a petition to abolish slavery in the Capitol. The program concludes with a focused group discussion moderated by a museum educator.
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New England Town Meeting Grades 5 and up.
Requires pre-visit classroom preparation using online materials.
$7 per student village admission; plus $100 per activity group of up to 125 students
Participate in a Town Meeting and see how local government functions! Should the town purchase a “poor farm” to replace the “vendue” system of auctioning off the needy to the lowest bidder? Use online resources prior to your visit to explore early methods of local poor relief. At the museum, students interview Villagers to gather different points of view, then join our costumed Town Moderator at the Center Meetinghouse to debate and vote on the issue.
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| New! Village Performances - Register Online |
Explore the past through engaging presentations by costumed performers.
Tales From Long Ago All grades
$7 per student village admission; plus $100 per group of up to 125 students
Explore early New England experiences through the ancient art of storytelling and the fanciful tales of our ancestors.
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The Art of 19th-Century Puppetry All grades
$7 per student village admission; plus $100 per group of up to 125 students
Discover what role puppetry played in early New England and enjoy a traditional puppet show such as Punch & Judy (glove puppets) or the more obscure art of shadow puppetry.
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Meet a 19th-Century Character All grades
$7 per student village admission; plus $100 per group of up to 125 students
Meet a character such as a peddler (traveling salesman), a dentist, an immigrant, or other individual who shares details of early New England life.
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Remembering the Revolution All grades
$7 per student village admission; plus $100 per group of up to 125 students.
Learn about life in colonial America as a Villager reminisces about revolutionary war times.
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| Cooking a 19th-Century Meal |
Prepare and enjoy a hearth-cooked meal using 19th-century methods and utensils, while learning traditional dining customs and etiquette. Please allow 3 hours for the meal in addition to time to visit the Village.
To register, please call (508) 347-0285.
Cooking a 19th-Century Meal Grades 5 and up
$7 per student village admission; plus $45.00 per person ($450.00 minimun)
Your students work as a team to prepare a hearth-cooked meal using 19th-century methods and utensils, then learn historic dining customs and etiquette as they enjoy the meal they prepared. Please allow 3 hours for the meal in addition to 1-3 hours to visit the Village. Groups of more than 40 individuuals should call for special arrangements. Not available in May or June.
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| History on The Road |
Invite a costumed Old Sturbridge Village educator into your classroom for an entertaining and interactive encounter. These 45-minute sessions are designed for individual classrooms of up to 30 students each
To register, please call (508) 347-0285.
The Traveler's Trunk grades K to 3
Meet an 1830s traveler and discover what is in his/her trunk and what it reveals about early American life.
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The District School grades 1 to 6
Learn early education methods as our 19th century schoolkeeper transforms your classroom into a one-room school house.
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Grandma's Attic grades 3 to 5
Imagine finding a trunk with items from your colonial-era ancestors! Explore artifacts that reveal details of the story of early New England and the events leading up to the Revolution
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Going West! grades 5 to 6
Meet a New Englander planning to emigrate, and explore what one would take along for the journey and to start a new life in the West.
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Archaeology on the Road grades 3 to 5
Examine reproductions of artifacts and primary sources including paintings, graphics, and documents to discover the past.
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| New! Overnight Program |
To register, please call (508) 347-0285.
Hop into History Overnight - New! grades 1 to 6
$50 per person (students & adults). Minimum fee $1800.
One adult required for every five children (one-to-one ratio for children under age 8).
Limited availability, call us at (508) 347-0285 for availability. An exciting new overnight adventure designed for scouts, schools, and other youth groups of up to 100 participants! Join in hands-on activities, prepare a 19th century snack on an open hearth, and engage in entertainments from long ago. The evening program begins at 6:30 p.m. and concludes at 9:00 a.m. the next morning. During either day, explore the historic village on your own. Program fee includes an evening snack, continental breakfast, and 2-day museum admission. Participants bring their own bedding and sleep in our unique Museum Education Building.
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| New! History Immersion |
To register, please call (508) 347-0285.
History Immersion Students ages 6-17
Two-day program – prices begin at $150 per student; $1500 group minimum
Five-day program – prices begin at $250 per student; $2500 group minimum
These alternative education programs are specifically designed for both special education students seeking a hands-on learning experience in a stimulating, multi-sensory environment, and for advanced history scholars interested in an in-depth content-rich scholarly engagement. Program may include dressing in an early 19th-century costume, taking on the role of an actual early New England resident, cooking over an open hearth, making a craft, attending District School, touring the Village, and interacting with the costumed historians in unique ways. Contact our Coordinator of Education at (508) 347-0335 if you are a school administrator interested in an experience tailored to your students' academic needs. Final costs depend on program length and activity options
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| Guided Tours |
Guided Tours All Grades
$7 per student admission; plus, $150 per group of up to 15 students
Available November, January, February, March
Limited availability, call us at 508-347-0285 for details and registration. Tour the Village with one of our museum educators as your personal guide. Tours last up to 3 hours.
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