1. How do I complete my child’s registration for Discovery Adventures?
After registering your child for the session of their choice by phone or online, please fill out the registration packet, linked below. This paperwork must be filled out each year your child participates in Discovery Adventures. It includes the following documents: medical information and release form, transportation permission form, extended care and boxed lunch enrollment form, family agreement, and model release agreement. To expedite the check-in process on the first day of the program, please submit this paperwork at least two weeks in advance of the program’s start date.
Click here to download the Registration Packet for February 2023 Adventures
2. What are the hours of the Discovery Adventures program?
Discovery Adventures hours are 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. There will be a brief introduction on the first morning of your child’s program-please plan on staying for this introduction. After the initial day, morning sign-in begins at 8:55 am at the Museum Education Building. Afternoon pick-up is at 3:00 pm each day at the same pre-assigned location.
Please do not drop your child off in the parking lot. Parents and guardians are required to sign in their child each morning. At the end of the day, children will wait in an assigned location for their parent or guardian.
3. How do I register for Extended Care?
There will be no Extended Care program at this time. This is to assist our staff in proper cleaning and sanitizing before and after the program day.
4. What will my child be doing throughout the week?
We will post a schedule of your child’s activities at the Museum Education Building. This schedule is subject to change. The program schedule is flexible in order to take advantage of special activities and events in the Village or to respond to weather concerns. Activities might include crafting, attending performances, visiting the museum’s collections building, doing chores in the gardens or on the farm, visiting craftspeople in the Village, and working closely with our costumed historians. Activities are tailored to the theme of the program and the age of its participants.
5. What will my child wear for Discovery Adventures?
For our costumed adventures, each child is issued a 19th-century costume on the first day of the program to wear throughout the session. Program participants will wear their costumes home at the end of each day and wear their costume throughout the week. On Friday, all pieces of the costume will be collected and professionally cleaned by the museum. To complete the 19th-century image, please have your child(ren) wear:
- Plain white or gray knee-high socks. Young ladies may want to wear plain white or gray tights.
- Simple black, brown or tan shoes or boots.
Socks and shoes must be worn at all times. Many programs involve extensive walking, so ear shoes that are comfortable.
Costumes are not meant to be worn over regular clothing.
The following are not permitted while in costume:
- Colored hair elastics or clips
- Sneakers or sandals
- Watches
- Electronics
- Jewelry
- Nail polish
- Make-up
- Tattoos
- Hair dyes
We recommend that you leave these items and all valuables at home. The museum is not responsible for lost items.
6. What should my child bring for lunch and snack?
Each day we will provide a reproduction lunch container, a mug and a beverage. Those who bring their own lunches will transfer it to their basket or pail at the beginning of the day. We will carry our lunches with us during the day, so please pack foods that can remain at air temperature. You may contact our office to pre-order a box lunch if you have not already done so. A beverage and a cookie from our Bake Shop will be served at the end of the day. This cookie is not allergen-free, so please consider sending an alternate snack for your child if he or she has allergies.
7. What will be offered in the bagged lunch?
If you purchase bagged lunches for your child, we will be in touch a few weeks prior to the program date to ask for your meal selections.
- Chicken Tender and Fries /Fruit Cup
- Hot Dog and Fries/Fruit Cup
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Turkey with American Cheese on Country White Bread
- Ham and American Cheese on Country White Bread
- Chicken Salad on Country White Bread
- Tuna Salad on Country White Bread
8. I just registered my child for Discovery Adventures but forgot that they will need a lunch. What should I do?
Please contact us at 508-347-0276 or osved@osv.org to register your child for a bagged lunch. They are available for $43 a week, or $25.80 for the three-day program. Lunches can only be purchased for the entirety of your child’s program, and not for partial weeks.
9. My child has allergies. What should I take into consideration?
Our 19th-century agricultural environment contains many common allergens such as pollen, dust, bees, nuts, animals, etc. We are unable to alter activities to prevent exposure to these conditions. If your child is prone to life-threatening allergies and is likely to require medical attention in such an environment, you may wish to reconsider participation in this program. Please note that employees of Old Sturbridge Village are not licensed to distribute or administer medications of any type.
10. Will I be able to visit my child during the day?
Yes! If parents wish to visit the Village during the program and are not Old Sturbridge Village members, we allow two adults per child to enter the Village for free. Visitors need to obtain a sticker from Discovery Adventures staff before entering the museum. For all other guests, reduced admission tickets are available at a special rate of $14.00 from the Main Entrance (OSV Visitor Center). (Siblings age 3-17 are admitted at the youth rate, $14.00). Children under 3 are admitted free.
If you plan to visit often, you may find it more economical to purchase a Village Membership. Please understand that for the participants to have a truly immersive experience, picture taking and contact with the children needs to be from a distance.
11. My child would like to do one of the Discovery Adventures programs but is not X age yet. Can they still join?
In order for a younger child to join one of the Discovery Adventures groups, they must turn the specified age by August 31st of that year.
12. What is the Village doing to protect my child during the COVID-19 pandemic?
We will take all possible safety precautions to ensure that we abide by the Massachusetts Department of Education and CDC guidelines. Please see here for more information on this topic. This document will be updated to reflect changing protocols in Massachusetts.
13. What if I have a question that isn't listed here?
Please call (508) 347-0274 or email osved@osv.org if you have any additional questions.
