Homeschoolers are invited to join us one or both of our popular civics programs designed for youth ages 10 and up!
You may also be interested in the winter sessions of advanced craft workshops for ages 13 and up! Click here to learn more.
Things to know:
- Please let us know as soon as possible if you need to cancel your workshop tickets. As these workshops are in high demand, refunds for workshop fees will only be given up to one week prior to the event date, or in the case of cancellation by Old Sturbridge Village.
- Unless otherwise noted, these programs will take place inside the Museum Education building.
- This program meets at the Museum Education Building. Please park in the Museum Education parking lot. For details, download this map.
- OSV’s programs are rain or shine. In the case of inclement weather, we will reach out to reschedule the program.
- Adults wishing to visit the Village on these dates can purchase admission at the homeschool rate the day of the program.
Abolition and Social Change in 19th-Century New England
Date: Friday, February 2
Time: 9:30-12:30
Ages 10+
Meets at Museum Education
Limit to 25 students
Price: $18
Click here to register
Through primary sources and interactive experiences throughout the Village, students will learn about the ways in which the Northern states participated in the institution of slavery in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as well as the ways that some people fought against this system. Focusing on the 19th-century abolitionist movement, participants in this program will piece together a larger picture of the impact of slavery in a town like Sturbridge in the 1830s.
Students will begin with an educator-led lesson that explores Northern attitudes and complicity in the institution of slavery. In small groups, they will then visit specific sites in the Museum to look at primary sources. They will think deeply about the factors that influence their everyday choices and how they can use their own voices to create radical change. The program concludes with a guided discussion.
Town Meeting: The Poor Farm
Date: Friday, March 1
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Ages: 10+
Meets at Museum Education
Limit to 25 students
Price: $18
Click here to register
Students will participate in a modified version of our Town Meeting. In this civics-focused program, students participate in a mock town meeting where they explore the function of local government. The program explores the essential question “How should our town care for its poorest citizens?”
Led by museum educators, students will learn about the nature of poverty in the 19th century and the ways in which New England towns took care of those in need. After the lesson, students interview Villagers and gather different points of view. Finally, the group will convene at the Center Meetinghouse for a Town Meeting, led by a costumed educator, where they debate and vote on the issue. This interactive program encourages students to think critically, form arguments, and back up their opinions using historical information.
Homeschoolers are invited to join us one or both of our popular civics programs designed for youth ages 10 and up! You may also be interested in the winter sessions of advanced craft workshops for ages 13 and up! Click here to learn more. Things to know: Please let… Read More
Homeschoolers ages 13 and up are invited to join us for themed, advanced craft workshops! These workshops will explore seasonal themes and incorporate items from OSV’s collections, the natural world around the museum, and contemporary and 19th-century issues. You may also be interested in the winter sessions of our popular… Read More
Have you taken your metal working merit badge but want more forge time? Reinforce your skills and gain more in the next level course? Go past basics as we do a deeper dive into blacksmith work. Space is limited to 4 Scouts. All 4 spaces must be filled in order… Read More
On Sunday, November 26, 2023, join us for a book signing at Ox & Yoke Mercantile with author of Twas the Night; the Art and History of the Classic Christmas Poem, Pamela McColl. Copies of the book and the Bicentennial Keepsake Edition of Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore will… Read More
MEMBERS ONLY 2023 Edition of the Old Sturbridge Village Ornament Collection featuring the Allen Piggery, Handpainted in the USA! Get a head start on your holiday shopping! The Gift Shops at Old Sturbridge Village invite members for a special weekend of shopping and extra savings! All current members receive… Read More
Work together in front of an open hearth to prepare a meal using 19th-century receipts, methods, and utensils. While you cook and eat, participants will learn more about foodways and dining etiquette from the 1830s. The evening’s menu will include: pounded cheese with crackers, winter vegetable soup, pork roast, apple sauce, potatoes escalloped,… Read More
MEMBERS ONLY | Not a member? Join Today! What images come to mind when you think of the circus? Elephants and lion-tamers? A “big-top” tent? Clowns? Trapeze acts? Human “freak” shows? Showman P.T. Barnum and “The Greatest Show on Earth?” Join Historian and Curator of Mechanical Arts, Tom Kelleher, as… Read More
Join us for a bone-chilling tour of our collections storage building, which houses most of our more than 40,000 artifacts made or used by rural New Englanders between 1790 and 1840. In this hour-long tour, you will be introduced to many of our more frightening objects, such as medical equipment,… Read More
MEMBERS ONLY Not a member? Join today! With only a map and a tattered journal at their side, young historians and their families will travel back in time and take part in a mysterious, candlelit adventure through the 1830s. The quest will exercise their detective skills as they hunt for… Read More
MEMBERS ONLY Not a member? Join today! Join us for our annual Old Sturbridge Village Singers’ concert in the Center Meetinghouse. The night will also feature our kiln firing and members can take a ride on the horse-drawn carryall. Pre-registration is required; $15 per person. Register for… Read More