Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Times: The Village is open from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm. Workshop times vary.
Join us for our November Home School Day on Wednesday, November 1! Home School Days offer you and your family the opportunity to explore the Village and participate in activities. This is a great opportunity for kids to gain exposure to many aspects of 1830s New England life in an interactive way. During this Home School Day, we will be exploring the harvest and preparations for one of the most important holidays in 1830s Massachusetts: Thanksgiving.
Register for one of the in-person programs with the Village’s knowledgeable staff or explore the Village on your own using self-guides, scavenger hunts, and more. All activities will take place at Museum Education, unless otherwise noted.
Admission and Ticketing
On Home School Day, homeschoolers (ages 4-17) get in at the discounted rate $12 and one adult is admitted per home school youth at the discounted rate of $17. Additional adults above the 1-to-1-ratio are admitted at the full rate of $30. As always, members get into the Village for free.
Workshops are an additional fee.
Click here to purchase standard daytime admission for November 1, 2023
Things to know:
- Unless otherwise noted, workshops will take place inside or outside the Museum Education building. You may park at Museum Education during the day; click here for directions.
- The Museum Education building closes to the public following workshops due to our afterschool program
- Home School Days are rain-or-shine programs.
- Pre-registration is required for all activities listed below, unless otherwise noted.
- All events are limited to 10 students, unless otherwise noted.
- Please respect the age requirements for the workshops. They are set for the benefit of our educators and all program participants.
- These are not drop-in programs and our staff will have a list of registrants for each workshop.
- 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.
- Students’ guardians must stay in close proximity of the program location for the entire duration of the activity for safety reasons.
- Workshop times are approximate. Please stay close by during your child’s workshop.
- Meeting locations for these workshops may change. Stay tuned to your email or signage at the Visitor Center on the day of the program for any potential location changes.
- When visiting the Village, please note that children must be accompanied by an adult when visiting the Miner Grant Store or Ox & Yoke Mercantile. Guests are welcome to eat at picnic tables around the campus but due to limited space, guests are not permitted to dine in the Bullard Café unless purchasing food.
Check back the week prior to the event for more information on in-Village activities.
Hands-On Workshops
Hearth cooking: Sarah Josepha Hale’s Tunbridge Cakes | 50 Minutes | $7
Register for 10:00 (Ages 10+)
Register for 11:00 (Ages 8+)
Register for 1:00 (Ages 6+) SOLD OUT
Follow a 19th-century “receipt” for Tunbridge cakes, a delicious, buttery cookie. This particular receipt is from Sarah Josepha Hale’s cookbook 1839 The Good Housekeeper. Besides being an author and activist, Hale was also one of the earliest champions of Thanksgiving as a national holiday! For a Thanksgiving twist, we’ll use a seasonal cookie cutter to cut out our cake. While the little cakes bake, we’ll talk about Hale and Thanksgiving traditions in the 1830s. Ingredients will include: flour, butter, sugar, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, rosewater, caraway seeds
Hearth cooking: Apple Sauce and Cranberry Sauce | 50 Minutes | $7
Register for 10:00 (Ages 10+)
Register for 11:00 (Ages 8+)
Register for 1:00 (Ages 6+)
Using 18th-century kitchen implements and tools, we’ll together by the hearth to follow two 19th-century “receipts” for apple sauce and cranberry sauce. While the sauces simmer, we’ll discuss Thanksgiving traditions in the 19th century. Ingredients will include: apples, cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg
Autumnal Reverse Glass | 50 Minutes | $7
Register for 10:00 (Ages 10+) SOLD OUT
Register for 11:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
Register for 1:00 (Ages 6+)
Reverse glass painting was a very popular form of decoration in the early 1800s. Participants will learn a little about decorative arts in the 1830s, then celebrate autumn by creating this period-inspired artwork painted directly on glass.
Marble Madness | 50 Minutes | $7
Register for 10:00 (Ages 10+)
Register for 11:00 (Ages 6+)
Register for 1:00 (Ages 8+)
Learn all about the ancient game of marbles! From aggies to jaspers, we will explore marble slang and play fun marble games. We will also make our own marbles from clay and a decorative bag to store them in!
Make a Spaddle | 50 Minutes | $7
Register for 10:00 (Ages 9+)
Register for 11:00 (Ages 9+) SOLD OUT
Practice your basic woodworking skills to make a spaddle, a simple kitchen tool that will help you as you prepare your Thanksgiving feast. Participants will use saws and drawknives to craft this tool.
Stories and Crafts: Ada Twist: Scientist | 50 Minutes | $7
Enjoy storytime with a classic picture book, then try out an activity relating to the tale. After reading this delightful tale about the inquisitive and persistent Ada Twist, we’ll try out a few of our own STEM-based experiments. Along the way, we’ll talk about inventions and scientific discoveries during the Village’s time period.
Stories and Crafts: First Blade of Sweetgrass | 50 Minutes | $7
Register for 11:00 (Ages 5+) SOLD OUT
Enjoy storytime with a classic picture book, then try out an activity relating to the tale. Together, we will read this sweet tale about a young girl who learns how to gather and weave sweetgrass into baskets from her grandmother. After the story, we will learn a little about the Indigenous peoples who lived (and still live) in the Sturbridge area and do a weaving craft.
Stories and Crafts: The Pinecone Walk | 50 Minutes | $7
Enjoy storytime with a classic picture book, then try out an activity relating to the tale. Pinecones are a symbol of autumn and you will find them scattering the woodland floor as well as neighborhoods and backyards. Students will listen to the story The Pinecone Walk by Barbara Springfield. Then, students will observe different types of pinecones found in the region and conduct an experiment using them. Finally, students will make their own pinecone garland to take home.
Stories and Crafts: Mrs. Maple’s Seeds | 50 Minutes | $7
Enjoy storytime with a classic picture book, then try out an activity relating to the tale. Together, we will read the picture book Mrs. Maple’s Seeds. Then, learn a little bit about the fall harvest season in the 1830s and make a leaf craft inspired by the story!
All About Cranberries | 50 Minutes | $7
Register for 10:00 (Ages 6+)
Register for 11:00 (Ages 6+)
Register for 1:00 (Ages 8+)
In the fall, the mighty cranberry takes center stage. In this workshop about this tart New England native fruit, students will learn about its importance in cooking and trade in the 19th century and earlier. Together we’ll make a small cranberry bog to see the unique way the cranberry grows, sample these tangy berries, and more.
Art from Nature: Nature Printing on Fabric | 50 Minutes | $7
Register for 10:00 (Ages 8+)
Register for 11:00 (Ages 10+)
Register for 1:00 (Ages 6+)
In the 1830s, many people used natural materials to create gifts, clothing, and more. From decorative boxes covered in shells, to shawls made from milkweed, participants will look at examples of art utilizing natural materials from the collection. Then, we will print on fabric, experimenting with leaves, produce, and other textures.
Cold Season | 50 Minutes | $7
Register for 10:00 (Ages 6+)
Register for 11:00 (Ages 8+)
Register for 1:00 (Ages 6+)
In the 1800s, people didn’t have the same ideas about illness and medicine that we do today. There was no theory about germs yet! As cold season rolls in, we will learn about how people treated ailments using herbal medicine and other cures you may have never heard of. We will also explore some of the ways that 19th-century people kept warm during the freezing winter.
Fall Embroidery | 50 Minutes | $7
Register for 10:00 (Ages 6+)
Register for 11:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
Meant for small hands and first-time sewers, this workshop will teach participants basic stitching as they sew a fall-themed embroidery with yarn and leaves. See images of embroidery from the collection, too!
Herbal Detectives | 50 minutes | $7
Register for 10:00 (Ages 5+) SOLD OUT
Register for 11:00 (Ages 5+) SOLD OUT
A sensory lesson involving fresh and dried culinary and medicinal herbs. Students will become herbal detectives by exploring different varieties of herbs using their observational skills and their five senses. Then, students will measure, mix, and make their own herbal playdough using the herbs they just learned about. We’ll also talk a little about how people in the 1830s utilized herbs in their everyday lives.
Magnificent Miniatures | 90 Minutes | $10
Register for 1:00 (Ages 10+) (note: meets outside the Clock Gallery in the Visitor Center)
OSV’s collection has many examples of adorable miniatures from the 1800s: from tiny waffle irons to minuscule chairs. Participants in this workshop will look at some of these fascinating toys from the Village’s period with a member of the museum’s curatorial staff and then craft their own miniatures from clay and fabric.
Hearth Cooking: Chicken Pie and Cranberry Sauce | 90 Minutes | $10
Work together in front of the hearth to make chicken pie, a 19th-century Thanksgiving receipt from Worcester native Esther Howland’s cookbook The New England Economical Housekeeper (1845). While the pie bakes, we’ll talk about Esther Howland herself, as well as Thanksgiving traditions during the period and how people celebrated this very important day. Ingredients will include chicken, cranberries, sugar, flour, butter, milk, and vegetables.
Hearth Cooking: Marlborough Pudding | 90 Minutes | $10
Register for 1:00 (Ages 10+) SOLD OUT
Work together in front of the hearth to make Marlborough Pudding, a popular Thanksgiving dessert from the 1830s. While the pie bakes, we’ll talk about Thanksgiving traditions during the period and how people celebrated this very important day. Ingredients will include: apples, lemon, sugar, eggs, heavy cream, flour, butter, nutmeg
Sew a Pieced Pincushion | 90 Minutes | $10
Register for 10:30 (Ages 10+) SOLD OUT
If you’ve tried out a few sewing projects and can’t wait to do more, this workshop is for you! Building on prior sewing workshops, participants will create a useful, hand-sewn pieced pincushion to hold their pins and needles.
Forge Ahead! | 90 Minutes | $10
Visit OSV’s blacksmith shop to learn about the tools and methods used to shape hot iron. Then, using the same strategies, try your own forging with some cold clay, the same way beginner blacksmiths learn their trade.
Village Tour: Harvest Time | 90 Minutes | $10
Register for 1:00 (Ages 6+) SOLD OUT
Take a tour around the Village led by a knowledgeable museum educator. The fall was a pivotal time for farm families in the 19th century. As we travel around the museum, we’ll learn how people prepared for the long, New England winter. We’ll also see what is happening in the Village kitchens people ready for one of the most important 19th-century holidays: Thanksgiving. Please note: this tour involves a lot of walking and will last about 1.5 hours. Adults are welcome to join on the tour, but registration slots are for students only.
