Field Trips: Hands-On Workshops

Field Trip: Hands-On Workshops | Book Now!

New for the 2025/26 school year, Old Sturbridge Village will be marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by incorporating updates and modifications to most hands-on workshops. Explore the ways that printers and writers were pivotal to spreading the message of the Declaration, see how New Englanders remembered the Revolution through food and art, and learn about how Americans embraced a rapidly changing country. Learn more about workshop options and what to expect if you book a workshop below.

Students will try their hand at authentic 19th-century activities, mirroring the work of our costumed historians throughout the Village. From cooking over a hearth to weaving on a loom to writing with quill pens, these tactile experiences forge a tangible connection between past and present, helping students draw meaningful connections to their lives today.

Workshops are approximately 50 minutes.

Recommended for 1st through 12th grades. Minimum of 10 students.

Embark on a journey through 200 acres of living, breathing history. As you explore Old Sturbridge Village’s authentic 19th-century landscape, you’ll encounter costumed historians, period buildings, and heritage animals that transport you back in time. Whether you’re visiting for a few hours or a full day, our online resources allow you to curate a personalized adventure that brings New England’s past vividly to life. Perfect for schools, scout troops, homeschool groups, and other youth groups!

Recommended for K through 12th grades.

Students………………………………………………$17

Chaperones…………………………………………$17

Chaperones include parents, guardians, and other adults accompanying the trip who are not employed by the booking school.

Teacher/Youth Group Leader…………..FREE

Teachers include classroom teachers, school administrators, nurses, aides, and any school personnel accompanying the group during their trip. For Homeschool groups, one adult is admitted FREE per 10 students.

* Minimum total fee of $170 is required.

We welcome chaperones but ask that you please share this guide with all teachers and chaperones attending the field trip.

Book Now!

Hands-On Workshop Options

Important Things to Know About Hands-On Workshops

Educators may request specific workshops for their groups, but we may not be able to fulfill all requests, especially during busier times of the year. Indicate any requests in the notes field on your reservation.
Students will participate in one, 50-minute workshop, unless you have reserved multiple workshop times.
We are always experimenting with new workshops and hands-on activities. Email us at [email protected] for more information!
Additional 250th-themed workshops are coming in January 2026.

Home | Grades K-12

In the years following the Revolutionary War, American food changed in the same way that politics and society did. With names like Independence and Washington cake, integration of native crops, and inspiration from Indigenous and African culture, cooks in the Early Republic forged a new American cuisine. Participants in these workshops will learn about the ways that food changed in this integral period while working together to make a sweet treat over an open hearth. Led by a museum educator, students make a snack using 19th-century recipes (or receipts, as they were known in the 1830s). Participants read and interpret the recipe, measure ingredients, and get hands-on cooking experience. While the snack is cooking, educators orient students to 19th-century foodways and compare and contrast them with their lives today.

Depending on the season, topics may include:

Food preservation and the seasonality of food in the 1830s
Children’s chores; gender roles in farming families
Herbal remedies
Exploration and examination of historic kitchen tools

Recipes may vary based on the season (for example, apples during the fall, maple in the spring)

Please note: Recipes used in this workshop will include common food allergens like wheat, dairy, and eggs. Our kitchens are not allergen-free. This workshop is not recommended for groups with many food allergies or restrictions.

Textiles | Grades 2-12

Participants in the textile workshop walk through the steps of wool processing, from the shearing of sheep to weaving fabric. The 1830s were a time of great technological and industrial change in America. Even in Sturbridge, where sheep outnumbered people, several textile factories popped up along the rivers to speed up the textile-making process. Museum educators instruct students in several hands-on tasks–carding wool, trying out a spinning wheel, and weaving on a loom–while discussing the transition of homespun goods to textile factories during the Industrial Revolution. Look closely at a quilt from OSV’s collection, made to commemorate the Declaration of Independence, then talk about ways that people remembered the Revolution in the Village’s period. Educators will take home supplies to make a paper commemorative quilt for the classroom.

Other topics may include:

19th-century clothing and how it was made, where it came from, and what fibers were used to make it in comparison to today’s clothing
The cleaning and dyeing of textiles
Children’s chores
Slavery and its connection to the Northern states
Farming and agriculture; economics

Farm and Garden | Grades K-8

For many people, daily life in rural New England rotated around the farmer’s year. In an area like Sturbridge, most families had at least a small farm or garden. Participants in this workshop will try out several agriculture or horticulture activities related to the farmer’s year. During the spring, students work with historic gardening tools in raised beds, plant seeds to take home, and work together to assemble a model split-rail fence, among other activities. In the fall, explore two important tasks for harvest season: converting apples to cider, and processing dried corn into cornmeal.

Other topics may include:

Food preservation
Indigenous foodways and horticulture practices
Children’s chores; gender roles on the farm
Environmentalism and the changing landscape

Print | Grades K-12

“In establishing American independence, the pen and press had merit equal to that of the sword.”

–David Ramsay

In the years around and following the Revolutionary War, printers held a very important role in their communities. Printing books, pamphlets, newspapers, invitations, and broadsides, printers played a vital part in the communication and spread of information. In this workshop, participants will explore the printing through few hands-on activities related to the printed word. Museum educators guide students through paper marbling, quill pen writing (using the Declaration of Independence as a model), and using a printing press. Younger students may use slates for writing and block prints for printing.

Other topics may include:

Education and literacy
Apprenticeships and choosing a trade
The role of women and People of Color in the print shop
Technological changes and communication
Publications and the memory of the Revolutionary War

Woodworking | Grades K-12

In the woodworking workshop, students explore two different activities to learn more about woodworking trades in the 1830s. In one activity, participants use their measuring and spatial skills, as well as period hand tools, to create a small wood project to take home with them. In the second activity, the group works together to follow a plan to assemble a small timberframe structure while learning about the many different types of woodworking that were part of everyday life in the 1800s.

Other topics may include:

Simple machines
Woodworking tools and their uses; trades in the 1830s
The changing landscape and attitudes about the environment compared to today

Games | Grades K-4

Life for children in the 1830s wasn’t all chores and hard work. Children still had time to play, often making use of homemade toys and games. Participants in this workshop explore games and toys from the 1800s before making their own toy to bring home. Younger participants sand and paint small wooden houses, based on toys in OSV’s collection; and older students make a 9-Men’s Morris board and learn how to play this ancient game of strategy. The session ends with outdoor play, weather permitting.

Other topics may include:

Children’s life and chores, especially compared to today
Jobs in the 1800s
Education
Economics–where did the toys come from? Who bought toys, and who made them?

What to Expect: Hands-On Workshops Guide for Educators

Registering for a Hands-On Workshop:

On the Explorable Places registration site, you will be able to see where there is workshop availability and choose slots for your class. A few things to note about registering:

Each workshop is for a class-sized group. If you are bringing four classes of students on your field trip, you will register for four workshop slots.
Right now, we do not have the capability to allow teachers to choose specific workshops for their class. You can make requests on the form, however!
Workshops are 50 minutes long.
Each class participates in only ONE workshop during their session. They do not rotate between workshops.
Workshop themes are: hearth cooking, printing, textiles, farm and garden, woodworking, and games. See descriptions of each of these workshops here.

Before Your Visit:

The workshop schedule is determined the week before your visit. If you would like to know which workshops your group will be participating in during your visit, please email us at [email protected]. The workshop schedule is subject to change.

Make sure to review and share the Chaperone Guide to OSV.

When You Arrive:

When you arrive at Museum Education, your buses will be greeted by Museum Educators, who will lay out the guidelines for your visit. The lead teacher should head inside Museum Education to the ticketing office, where they will confirm numbers, pay for the visit (if necessary), and receive maps and stickers for chaperones. Please make sure that you know the exact numbers of students, non-teacher chaperones, and school staff chaperones before coming to check in. No refunds will be made for drops in visitor numbers.

In the ticketing office, OSV staff will remind you of your workshop times. On rare occasions, we have to make last-minute adjustments to the workshop schedule due to cancelations, late arrivals, etc. Thank you in advance for your patience!

If you brought lunches, students can put those in the lunchroom on the metal shelves before heading into the Village. On busy field trip visitation days, you may receive an assigned lunchtime at check-in.

Please make sure to dispose of any trash or cardboard containers after lunch.

Workshops:

At the time of your workshop, please return to Museum Education. Outside the entrance, you will find A-frame whiteboards with the time, name of your school, and then the class (ie. Class 1, Mr. Smith’s class, etc.). Have your classes line up behind the correct sign. A staff member will bring each group into the building, one at a time, to start their activity.

During some of the workshops (farm and garden, hearth cooking, and woodworking), the class will be divided even further into two smaller groups. The two groups will be doing the same activities, just in a different order.

Chaperones may be asked to assist with some activities during the workshops.

If you are planning on eating lunch during your visit, make sure that students leave enough time to eat before heading over to their workshops. Most groups store lunches in the Museum Education lunchroom upon arrival.

After Your Workshop and Visit:

If your workshop involved a take-home element that you left at Museum Education after the workshop (for example, marbled paper that was left to dry), make sure to stop by the project pick-up at Museum Ed to get your students’ items. They will be labeled with the time and workshop. Please take all of the materials, not just a particular student’s work.

Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or comments, and we look forward to your visit!

Important Notes for In-Person Field Trips:

Limited, non-refrigerated, sheltered lunch storage and eating space is available on a first-come, first-served basis in the Lunch Room by the Museum Education Center.
Outdoor picnic tables are available on a seasonal basis throughout the Village campus.
Due to limited space, school groups are not allowed to dine in the Bullard Café unless purchasing food.
Groups are welcome at the gift shop; chaperones must accompany students inside.
Before booking, please review our policies regarding payment, rescheduling, and canceling here.
Please see our chaperone guide, map to the Museum Ed Building, and other Educator Resources for more “know before you go” information.
Thinking about or trying to justify a field trip to OSV to your school administrators? See our “Why Take a Field Trip to Old Sturbridge Village?” document here.
Contact us at [email protected] to get a free visit to the Village to see if it’s right for your students

Three students walk side by side down the road

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