Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Times: The Village is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Workshop times vary.
Cost: 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 to cover materials and staffing.
Join us for our June Home School Day on Wednesday, June 25! Home School Days offer you and your family the opportunity to explore the Village and participate in hands-on activities. Sign up for a workshop or explore the Village on your own using one of our many self-guides and scavenger hunts, available at both Museum Education and the Visitor Center.
During this Home School Day, activities will focus on cows and dairying in honor of CowParade at the Village. Make a receipt with milk and butter, craft a beautiful bovine from fabric and tin, or plant a bean with spots. In the Village, participate in a fun game or competition as part of OSV’s Family Field Days!
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.
Purchase admission for Home School Day on June 25, 2025
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
Workshop Shorties | 30 Minutes | $5
Enjoy a quick and fun activity, accompanied by a dash of history.
Sign up for 10:00 | Make a Punched Tin Cow Ornament (Ages 5+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 10:45 | Make a Punched Tin Cow Ornament (Ages 5+)
Sign up for 11:30 | Block Print a Cow Postcard (Ages 5+)
Sign up for 12:15 | Block Print a Cow Postcard (Ages 5+)
Sign up for 1:30 | Make a Soft Cheese (Ages 5+)
Sign up for 2:15 | Make a Soft Cheese (Ages 5+)
Hearth Cooking: Cow Cakes | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 6+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 10+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
Work together to bake cookies over an open hearth! During this workshop, we will follow a 19th-century receipt for Albany Cakes. Traditionally cut in the shape of a circle or a heart, we’ll shake things up and make cow-shaped little cakes. Ingredients will include: flour, sugar, butter, flour, cream, egg, rose water, cinnamon
Letterboxing | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 10+)
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 8+)
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 8+)
Hone your detective skills with this fun introduction to letterboxing! We’ll talk about the history of this activity, work on puzzles, make our own unique letterboxing stamp, and then search for a nearby letterbox.
Cow Penny Rug | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 8+)
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 10+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 6+) SOLD OUT
Practice your sewing skills as you make a simple penny rug, embellished with a cow! A penny rug is a small, decorative mat, made from colorful fabric scraps. Participants will learn a blanket stitch and see examples of other decorative textiles from the Village’s collection, with older students attempting a slightly more complex project.
Make a Simple Journal | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 6+) SOLD OUT
Use period bookbinding techniques to create a simple journal for recording all your summer adventures. Participants will also marble paper for the cover of their journal and practice writing with a quill pen.
Make a Wooden Sailboat | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 10+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 8+)
Together, we’ll learn a little about toys and games in the 1830s, then assemble this simple but fun wooden boat toy.
Plant a Cattle Bean | 50 Minutes | $7
Did you know that there is a bean named after cows because of its speckled white and red shell? We’ll plant a Jacob’s Cattle Bean to take home, then talk about what is growing in the Village’s gardens. Weed in the Museum Education gardens and try out garden tools!
Paint a Flowerpot | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 10+)
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 8+)
It’s spring! Participants will learn about what is growing in the Village’s gardens, work in the Museum Education garden, and then decorate a redware flower pot and plant your own flowers to take home.
Marble Madness | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 8+)
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 6+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
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!
Stories and Crafts: Bird Girl: Gene Stratton-Porter Shares Her Love of Nature with the World | 50 Minutes | $7
Enjoy storytime with a classic picture book, then try out a craft relating to the tale. After reading this picture book about the life of 19th-century nature photographer and writer Gene Stratton-Porter, we’ll examine some bird artifacts in the museum’s collection and talk about how people in the 1830s observed and preserved nature. Then, make a bird reverse glass picture to take home!
Stories and Crafts: Planting a Rainbow | 50 Minutes | $7
Enjoy storytime with a classic picture book, then try out a craft relating to the tale. Together, we’ll read Planting a Rainbow, a flower-focused tale by Lois Ehlert. After we learn about bulbs, seeds, and seedlings, we’ll paint a colorful craft to take home.
Stories and Crafts: The Man Who Didn't Like Animals | 50 Minutes | $7
Enjoy storytime with a classic picture book, then try out a craft relating to the tale. We will read this funny tale about a man who thinks he doesn’t like animals, until the animals don’t stop showing up at his house! Then, learn about the barns at Old Sturbridge Village and the animals that inhabit them and make an animal-themed craft from felt.
Extended Open-Hearth Cooking: Strawberry Tart | 90 Minutes | $12
Sign up for 10:30 (Ages 10+) SOLD OUT
Work together to cook a tart using seasonal fruits! During this workshop, we will follow a 19th-century receipt for a strawberry tart. While the tart is baking, we’ll discuss what is growing in the gardens, gender roles on the farm, and more. Ingredients will include: strawberries, raspberries, sugar, butter, flour, cream
Extended Open-Hearth Cooking: Custard Pudding | 90 Minutes | $12
Enjoy a dairy-filled dessert! During this workshop, we will follow a 19th-century receipt for a custard pudding. While the pudding is cooking in a pudding bag, we’ll discuss the ways that 19th-century people used and preserved dairy, and more. Ingredients will include: eggs, milk, sugar, nutmeg, butter, flour, salt
Make a Butter Paddle and Butter | 90 Minutes | $12
Sign up for 10:30 (Ages 10+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 10+)
It’s a butter extravaganza! Participants in this workshop will first hone their woodworking skills by making a butter paddle, a small spatula to help separate the butter from buttermilk. Afterwards, we’ll make our own butter and enjoy a snack while hearing about women’s role in dairying during the 1830s.
Tour: CowParade and Creating Public Art | 90 Minutes
This tour has been canceled but will be available as a drop-in program at 1:00 p.m., included with standard daytime admission or membership.
Join an educator on a tour to look at some of the Village’s new CowParade herd! Participants will look closely at these artistic bovines, discuss the importance of public art, and then get creative as they make something that represents their own communities!
Make a Friendship Album | 90 Minutes | $12
Summer is a great time to meet new friends. During this workshop, participants will learn about the 19th-century custom of creating and sharing friendship albums, a place to record messages, art, and other tokens of friendship. Practice bookbinding, marbling, watercolor painting, and calligraphy as you create your album.