Friday, January 17, 2025
Times: The Village is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 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 first Home School Day of 2025 on January 17! During these home school days, participants will learn about what life was like for New Englanders during the cold, long days of winter. What food and drink warmed their souls, and what clothing kept them safe from the chill? How did they stay entertained, and what work was necessary during this time of year?
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.
Please note: In January, the Museum will open to the public at 10:00am.
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 January 17, 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 | Block Printing (Ages 5)
Sign up for 10:45 | Block Printing (Ages 5+)
Sign up for 11:30 | Candle Dipping (Ages 5+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 12:15 | Candle Dipping (Ages 5+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 1:30 | Play with Clay (Ages 5+)
Stories and Crafts: Ten Ways to See Snow | 50 Minutes | $7
Enjoy storytime with a classic picture book, then try out a craft relating to the tale.
Together we’ll read this beautifully illustrated tale about enjoying the quiet of winter. After, we’ll talk a little about what 19th-century people did when it was cold and snowy out, then do a craft and activity that engages our senses.
Stories and Crafts: A Hat for Mrs. Goldman: A Story about Knitting and Love | 50 Minutes | $7
Enjoy storytime with a classic picture book, then try out a craft relating to the tale.
After reading this sweet story about caring for your neighbors through knitting, we will look at some knitted objects from the Village’s collection. How did people keep warm when the weather turned cold? Then, make a pom-pom craft.
Stories and Crafts: Mice Skating | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 5+) SOLD OUT
Enjoy storytime with a classic picture book, then try out a craft relating to the tale.
Ice skating was a very popular winter pastime in the 1830s. After reading this story about a mouse that just wants to enjoy the beauty of winter, we’ll look at some pairs of ice skates from the OSV collection. Conduct an experiment with ice, and then make an icy craft to take home.
The Quilt Story | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 6+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 8+)
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 6+)
After reading this classic story illustrated by Tomie DePaola, participants in this workshop will look at examples of quilts from the Village’s collection before crafting their own simple quilt square from fabric.
Hearth Cooking: New Year’s Cookies | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 10+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 6+) SOLD OUT
We’ll follow a 19th-century “receipt” for New Year’s cookies from The American Housewife, an early 19th-century cookbook. While the cookies bake in front of the hearth, we will talk about how people in the 1830s celebrated the New Year and how they occupied their time in the winter. Ingredients will include: flour, sugar, butter, egg, nutmeg, caraway seeds, milk, apple cider
Hearth Cooking: Potato Cakes | 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 6+) SOLD OUT
Together, we’ll follow a 19th-century “receipt” for Potato Cakes from Amelia Simmons’s 1796 cookbook American Cookery. During this time of year, farm families might have to dig deep into their root cellars to prepare meals. These savory cakes are a delicious, potato-filled treat. Ingredients will include: potatoes, butter, eggs, sugar, cider
Make a Terrarium | 50 Minutes | $8
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 8+). SOLD OUT
Terrariums are very popular now, but did you know that they were also popular in the 1830s?
Participants will learn about heirloom plants that have grown throughout the year in the gardens at OSV and plant an ornamental terrarium to take home with them.
Keeping Warm: Carding and Weaving | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 6+)
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 6+)
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 8+)
Without central heating in your home, it was essential that people in the 1830s wore very warm clothing. Learn about the clothing that people in the 19th century wore to keep warm in cold weather, then try your hand at carding and weaving.
Herbal Remedies | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 10+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 6+) SOLD OUT
Try out our newly revamped herbal remedies workshop! In the 1800s, women like Lydia Maria Child, Indigenous doctress Rhoda Rhodes, and countless others relied on herbs and plants from nature and their gardens to treat health ailments. Many people did not have access to doctors, so women took on a healing role in their families. Examining period books like The Frugal Housewife and The Family Nurse, we will learn about how people treated illnesses before cough medicine and antibiotics and then create our own small book of remedies.
Embossed Tin | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 10+)
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 8+) SOLD OUT
Embossing, or the process of creating a raised design, was a popular art form in the 19th century, used to embellish paper, metal, and leather. Use simple methods and tools to create an embossed tin work of art. Participants will look at tin items made in the Village that were important to people in the 1830s, as well as embossed artifacts from the collection.
Make a Marble Maze | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 8+)
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 6 +) SOLD OUT
Sometimes you need to stick with indoor games and amusements as the weather gets cold! Flex your woodworking skills by making this simple marble maze. We will learn about safe tool usage as we try out hammers, saws, and drills to make a simple toy.
Printing and Making a Ball Invitation | 50 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 10:00 (Ages 6+)
Sign up for 11:00 (Ages 8+)
Balls were a popular form of winter entertainment in the 1830s. Some balls even celebrated George Washington’s February birthday! We will look at ball invitations from OSV’s collections, learn about the printing trades in the 1800s, and then design and create our own ball invitations using modern woodblock printing methods.
Hearth Cooking: Sweet Potato Pudding | 90 Minutes | $12
Sign up for 10:30 (Ages 10+)
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 10+) SOLD OUT
Follow a 19th-century “receipt” for sweet potato pudding. While our sweet confection bakes, we will talk about food preservation and what kinds of foods New Englanders would have had access to in the depths of winter. Ingredients will include: sweet potato, eggs, sugar, butter, rosewater, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, apple juice
Making a Toy | 90 Minutes | $12
Sign up for 10:30 (Ages 9+) SOLD OUT
A member of the OSV collections team will join us to look at some toys from the Village’s time. Some toys in the 1830s were from the store, but many were homemade using everyday and recycled materials. After taking a look at these artifacts, participants will learn about toys and games in the 19th century and then make an historic toy to take home. Please note: This program will involve walking through the Village.
Make a Footstool | 90 Minutes | $12
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 10+) SOLD OUT
Use your woodworking skills to make a small footstool, perfect for resting your feet while you settle in by the fire with your favorite book.
Tour of the Printing Office and Simple Bookbinding | 90 Minutes | $12
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 9+) SOLD OUT
Take a behind-the-barrier tour of the Printing Office with the Village’s printer! We’ll learn about the life of a printer in the 1830s and try setting words in type. Afterwards, make a simple journal with a museum educator using traditional bookbinding methods. Please note: This program will involve walking through the Village.
Keeping Warm Tour | 90 Minutes | $7
Sign up for 1:00 (Ages 6+) SOLD OUT
How did people keep warm in cold weather in the 1830s? What did they do for entertainment, and what necessary work needed to be done during the quiet New England winter? Join an educator on a Village tour that explores day-to-day life during the colder months, and how 19th-century people kept toasty. Please note: this tour involves a lot of walking and will last about 1.5 hours. Adults may accompany children on this tour, but the registration spots are for students only.