Educational Programming
For 70 years, Museum Village has been strongly committed to education and offering engaging hands-on activities and learning experiences to students and families on-site.
We welcome school and homeschool groups to the Village, and have implemented a new Village Sampler with a scheduled itinerary, limited capacity, and limited contact safety measures in place.
What To Know Before Your Visit
FACE COVERINGS
ALL VISITORS (students, parents, educators, chaperones) participating in our Village Sampler Guided Tour are required to wear acceptable face coverings both inside and outside of the buildings at all times while on the tour. This is for the health and safety of both our staff and visitors.
INTERPRETERS
The historic interpreter/ tour guide will give their educational talk outside of each building, and then no more than 5 students/visitors at a time may do a brief walk- through of each building to view the artifacts and exhibits before moving onto the next building.
EXHIBITS
Please DO NOT TOUCH anything while inside of the Museum buildings. This includes artifacts, counters, display cases, glass, signage, stanchions, and ropes.
CELL PHONES
We ask that you please do not use your cell phone during the educational talks, and keep ringers on silent or vibrate.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photos of your day at the Museum are allowed and encouraged.
NO VIDEO
Please do not take videos of our historic interpreters, tour guides, or staff.
Village Sampler Guided Tour Itinerary
9:45 am
Group check-in at Visitors Center.
10:00 am
Tour introduction outside of Visitors Center.
10:15 am
Vernon Drug Store - At the Museum’s drug store, you will learn about health and medicine during the 19th century, and how important the pharmacist was to a rural village during this time period.
10:30 am
Log Cabin - Visitors to our original late 18th century log cabin will learn how a family lived in a small one-room building with no modern conveniences.
10:45 am
Natural History - Our Natural History building focuses on the natural world, and is arranged to resemble a Victorian “Cabinet of Curiosities.” This building houses our mastodon, Harry, who is approximately 14,000 years old!
11:00 am
Print Shop - In our Monroe Journal print shop, you will see various types of historic printing presses and machines, and explore the importance of printed and written communication during the 19th century.
11:15 am - 11:45 am
LUNCH BREAK
11:50 am - 11:55 am
Reconvene outside of Weave Shop
12:00 noon
Weave Shop - At the museum’s James Alexander Weave Shop, you will learn about how fabric and textiles were created by hand and with hand powered machines.
12:15 pm
Merritt General Store - At our General Store, you will learn what people in the 19th century bought and used in their everyday lives, and about the village general store as a community gathering place.
12:30 PM
Broom Shop - At the Broom Shop, you will hear about what brooms were made of before the advent of plastic, how they were made on a hand machine, and about different types of brooms.
12:45 PM
Schoolhouse - The Museum’s schoolhouse is a reimagining of the 1805 Monroe Stone Schoolhouse. When you come to our schoolhouse, you will find out what education was like in the 19th century, and how different it was from school today, for both students and teachers.
1:00 PM
Candle Shop - Our Belknap & McCann Candle Shop is named after a 19th century candle and soap factory which was located in Newburgh, NY. Here, you will discover historic candle-making materials and techniques, and why candles were so important during our time period.
1:15 PM - 1:45 PM
Question & Answer session on the Village Green with historic interpreter and Education Director and/ or Gift Shop use
2:00 PM
End of visit.
COMING SOON!
As education shifts its focus to utilize fully remote and hybrid models, Museum Village, too, is adapting and improving our online and off-site Educational Programming offerings to meet the needs of educators, students, and homeschool families.
You will soon find more supplemental educational materials, interactive quizzes, and a museum blog to use in conjunction with your in-person visit, lesson plan, or remotely/at home. Additionally, we are developing an off-site Education Program, where our Education and Collections staff will safely come to YOU with artifacts and engaging educational historic talks! Keep an eye on our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and our website, www.museumvillage.org, for updates!
