Old Sturbridge Village

Take a Trip Back in Time to Old Sturbridge Village

By Diana Erbio

Exhibitions and programs are always being added so visitors can experience the past in new ways. Samson's Children's Museum is geared to children younger than 8. There is a playhouse, with a pretend hearth, fireplace and cooking tools. There is a one-room school with benches and slates, and a costume try-on space where children can dress as they did over a century ago. There is even a computer station where kids can design their own quilt blocks. How's that for melding the old with the new?

Each season brings something new to Old Sturbridge Village. Spring brings baby lambs and naked sheep. (The sheep are sheared during the museum's annual "Shearing, Spinning and Weaving" event held in May.) Summer offers fairs and an old-fashioned Independence Day celebration. Fall activities focus on harvesting, preserving and storing food, and in December there is a holiday program called "The Beginnings of a New England Christmas" that takes a look at how Christmas was celebrated in 19th-century New England.

The New Englanders of the 1830s held puritanical views. What you hearthem say may surprise you. During the holiday season they gossip about "outlandish practices" in New York City, such as Christmas trees and gift-giving because it was not until the 1880s that New Englanders joined other American communities in the Christmas festivities we think of as traditional today.

Want to see more?

• Talk about it!
• Check out our Article Library.
• Bar Harbor, Maine: Finding European Grace in New England
• A Royal Getaway: Visiting Biltmore – an American Castle
• Revolutionary Fun in Boston: Get Brainy in Boston, Massachusetts