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Lanterns & Legends
Learn some of South County’s creepiest history, including brazen murders, gruesome executions and supposed vampires during this Halloween theme tour of the old Washington County Jail. Take the chance to view grim artifacts not usually on display and explore the historic building in low lighting.
Tours will be offered on October 21st, 22nd, 28th and 29th at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Tours on Halloween, October 31st, will be offered at 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for Center members and students (including college).
Tickets must be purchased prior to the event.
Space is limited, and tours are expected to quickly sell out.
Lanterns may be purchased with ticket for an additional $7!
Haunted Candy House Workshop
Best for ages 4 and up.
Space is limited; registration is a must. Please contact Lindsay at 401-421-6970 orlshaw@provath.org to register.
Annual Cider Social
The annual Cider Social is a festive gathering for adults and children, alike! Children will enjoy the yummy cider and donuts, a candy haystack, and corn husk-doll making, while adults will delight in a local vendor showcase and booths sellling vintage and antique items donated by the community. Everyone can take free tours of Wilbor House and have the opportunity to play Cow Pie Bingo, as well as see this year’s special exhibition, “If Jane Should Want to Be Sold, Stories of Slavery, Indenture and Freedom in Little Compton, Rhode Island.”
The highlight of the day will be the Cow Pie Bingo event taking place between 3 and 4pm. A cow will be led onto a gridded field promptly at 3 PM and the first square in the grid to “receive” a cow pie will be the winner. The holder of the winning ticket will receive a $500 prize. If no cow pie is “deposited” before 4pm, the judges will draw the winning ticket from a hat.
Creepy, Crawly Family Fun Weekend
Spooky fun crafts, Halloween museum quest, museum vault tours, “creature features,” and a trick-or-treat bag full of Halloween fun! There’s so much to do at this Halloween extravaganza to spark the excitement in your little ones. Visitors receive a complimentary treat bag, and there’s a bonus for children who want to parade their costumes: free museum and planetarium admission for visitors dressed in Halloween attire! Check out the two exciting offers, each day, below!
1:00 pm and 3:00 pm: Museum Vault Tours
Come join us for a tour of the Museum’s underworld – the basement vaults. If you are tantalized by what you have seen on exhibit, come visit the 99% you have not seen. See bats, mini-beasts, vultures, spiders, and more… many have never been on public view! Do not miss this rare chance to explore the collections in storage in this behind-the-scenes, underground tour!
Cost: Additional $5.00, includes museum admission/does not include planetarium admission. Children under age 4 are not permitted.
2:00 pm: Strange and Distant Worlds Planetarium Show
Could there be life elsewhere in the Universe? In their search for Earth-like worlds, astronomers have discovered some truly strange worlds! Come experience the newest discoveries in the cutting-edge science of exoplanet astronomy in this unique, visually stunning planetarium show.
Cost: Free admission for costumed visitors or $3.00 (includes museum admission fee), Children under age 4 are not permitted in the planetarium.
Spooktacular Storytime in Downtown Providence
Kidinfo’s Storytime is back to haunt Burnside Park with a “spooktacular” event for all ages. A great family-friendly, not-so-scary event, featuring spooky and funny stories, and tons of fall fun! Guest authors, illustrators and performers will read and perform their own works. Our artists in residence, co-founder Alison Paul and Ricky Katowicz transform the park with art, and “Haunted Art in the Park” kids create work inspired by the pages of a Halloween-themed book. Enjoy a Halloween-y dance party + costume parade, a hay bale maze to explore, mini pumpkins to adorn, and crisp apples to crunch from our local farmers.
Kids in costumes get a treat! But if you don’t have one, you can make one there!
Budding botanists at Blithewold
Escape to warmer climates during a special greenhouse “open house” to see what is growing under the glass at Blithewold! Gardens Manager Gail Read will be on site to answer questions and the greenhouse is bursting with a collection of living potted exotics, salvias, begonias, and ferns, plus seedlings and cuttings propagated from garden plants. An exhibit of nature’s curiosities gathered from the grounds will be on display in the potting shed.
Admission: Members, free; non-members, $5; non-member children, $2
Click here to register.
Dinos at the Library!
The Providence Athenaeum Children’s Library is hosting the Audubon Society of Rhode Island for a dinosaur themed story hour. Enjoy the magic of this historic building with your little ones during this story telling adventure—that includes a living example of a dinosaur cousin!
Appropraite for ages 3+. Free and all are welcome!
To register for this event, contact Lindsay at 401-421-6970 or lshaw@provath.org
Lippitt Labs | Spotlight on Victorian Women
What was life like for women and children in 19th century Providence? Bring your daughters (and your sons!) to Lippitt Labs at Lippitt House Museum for an engaging glimpse into life in the Victorian age. Learn about the role of women, both at home and in the community, through different stations and activities planned throughout the museum. Providence Comics Consortium’s Walker Mettling and Julia Gualtieri will provide guidance for children to investigate social norms of the era by creating (with cartoons and comics) their own 21st century “etiquette manual.” Along with other activities, techniques of needlepoint will be taught, and kids will learn how Lippitt daughter Mary Lippitt Steedman helped found the local chapter of the American Red Cross in 1916, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year with a traveling exhibit!
Admission: $10 for adults, $5 for students, and free for children under 12 and active military personnel with ID.
About Lippitt Labs: Put your hands on history! The Museum is transformed into a laboratory for exploring the past through activities, demonstrations, discussions, and first-person interpretation. Each month, the activities will revolve around a different them such as education, social rituals, medicine, etiquette or childhood and play. Great for visitors of all ages!
Go behind the scenes of a museum!
- Nov. 30: Find out what wintertime was like during colonial times, and how the museum shuts down for the season.
- Dec. 7 & Dec. 14: Yet to be determined! Check back or visit RIHS’s website.
Behind the scenes of wintertime
On November 30th, see what it takes to close John Brown’s House each night—and for the wintertime! Learn what winter was like in 18th century New England, and how John Brown and his family would have spent the colder months. Free admission to John Brown House and the Museum of Work & Culture (with pop-up programming, too). In addition, you’ll be able to learn more about the Museum of Work & Culture’s fascinating Mill Project in Woonsocket.
Coming Up: Each week “What Cheer Wednesdays” features a new theme, and these tours are sure to cue curiosity in kids and adults alike!
- Dec. 7 & Dec. 14: Yet to be determined! Check back or visit RIHS’s website.