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American Girl Weavers at Slater Mill
Explore the Mill on a specially themed tour hosted in partnership with the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council’s American Girl Weekend. Learn about the lives and livelihoods of their favorite American Girls, Samantha and Felicity, at the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution, Weave your own friendship bracelet and belt on mini-looms.
Admission: $35, price includes one child and one accompanying adult.
RIHS’s “What Cheer Wednesdays” (for the infinitely curious)
Go behind the scenes to get a unique look at a day in the life of a museum. Each week “What Cheer Wednesdays” features a new theme, and these tour titles are sure to cue curiosity in kids and adults alike: “Third Floor Door Tour” and “Weird & Creepy Rhode Island,” as well as “Setting the 18th-Century Table” and “Morgan’s Favorites.”
On September 21st, What Cheer Wednesdays is participating in a national and international celebration of the National Museum of African American Heritage & Culture, featuring a set of unique and highly informative posters about the museum and the collection.
The official opening of the Smithsonian Museum is on September 24th, but if you cannot get to D.C. this What Cheer Wednesday installment is a perfect way to get a taste of the NMAAHC’s sprawling collections.
What Cheer Wednesdays upcoming schedule:
- September 28: Morgan’s Favorites Tour — RIHS Executive Director takes guests through her favorite places and spaces in the John Brown House Museum. Tour at 2:30pm
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October 5: Character Research & Development for Oct. 22‘s What Cheer Day
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October 12: Dressing & UnDressing
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October 19: What Cheer Day Preview
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October 26: Weird & Creepy Rhode Island
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November 2: The Third Floor Doors Tour (1:30pm & 3pm)
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November 9: What’s in the Basement at John Brown House? (1:30pm & 3pm)
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November 16: The Mill Project at MoWC
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November 23: Setting the Table
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November 30: After Dark & Shutting Down the House
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.
Lincoln’s Great Road Day
A great day indeed―with six different museum sites open and free admission for families to tour at their own pace―you can’t go wrong with so much to explore in one fantastically historic place! Taking place during late September when leaves start to change their colors, a day trip along this route is sure to be beautiful. The historic homes, farms, and mills create a rolling landscape along the Great Road Historic District, which retains much of the Blackstone Valley’s early 19th-century rural character.
There is parking at each site with the exception of the Moffett Mill, which is accessible only by shuttle bus from Hearthside House.
Hearthside, Arnold House, and Hannaway Blacksmith Shop & Chase Farm Park are participating Rhody Ramble sites. Check out overviews of all the Great Road sites. Select the places you want to see, or visit all!
And One for the Pot: Tea & Treason
Do your children have a penchant for acting out their imaginations? Check out “And One for the Pot: Tea & Treason” taking place at the South Kingstown Land Trust Barn where costumed interpreters take you back to the past as they portray upper-class residents in Rhode Island during the 1770s. Explore tea brewing, tea etiquette and the place of tea in colonial America, along with the influence of politics on this popular practice.
Admission: $10 per person; $2 discount for South County History Center, Newport Historical Society and Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum members. Tickets must be purchased in advance, and admission includes a tea reception following the program. Click to purchase tickets.
Hosted by The South County History Center, in partnership with the Newport Historical Society and the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum.
Fossil Frenzy Weekend
From the Coal Age to the Ice Age, the museum’s collection of fossil specimens brings the past to life. Come join in the festivities and see fossilized plants and animals that once roamed the Earth. Family activities are a perfect way to get your hands into history! Go on a special fossil quest, tackle a fossil puzzle, or make your own trilobite mask.
Cost: Free w/ museum admission
And One for the Pot: Tea & Treason
Do your children have a penchant for acting out their imaginations? Check out “And One for the Pot: Tea & Treason” where costumed interpreters take you back to the past as they portray upper-class residents in Rhode Island during the 1770s. Taking place at the Newport Historical Society’s Resource Center, visitors to this event can explore tea brewing, tea etiquette and the place of tea in colonial America, along with the influence of politics on this popular practice.
This program ties into the Newport Historical Society’s Newport Eats history of food initiative along with the South County History Center’s 2016-2017 series Taverns, Teapots and Temperance: South County in a Cup. Hosted in partnership between The South County History Center, the Newport Historical Society and the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum.
Admission: $5 per person; $1 for Newport Historical Society members along with South County History Center and Boston Tea Party Ships Museum members. Please RSVP to: 401-841-8770.
Traditional New England SCARES!
Experience spooky tales and trails around the campfire at historic Coggeshall Farm Museum. Discover the origins of hair-raising stories that have endured for 200 years, like “The Demon in Exeter” (a dramatic retelling of the Mercy Lena Brown story) or the chilling tale of the headless horseman!
Appropriate for ages 8 and older.
For more information or to preregister, contact e.langham@coggeshallfarm.org.
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!
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.