Old Stone House promises an exciting new season

A fresh energy is driving the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington towards opening day on May 16. Community outreach classes will be intermingled with an updated listing of events. Professional development courses for educators will also be offered throughout the open season (May 16 through October 15), creating an impressive list of community offerings.

Outreach classes for adults will include tile mosaics, plein air drawing, yeast-bread baking, canine obedience, and more. The museum will be appealing more to children and young families by offering a weekly kids’ day each Friday from June 15 through August 24. Kids’ day will begin at 11 a.m. with special activities planned on-site, followed by outdoor picnicking. Children under 18 can enjoy tours those Fridays for a reduced rate. Time Travelers Camp for kids ages 8 to 12 will run from July 23 through 27. This year the camp will focus on heritage arts, and will include pit-fired pottery, slate paintings, and sap bucket lanterns, along with other ever-popular activities to choose from in the afternoons.

New and old favorite events will pique interest for museum visitors. The season starts with the volunteer orientation carousel and tea on Thursday, April 26. (Anyone interested in volunteering is asked to please call.) The museum takes off in May with the popular Spring Field Days for schoolchildren (May 15 and 22), engines show (June 16), the gala fund-raiser (July 19), Old Stone House Day (August 12), the new stars party fund-raiser on September 1 which will include live music, Fairbanks Museum-led star gazing on Prospect Hill using high-powered telescopes, food truck vendors, and more. Open season will draw to a close with a “boo!” at the new “Haunted Old Hallways” and trick-or-treating event for kids and families on October 28.

For area educators, the museum will host a full schedule of professional development courses, credit-bearing through Southern New Hampshire University. Titles offered will be: “Integrating Outdoor Education Across the Content Areas (STEM course),” “Storykeepers and Using Primary Sources,” and “Using Formative Assessment.” There will also be day workshops on “Engaging Reluctant Learners,” and “Being Effective LEAs for Administrators.”

The Old Stone House Museum encourages folks to come and be a part of the area’s exciting new wave of the future. Call 754-2022 for more information or visit the new website at oldstonehousemuseum.org. — from the Old Stone House Museum.