Spring After School Program @ Glebe House in Woodbury

Students are invited to become part of living history at the Glebe House Museum & Gertrude Jekyll Garden beginning April 21 on select Thursday afternoons from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Marshall Children Young Docent Program is perfect for children ages six years old and up. 

This unique opportunity allows children to learn about what life was like for families who lived here in Connecticut during the Revolutionary War. Highlights of the program include learning to conduct guided tours of the museum in period costumes, how to make candles, and other colonial crafts, and how to write with a quill pen. Children will have a hands-on colonial cooking session and will visit other area museums. The majority of this program takes place in the Glebe House, one of the most authentic historic house museums in Connecticut on the most historic street in Woodbury. 

The Marshall Children Young Docent program is named for the nine children of John and Sarah Marshall who lived in the Glebe House from 1771to 1786. These young docents are our greatest ambassadors in the community and participate in events like All Hollow’s Eve and the Woodbury Christmas Festival. All Hollow’s Eve, a wonderfully scary event now in its 19th year would not be the same without the inclusion of our young docents in the roles of some of Woodbury’s early citizens. 

Please call the Museum Director for more information and to register at 203-263-2855. Information, registration forms, and scheduled dates are available on our website at www.glebehousemuseum.org. The cost for the Spring Session is $75/Members and $95/Non-Members. There is limited space available. Registration will remain open until all spaces are filled.

Sign Up Today for Drum Making Workshop @ the Institute for American Indian Studies March 20

 

Rhythm and sound are important to just about every culture around the world. Throughout the Americas, indigenous peoples have been using drums as part of their culture for thousands of years. 

 If you are asked to think about Native American music, there is a good chance you will think of the sound of drums, but did you know that the drum is considered to be a living and breathing entity to Native peoples and symbolize a strong relationship with the creator? 

On Sunday, March 20 the Institute for American Indian Studies, located at 38 Curtis Road in Washington, Connecticut is hosting an in-person drum-making workshop, with sessions at 11 a.m. and at 2 p.m. 

The highlight of this workshop is to learn how to make your very own rawhide drum. The drums made in this workshop will be 14- inches in diameter and constructed of a traditionally used material, elk rawhide. Each drum will come with a drumstick. While creating a drum for their own personal use, participants will learn about their cultural significance, and how they remain a vibrant part of today’s indigenous cultures in the Americas. 

Space is limited for this workshop and pre-payment and pre-registration is required. To register online, please visit the Museum website to register via Eventbrite. If you have questions about the workshop, please call 860-868-0518 or email events@iaismuseum.org. The price for this workshop is $90 for IAIS members and $110 for non-members.

Maple Sugar Festival @ Institute for American Indian Studies March 5

 

The sugaring off the process in the Litchfield Hills has a long history that began with the Native Americans living here. They were experts at knowing the perfect time to collect the sap which is when the days grow warm and the nights are still cold, and before the trees begin to bud. They would boil the sap down using time-honored techniques and materials collected from the environment. On Saturday, March 5 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. visitors to the Institute for American Indian Studies on 38 Curtis Road in Washington, Connecticut can join IAIS educators at an event that demonstrates and celebrates this golden syrup of spring. 

At 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, and 3:00 pm, IAIS Educator and Ecologist, Susan Scherf will demonstrate various traditional Native American techniques of collecting sap and boiling it down into syrup for sugar. It is interesting to watch how Native Americans used tools made from a variety of natural materials in this labor-intensive process. Visitors will learn about the importance of maple sugar to the diet of Native Americans as well as its usefulness as an item of trade. 

Historic records indicate that the collecting and processing of maple sap was a social as well as a working occasion. Women would tap the trees, men would cut the wood for the fire needed to boil the sap, and children tended the sap as it bubbled and boiled. In keeping with the convivial nature of traditional Native American maple sugaring, listen to Traditional Native American stories recounted by Education Director Darlene Kascak, Schaghticoke Tribal Nation at 12:00 and 2:00 pm. Throughout the day, there will also be traditional family-friendly games and activities to enrich the visitor experience at the Institute’s Maple Sugar Festival. If you have worked up an appetite, the Institute is serving up pancakes topped with real maple syrup sure to satiate your taste buds from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Coffee and orange juice will also be available. 

The annual Maple Sugar Festival at the Institute teaches visitors about the importance of the maple season to local Native American cultures. Pre-registration for this event is requested by visiting www.iaismuseum.org to register for this event via Eventbrite. If you have any questions, please call the Institute at 860-868-0516 or email events@iaismuseum.org. The price to attend this very unique festival is $15 for Adults, $10 for Children, and $5 for Members. Pancakes are an additional $5. For the safety of the guests and staff of the Institute, masks are required inside the museum and research buildings regardless of vaccination status. Social distancing is practiced at all outdoor events.