Learn history by doing history!

School groups, tour groups, youth groups, and scout groups can take advantage of exciting hands-on activities in workshops by Plimoth Plantation’s Education Department. Workshops are a unique way to enhance your field trip or tour of our living history exhibit sites!   

From March through November, groups may book a Wampanoag Workshop or a Colonial Life Workshop.  

At the end of November, the Museum sites close to the general public for the winter, but activities never stop! Winter Workshops are available from December through February.  

Interested in booking a program? Make an online reservation request or call us at (508) 746-1622 ext. 8359.

To receive special offers, and regular updates on Plimoth Plantation’s educational programs, sign up for our Education Mailing List.

---

Workshops (March - November)

Wampanoag Workshop 

In our Wampanoag Workshop, Native Museum teachers discuss their relationship to the land, respect for all living beings, and seasonal ways of life. The program takes place at our Wampanoag Education Site, where participants sit inside a wetu (house) and handle reproduction artifacts and animal furs. Students will also play a traditional Wampanoag game called hubbub. 

Each program is one hour long for a maximum of 25 people.

Massachusetts History and Social Science Frameworks: 2.7, 2.8, 3.2, 3.12, 4.11, 4.15.

Ages: Pre-K - Grade 12, Adult

Cost: $225 for first program, $100 for each additional program. 

For more information, or to reserve a program, call us at (508) 746-1622 ext. 8359, email us at programservices@plimoth.org, or make an online reservation request.  

Colonial Life Workshop 

The Colonial Life Workshop takes place on the Colonial Education Site, which includes two fully-furnished reproduction 17^th-century houses. Over the course of the program, participants will explore the 17^th-century world of the English Colonists, and experience what their own lives would be like if they traveled back in time. Children may have a chance to play Colonial games or take part in one of the many chores that occupied a 17^th-century child’s day. Older students and adults may experience Colonial life by performing activities people of their own age group might participate in, both leisure and work! 

Each program is one hour long for a maximum of 25 people.

Massachusetts History and Social Science Frameworks: 2.7, 2.8, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.12, 4.11, 4.14, 4.15.

Ages: Pre-K – Grade 12, Adult

Cost: $225 for first program, $100 for each additional program. 

For more information, or to reserve a program, call us at (508) 746-1622 ext. 8359, email us at programservices@plimoth.org, or make an online reservation request.  

Back to Top

---

Winter Workshops (December - February)

Wampanoag Winter Workshop

Come join us for a day of games and discovery, where you will learn about the roles men and women played in Wampanoag society along with the artifacts that each would use in their daily lives. You will learn about Native ideas of giving thanks and of respect; you will play a traditional Wampanoag game (hubbub), with the winners receiving some very special prizes; and you will also take a tour of the Wampanoag Homesite and see how warm the houses really get during the winter. 

The program engages two classes at one time. One class begins the day with outdoor activities, including a tour of the Wampanoag Homesite, spending time in the nushwetu (house), and a hubbub tournament. The second class begins the day with indoor activities, including comparing and contrasting gender roles, a discussion of the importance of showing respect and giving thanks, and an artifact activity where groups examine artifacts looking for evidence of who used them and what they were used for. After completing the first round of activities the classes change places, so both groups experience both the indoor and the outdoor activities.

The two-class program is four hours long, for a maximum of 60 people.

Massachusetts History and Social Science Frameworks: 2.7, 2.8, 3.2, 3.12, 4.11, 4.15.

Ages: Grades 3 - 6

Cost: $750 per workshop 

For more information, or to reserve a program, call us at (508) 746-1622 ext. 8359, email us at programservices@plimoth.org, or make an online reservation request. 

Colonial Winter Workshop 

The Colonial Winter Workshop is a comprehensive program providing a solid foundation for a unit on the Pilgrims. The two-part Workshop includes a classroom visit and a hands-on workshop at the Museum, and includes a packet of teaching resources. 

Part 1: Classroom Visit
Learn about 1627 Plimoth Plantation from an actual Pilgrim in your classroom! Our Museum teacher will portray an actual resident of 1627 Plimoth Colony, using the person’s life story to frame the one-hour program. For that hour the year is 1627 and your Museum teacher will speak with a regional, English dialect of the 17^th century, wearing accurate reproduction clothing. 

Using reproduction artifacts to enhance your classroom’s experience, your visitor will share the Pilgrim story, from hiring Mayflower in England, through the journey and the first winter, to Thanksgiving in Plymouth. As a highlight of the program, two children will be invited to try on Colonial children's clothing!  

Part 2: Hands-On Workshop at Plimoth Plantation
This two-and-a-half-hour workshop takes place in our Visitor Center and on our Colonial Education Site, which includes two fully-furnished reproduction 17^th-century houses.  One class begins the day outdoors on the Colonial Education Site in the year 1627, working alongside Colonists, experiencing the chores of a child in 1627 Plymouth, and exploring a Colonial house with a modern teacher.  The second class begins the day indoors, in the Visitor Center, where the students practice writing with quill pens and examine reproduction artifacts to determine what the objects reveal about the lives of the Colonists. After completing the first round of activities the classes change places, so both groups experience both the indoor and the outdoor activities. 

An extensive packet of classroom activities that introduces students to children's lives in the 17th century is included. Activities address topics such as clothing, houses, education, and games in Plymouth Colony. Most activities have a writing component. When the activities are completed the written pages form a student journal. 

A two-class program, each class a maximum of 25 students. (Two Classroom Visits: one for each class. One Workshop for two classes.)

Massachusetts History and Social Science Frameworks: 2.7, 2.8, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.12, 4.11, 4.14, 4.15.

Ages: Grades 1-12 

Cost: $900 per program plus mileage 

For more information, or to reserve a program, call us at (508) 746-1622 ext. 8359, email us at programservices@plimoth.org, or make an online reservation request. 

Back to Top