Wenham Museum: 17th Century Saturdays

Wenham Museum for families in Wenham MA

Tour the Wenham Museum’s 17th century Claflin-Gerrish-Richards House and discover how families lived during three centuries—from the First Period to the Victorian era.

The Claflin-Richards House was constructed circa 1690 with ogee braces, an architectural hallmark of 16th and 17th century English dwellings. Today it contains three centuries of architecture, furnishings, and artifacts, representing a First Period dwelling room, a late 17th century minister's parlor, a circa 1750 bed chamber, and a Victorian-era chamber. Furnishings include a woolen bed-rug made in 1724, said to be the second oldest such rug in the United States, and an oak dresser built in 1752.

The Wenham Museum is a family-friendly museum of childhood and New England family life located on Boston’s North Shore since 1922. The museum’s collections include model trains, a world-renowned doll collection, vintage dollhouses, a costume and textile collection, antique toys, historic photographs and the National Historic Register Claflin-Richards House. Sixteen annual rotating exhibits and related family programming help to interpret the museum's mission to protect, preserve and interpret the artifacts of childhood, domestic life, and the history and culture of Boston’s North Shore.

The permanent collection includes over 5,000 dolls and doll accessories, and toy soldiers from the American Revolution through World War II. The Model Train room is a maze of whirring, whistling antique trains and railroad artifacts, and kids are welcome to play conductor. The Family Discovery Room offers a variety of hands-on activities for kids of all ages.

Classes, Events & Camps

The Wenham Museum offers many enrichment experiences for children, from preschool up. Click on these links to check out frequent preschool programs, youth and family events, and summer programs like History Alive! Summer Camps.

When: 
Saturday, October 5, 2013 at 11:30 am, 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm
Location: 
Phone: 
978-468-2377
Summerquest Camp for kids aed 5-14 at the Crane Estate in Ipswich Massachusetts

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Friday, May 1

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Saturday, May 2

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Teen Naturalist Club at IRWS: Spring/Summer Series

Join Mass Audubon for their Teen Naturalist Club at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield Massachusetts!
Explore a variety of local ecosystems such as a salt marsh, a freshwater river, or a tide pool on the beach. Take part in wildlife data collection in tide pools and vernal pools and engage in conservation projects such as a macroinvertebrate study or a horseshoe crab count in this exciting science...
8:00 am to 5:00 pm

Salamander Meander

What kind of Salamanders will we find at Mass Audubon's Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary? Photo: Mass Audubon
Explore the sanctuary's vernal pools, ponds, and woodlands to search for amphibians active during this season. If we're fortunate, we might discover Wood Frog and Spotted Salamander eggs, and we may even catch a few adults to observe closely before releasing them.
10:00 am to 2:30 pm

CraneOutdoors: The Castle Hill Hike

CraneOutdoors: The Castle Hill Hike at the Crane Estate in Ipswich Massachusetts
Come explore the lesser-visited corners of Castle Hill and its surroundings with us this season. This hike is a CraneOutdoors guide favorite because it’s got a little bit of all the things that make the Crane Estate such a special place…
10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Music and Movement at North Shore Children's Museum

North Shore, North Shore Childrens Museum in Peabody MA
Music and Movement with Marybeth Maes is an engaging music and movement class for young children at the North Shore Children's Museum. Marybeth brings her guitar and instruments for the children to use while they sing, dance, and play.
10:00 am to 11:00 am

The Legacies of Long Hill: House & Garden Tour

Tour the Gardens at the Trustees of Reservations Long Hill Gardens in Beverly, Massachusetts!
The Trustees of Reservations invite you to join our expert guides for a tour around Long Hill’s stunning Sedgwick Gardens and learn more about the special plants. Step inside the beauty and layered history of Long Hill with a guided tour of its breathtaking gardens and historic house. Once the...
10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Sunday, May 3

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

The Legacies of Long Hill: House & Garden Tour

Tour the Gardens at the Trustees of Reservations Long Hill Gardens in Beverly, Massachusetts!
The Trustees of Reservations invite you to join our expert guides for a tour around Long Hill’s stunning Sedgwick Gardens and learn more about the special plants. Step inside the beauty and layered history of Long Hill with a guided tour of its breathtaking gardens and historic house. Once the...
10:30 am to 12:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: Castle Neck Hike in the Dunes

Hiking the Dunes at the Crane Wildlife refuge with the Trustees of Reservations.
You may be familiar with Crane Beach, but have you ever visited the dune trails? The dunes of Castle Neck are a much less explored world unto themselves. They offer one of the most accessible dune landscapes in New England and trails that provide a firsthand look into the delicate and ever-changing...
1:00 pm to 3:30 pm