Daily Activities

Family Fun Guide

There is so much to see and do at Shelburne Museum, and our Family Fun Guide will help you find the parts of the Museum you’ll enjoy the most! The Family Fun Guide is organized by theme, and we encourage you begin your adventure by choosing a theme (Transportation, Circus and Carousel, Nature Explorer, History Explorer, You Are an Artist, and Kid Life) for your group to explore. The questions and prompts are meant to spark conversation and encourage your group to think more deeply about what you are seeing and doing at the Museum. Bring a pencil, or pick one up from Admissions when you arrive, and sketch or write about what you see in the spaces provided throughout the guide!

Prentis and Stencil Houses

These eighteenth-century structures reflect a distinctly twentieth-century interpretation. Learn about the installation of these buildings and the objects featured in the exhibitions in a 45-minute tour led by Museum staff. Meet at the south door of Prentis House, adjacent to Bostwick Garden. Please note that this tour involves stairs.

Steamboat Ticonderoga

All Aboard! Discover the restored 1906 steamboat Ticonderoga as it existed in 1923 during our daily walking tour. Learn about the boat’s operation, mechanics, and historical and social context. Meet Museum staff on the aft (rear) deck. Please note that this tour involves several staircases, some confined spaces, and heights.

Join us to explore America’s craft and cultural heritage through live daily demonstrations. At the Blacksmith Shop, see how early twentieth-century blacksmiths practiced their trade. At the Printing Shop, watch printers demonstrate letterpress printing and highlight changes in printing technology from the nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. Printers work at a range of presses, from the manual acorn press to the automated Heidelberg press. Guides lead demonstrations throughout the day. Please note that both sites close during Guides’ lunch breaks, which vary in time in response to crowd flow. If you find the Printing Shop or Blacksmith Shop closed, try back in 45 minutes.