June 29 - July 3, 2026, 9 AM - 3 PM

Venture into the past using books as the time machine! Each day of this program begins with a lively picture book about an amazing individual or historical event, which sets the scene for expeditions through Strawbery Banke’s gardens, houses, and grounds. Kids will activate their imaginations by meeting roleplayers, playing games, and making historical crafts. Activities this week will include examining fossils, science experiments, simulation games, and more! Campers will bring home their picture book filled with artwork, recipes, and great memories at the end of an action-packed week.

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

Session I: July 13 - 17, 2026, 9AM - 3PM
Session II: August 17 - 21, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Perfect for youngsters who enjoy using their imaginations and participating in dress-up and pretend play, History Alive encourages kids to compare and contrast life in different eras of the past. Kids will have a chance to dress in costumes every day. After a brief, interactive lesson about the historical era, they engage in games and activities particular to each century in period gardens and buildings.

Investment: $400 (1-week)
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

July 6 - 10, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Budding inventors and curious kids will explore some of the most famous inventors and inventions of the early 20th-century. From planes and motor cars to Teddy bears, and crayons; our youngest campers will not only make their own versions of these innovations, they will also participate in activities to discover how questions can be answered through experimentation.  Does freezing food change the taste?  What makes a helicopter fly?  What affects how fast a car goes?  By the end of the week, kids will have answers to these questions and many more!

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

July 20 - 24, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Did you know that Valentine’s Day can trace its roots to Ancient Rome while Christmas was hardly celebrated in New England 200 years ago?  Travel through a year of holidays learning the surprising history of many of the celebrations that we know today.  Use centuries-old recipes to make tasty treats from around the globe, discover traditional games and engage in holiday customs both old and new.  Camp will culminate in the celebration of a new holiday created entirely by the kids.

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

August 3 - 7, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Venture into the past using books as the time machine! Each day of this program begins with a lively picture book about an amazing individual or historical event, which sets the scene for expeditions through Strawbery Banke’s gardens, houses, and grounds. Kids will activate their imaginations by meeting roleplayers, playing games, and making historical crafts. Activities this week will include creating fossils, making ice cream, baking an old-fashioned recipe, and more! Campers will bring home their picture book filled with artwork, recipes, and great memories at the end of an action-packed week.

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

August 10 - 14, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Let imagination take flight while exploring American history! Campers are invited to discover the past with a beloved doll or stuffed animal by their side in this week-long program. Highlights include baking cookies on a Colonial hearth, dressing up to play in the historic houses, and crafting doll-sized accessories to take home. Campers and their “companions” will be kept busy with plenty of games, activities, and creative play throughout the week.

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

July 27 - 31, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Get the inside scoop about how houses are built and then explore the public and private spaces in a historical house to see how people lived hundreds of years ago.  Investigate kitchens by cooking food over an open hearth and participating in old-fashioned house work.  Learn the uses of a parlor through the games and crafts that took place there. Investigate the attics and basements that were used for theatrical performances and essential food production.  Each day also includes the opportunity to use imagination as campers use a variety of materials to create buildings for their own towns and villages.

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

Growing Up Colonial: June 29 - July 3, 2026, 9AM - 3PM
Growing Up Victorian: August 17 - 21, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Learn about different eras of the past by living it. Campers will dress in costumes and use reproduction toys and tools in a historical setting to discover what life was like for children in different centuries. They will also develop improvisation and acting techniques while roleplaying in the museum’s buildings. Through demonstrating toys and games for the Museum’s visitors, they’ll make history come to life!

Investment: $400 (1-week)
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

July 6 - 10, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Develop a variety of skills as you learn to re-create the handmade crafts, inventions and pastimes of days gone by.  Star in a silent film, cook a Depression-era meal, take a ride in a model-A Ford, roll up your sleeves to work in a 1940s Victory Garden, learn to paint like Picasso and lend your voice to a radio show recording.  At the end of the week, campers take home a bounty of their own projects, entertaining family and friends with new-found skills and one-of-a-kind playthings.

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

July 13 - 17, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Gangway for a week of maritime adventure and discovery! Become immersed in an historical seaport neighborhood. Cook a ship’s meal, develop a cure for scurvy, join a maritime trade simulation, visit a sea captain’s house, and engage in a variety of antique arts and seafaring games. Don’t miss the boat!

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

July 20 - 24, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Spend the week immersed in the excitement and uncertainty of the Revolutionary Era, and consider how life changed for kids in colonial America. Campers will trace the steps of prominent Patriots and Loyalists, make Liberty Tea, perform drills like Continental Soldiers, and use 18th century ingredients to cook a meal over an open fire. Discover how courage and resistance helped children overcome challenges of the past!

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

August 3 - 7, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Investigate how foods have been grown, harvested, preserved, cooked and eaten through time. Try out a variety of period recipes on the hearth and 19th-century cookstove.  Learn about convenience foods from hardtack to TV dinners. Discover foods that immigrants brought from all over the world and explore how dining etiquette has changed through time.  And even create and cook your own recipes.  At the end of the week, campers will have full stomachs and a variety of recipes to try at home.

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

August 10 - 14, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Let imagination take flight while exploring American history! Campers are invited to discover the past with a beloved doll or stuffed animal by their side in this week-long program. Highlights include baking cookies on a Colonial hearth, dressing up to play in the historic houses, and crafting doll-sized accessories to take home. Campers and their “companions” will be kept busy with plenty of games, activities, and creative play throughout the week.

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

July 27 - 31, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

You know how to read a mystery book, but can you read and solve the mysteries of a building?  Discover how buildings can teach us about the people who lived long ago.  Go behind the scenes to explore attics and basements in historic homes, build a model of an 18th-century post-and-beam house, venture on an architectural scavenger hunt and unlock the secrets of Strawbery Banke’s unrestored homes.

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

June 29 - July 3, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Learn the art of creative writing through the lens of history. Working with a professional author, students will hone their writing skills, use real historical primary and secondary sources, and develop their imaginations. Campers will have the chance to immerse themselves in the 18th-century world by cooking, trying on clothing, and engaging in chores and daily life to develop authentic characters, settings, and plots. The museum inspires the works of historical fiction that participants will create.

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

The Modern Age (1908-1958):
July 6 - July 17, 2026, 9AM- 3PM

The Industrial Era (1820-1870):
July 27 - August 7, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

Times change but adolescents have always played a part in history. Teens of today can make the past come to life by becoming a historic roleplayer and using the museum’s houses and grounds as their stage. Participants will learn theatrical techniques, dress in full costume, use old-fashioned tools and materials, and engage in historical research methods to learn how to portray a person from another time. After successful completion of the program, many Jr. Roleplayers are invited back to participate in the Museum’s special event programs throughout the year. This is a two-week camp and participants must attend both weeks. 

Investment: $800 (2-week)
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.

July 20 - 24, 2026, 9AM - 3PM

We have all heard that most women died in childbirth or people were much shorter in the past than they are today.  How did these ideas get started and are they really true?  Work alongside the museum’s historians, curators and archaeologists and discover how material remains of the past can dispel some of history’s most prevalent myths.  The camp week will culminate with a chance for campers to share their discoveries with museum visitors.

Investment: $400
Discount: 10% off additional camps or sibling registrations.
Extended Care: Morning (8–9 AM) $15; Afternoon (3–5 PM) $30.