Try a museum with a twist this year and bring your group to enjoy one of these living history sites. All six sites are currently open to visitors.
Genesee Country Village and Museum
Mumford, New York
Genessee Country Village and Museum, located about 20 minutes outside of Rochester is one of the largest living history museums in the country. The museum covers three time periods with their Pioneer Settlement (dating from 1790-1820), Center Village (dating from 1830-1860) and the Gas Light District (dating from 1860-1900).
Plimoth Plantation
Plymouth, Massachusetts
2020 Marks the 400th anniversary of the pilgrims’ arrival in New England. Visitors can tour the 17th century English Village to see how they lived as well as the Wampanoag Homesite and the Plimouth Grist Mill to learn more about historic life in the area. The recently restored Mayflower II is also returning to its homeport this month and will be available to tour once docked in Plymouth harbor.
Mystic Seaport
Mystic, Connecticut
The Seaport Village at Mystic Seaport recreates life as it was in a 19th-century seafaring village. Groups can tour the many buildings and speak with storytellers, musicians and craftspeople to discover the historic seafarers’ way of life.
mysticseaport.org/explore/village
Colonial Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Visitors can learn more about our nation’s history and experience colonial American life at Colonial Williamsburg. This 300-acre colonial village was already the largest living history in the world, but they’ve recently expanded. Colonial Williamsburg recently completed a $41.7 million expansion to the art museums to preserve the historic feel and expand exhibit space.
Greenfield Village
Dearborn, Michigan
Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford Museum of Innovation allows groups to experience life during the turn of the century and innovation in Dearborn, Michigan. Groups can ride in a Model T or on a steam-powered locomotive, watch a game of 1867 baseball or enjoy a lunch from the 1830s.
thehenryford.org/visit/greenfield-village
Camlann Medieval Village
Carnation, Washington
Camlann Medieval Village outside of Seattle is a living history project portraying life as it was in Chaucer’s England in 1376. Tour the village anytime or visit during a feast or festival days to enjoy additional entertainment like tourneys and “cidre pressing” or shopping at the village shops. Groups can rest a sample a historic meal in the Bors Hede Restaurant or book a private banquet at the village year-round.
