Strawbery Banke Museum Summer Camps

Children ages 5-17 can have fun with history in the summer camps at Strawbery Banke!

The past is the playground for active, small-group programs led by talented museum educators. On the 10-acre outdoor history museum site, kids explore behind the scenes, try real skills in authentic settings and work closely with professional crafters, archaeologists, character role-players, curators and historians.

Please see below for a list of summer camp programs or for more info, visit the Strawbery Banke Camps website.

Space is limited and programs fill fast! To register, please contact us at camps@strawberybanke.org or (603) 422-7541.

2019 Summer Programs

Strawbery Banke will be offering three different types of camps for the 2019 season.  Scroll down for descriptions of each camp.

Themed Camp Weeks

  • Full Day Camps for Ages 6 – 17
  • Time: 9:00am – 3:00pm
  • Cost:  $250 for members/$300 non-members*
  • Anchors Aweigh/All Hands on Deck: $275 for members/$325 non-members

Stories Alive Camp

  • Half-day Camp for Ages 5 – 7
  • Time:  9:00am – 12:00pm
  • Cost:  $125 for members/$150 for non-members

Jr. Roleplayers

  • Two Week Camps for Ages 12 – 17
  • Time:  9:00am – 3:00pm (Monday – Friday)
  • Cost: $500 for members/$600 non-members

Early Bird Discount of 10% off of each camp before March 1
Sibling/Multiple Camp Discount of 10% offered beginning March 1

Extended care available for full day camps:
Morning only 8:00 – 9:00 ($5 per day)/Full day 8:00 – 5:00 ($20 per day)

TO REGISTER (Registration begins January 1 for members and January 15 for non-members)

On the Water Week

June 24 – 28, 2019

The Gundalow Company and Strawbery Banke partner for two exciting maritime adventure camps. Participants will spend time on land and sea exploring and experiencing the lives of sailors for over 200 years.

Anchors Aweigh (A few spaces left)     
Ages 6 – 8 (Rising 1st – 3rd graders)
Cost: $275 for members, $325 for non-members
Register now!
It’s time to set sail on a maritime journey through the past. Spend time onboard the gundalow, Piscataqua, and try out different jobs on board a ship. Learn to tie knots, raise the sails and swab the decks. Try out crafts, games and hands-on activities to discover what it was like to be a sailor (or a pirate) long ago. We are looking for new recruits. Join us for fun on land and sea.  Gundalow Company members also receive the member price for this camp.

All Hands On Deck     
Ages 9 – 12 (Rising 4th – 7th graders)
Cost: $275 for members/$325 for non-members
Register now!
Set sail on board the Gundalow, Piscataqua, and try manning the sails, navigating, steering and much more! Then 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 nautical games. Don’t miss the boat! Gundalow Company members also receive the member price for this camp.

Living History Week

July 15 – 19, 2019

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel through time and live in the past? Now is your chance! Dress in period costumes, get a new identity, hone your acting skills and see what it was like to be a child long ago.

History Alive 
Ages 6 – 9 (Rising 1st – 4th graders)
Cost: $250 for members/$300 for non-members
Register now!

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 receive a new character and costume from a different time period each day.  After a brief, interactive lesson about that era, they engage in games and activities particular to each century in period gardens and buildings.

History in Play : Growing Up Victorian     
Ages 9 – 12 (Rising 4th– 7th graders)
Cost: $250 for members/$300 for non-members
Register now!
Try living in the time of Tom Sawyer or the Little Women. Dress in costumes and use reproduction toys and tools in a historical setting to discover what life was like for children in the Victorian Era. Develop improvisation and acting techniques while you roleplay in the museum’s buildings and interact with visitors. The camp will culminate with the opportunity to perform in character for friends and family.

Detectives & Investigators Week

July 22 – 26, 2019

Museums learn so much from the objects that people leave behind.  This week we will get up close and personal with all kinds of objects from the past and uncover the stories they have to tell.

Colonial Secrets
Ages 6 – 9 (Rising 1st – 4th graders)
Cost: $250 for members/$300 for non-members
Register now!

Use all five senses from touch to taste to investigate life in Colonial America through material culture.  Unlock the secrets that objects hold to discover how people survived and thrived in the past.  Then engage in a variety of activities from cooking to games and experience what it was like to live 300 years ago.  At the end of each day, campers will use modern objects, imagination and creativity to develop their very own “Museum from the Future.”

Young Curators
Ages 9 – 12 (Rising 4th – 7th graders)
Cost:  $250 for members/$300 for non-members
Register now!

Examine real historical artifacts up close and learn to uncover the historical tales that they have to tell. Then work with professional curators to put together a museum exhibition that will share your discoveries with Strawbery Banke’s visitors. Participate in an auction, take field trips to Portsmouth’s historic sites and journey behind the scenes at the Collections Center. The week will culminate with the opening of the Young Curator Exhibition, which will remain on display throughout the 2019 season.

Jr. Interpreters: Exhibition Design
Ages 12+ (Rising 7th graders – 12th graders)
Cost:  $250 for members/$300 for members
Register now!

Explore how a museum creates an exhibit–from research to installation–and then work together to create your own. Tap into the rich historical resources of Portsmouth by visiting local archives and researching items in Strawbery Banke’s collection. Meet curators, artists, and other museum professionals to learn skills and crafts that you can use to build your exhibit. At the end of the week, you will work with curatorial staff to install your completed exhibit on the museum site.

Food History Week

July 29 – August 2, 2019

This week we investigate the past through food!  Campers will explore different methods of cooking, concoct recipes (some real and some from the imagination), taste new ingredients and have lots of fun.

Celebrating the Past
Ages 6 – 9 (Rising 1st – 4th graders)
Cost: $250 for members/$300 for non-members
Register now!
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.

Kids in the Kitchen
Ages 9 – 12 (Rising 4th – 7th graders)
Cost: $250 for members/$300 for non-members
Register now!
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.

Hands-on History Week

August 5 – 9, 2019

Girls and Boys are invited to step into the world of the most beloved doll characters in history.  Throughout the week, campers will be immersed in different time periods (1814, 1854, 1864 and 1904) to learn about the dramatic changes that occurred as America became an industrialized society.  Weave on a loom, make a basket, create your own soda fountain flavors, try your hand at  reversed glass painting, create crafts from the Civil War, experiment with photography and discover the world of Morse Code.  Campers will be kept busy with crafts, roleplaying activities, games, cooking and 100 years of fun!

American Kids: 19th-Century AmusementsAges 6 – 9 (Rising 1st – 4th graders)
Cost: $250 for members/$300 for non-members
Register now!

American Kids: Victorian Life
Ages 9 – 12 (Rising 4th – 7th graders)
Cost: $250 for members/$300 for non-members
Register now!

Strawberry Banke Wizarding Week

August 12 – 16, 2019

Come experience the magic of the past!  Get sorted into one of the houses at Strawberry Banke, then spend your days with students in your year taking classes in Potions, Herbology, History of Magic, Care of Historical Creatures and much more.  Engage in house competitions of historical games and find out which house will win the cup!

Wizarding School Year 1 & 2   (A few spaces left!)
Ages 6 – 8 (Rising 1st – 4th graders)
Cost: $250 for members/$300 for non-members
Register now!

Wizarding School Year 3 & 4
Ages 9 – 11 (Rising 4th – 7th graders)
Cost: $250 for members/$300 for non-members
Register now!

Wizarding School Year 5 & 6
Ages 12 – 14 (Rising 7th – 9th graders)
Cost: $250 for members/$300 for non-members
Register now!

Living History Week II

August 19 – 23, 2019

Back by popular demand, we are offering another week of living history for campers ages 6 – 12.  With different time periods and different characters, kids can do one or both sessions of Living History Week.

History Alive
Ages 6 – 9 (Rising 1st – 4th graders)
Cost: $250 for members/$300 for non-members
Register now!
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 receive a new character and costume from a different time period each day.  After a brief, interactive lesson about that era, they engage in games and activities particular to each century in period gardens and buildings.

History in Play : Growing Up Between the Wars
Ages 9 – 12 (Rising 4th – 7th graders)
Cost: $250 for members/$300 for non-members
Register now!
Become a child of immigrants or a youngster living on the World War II Homefront. Crafts and cooking, costumes, games and entertainments bring the time period between the Great Wars to life.   Develop improvisation and acting techniques while you roleplay in the museum’s buildings and interact with visitors. The camp will culminate with the opportunity to perform in character for friends and family.

Stories Alive

July 8 – 12, 2019

Stories Alive!  Heroes and Heroines      
Ages 5 – 7 (Rising K – 2nd graders)
Cost: $125 for members/$150 for non-members
Register now!

Our youngest campers venture into the past using books as their time machine! Each day of this popular program begins with a lively picture book which sets the scene for expeditions through Strawbery Banke’s gardens, houses and grounds. Meet roleplaying characters, play games and make historic crafts during this fast-paced, three-hour morning program. Bake on an open hearth, make historic candy, study in a 19th-century school, write secret coded messages and more!

Jr. Roleplayers

Times change but adolescents have always played a part in history. Teens of today can make the past come to life by becoming an 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 offered Monday – Friday.

July 8 – July 19, 2019 (Monday – Friday)
Jr. Roleplayers: The New Republic, 1777 – 1818
Ages 12 – 17 (Rising 7th – 12th graders)
Cost: $500 for members/$600 for non-members
Register now!

Jr. Roleplayers: The Modern Age, 1908 – 1955     

July 29 – August 9, 2019 (Monday – Friday)
Ages 12 – 17 (Rising 7th – 12th graders)
Cost: $500 for members/$600 for non-members
Register now!

For more information on Strawbery Banke summer camps please visit the website.

Pre-registration is required for all programs. To register or request more information, please contact us at camps@strawberybanke.org or (603) 422-7541.

 

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