Children ages 6-17 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 2021 summer camp programs at Strawbery Banke. Space is limited and programs always fill fast. For more information and to REGISTER, visit the Strawbery Banke Camps website.
Summer 2021 Camp Programs
June 28 – July 2, 2021
The Gundalow Company and Strawbery Banke partner for these two exciting maritime adventure camps. Participants in Anchors Aweigh & All Hands on Deck will spend time on land and sea exploring and experiencing the lives of sailors for over 200 years.
Anchors Aweigh (FULL – wait list available)
Ages: 6 – 9 (Rising 1st – 4th graders)
Dates: June 28 – July 2, 2021
Time: 9:00AM – 3:00PM
Cost: $340 / SBM & Gundalow Members $290
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 (1 spot left)
Ages: 9 – 12 (Rising 4th – 7th graders)
Dates: June 28 – July 2, 2021
Time: 9:00AM – 3:00PM
Cost: $340 / SBM & Gundalow Members $290
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.
July 5 – 16, 2021
Jr. Roleplayers: Modern Age (1908 – 1955) (FULL – wait list available)
Ages: 12– 17 (Rising 7th – 12th graders)
Dates: July 5 – July 16, 2021 (2 week camp)
Time: 9:30AM – 2:30PM
Cost: $580 / SBM Members $480
Register now!
Have fun taking on the roles of adolescents growing up in the first half of the 20th-century. You may portray an immigrant’s child growing up in Puddle Dock or a teen volunteering on the World War II Homefront. Imagine life as your grandparents or great-grandparents may have lived so many years ago.
July 12 – 16, 2021
Colonial DIY (FULL – wait list available)
Ages: 6 – 9 (Rising 1st – 4th graders)
Dates: July 12 – July 16, 2021
Time: 9:30AM – 2:30PM
Cost: $290 / SBM Members $240
Register now!
Native Americans and early colonists did not have Pinterest, but they new how to get the things they needed with their own two hands. Now is your chance to learn how people made incredible things hundreds of years ago without factories and modern technology. Throughout the week, you will have the chance to use the tools and materials from long ago to create your own projects. From fabric to pottery and birch bark toys to leatherwork. You will be amazed at the things you can do!
July 19 – 23, 2021
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 (FULL – wait list available) 
Ages: 6 – 9 (Rising 1st – 4th graders)
Dates: July 19 – July 23, 2021
Time: 9:30AM – 2:30PM
Cost: $290 / SBM Members $240
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 Colonial (FULL – wait list available)
Ages: 9 – 12 (Rising 4th– 7th graders)
Dates: July 19 – July 23, 2021
Cost: $290 / SBM Members $240
Register now!
Learn about George Washington’s time by living it. Dress in costumes and use reproduction toys and tools in a historical setting to discover what life was like for children in the Colonial era. Develop improvisation and acting techniques roleplaying in the museum’s gardens and landscapes as well as outside the historic houses. Participants are invited to interact with visitors as well as invite friends and family to visit throughout the week
July 26 – 30, 2021
Traditional Trades (FULL – wait list available)
Ages: 9 – 12 (Rising 4th– 7th graders)
Dates: July 26 – July 30, 2021
Cost: $290 / SBM Members $240
Register now!
Step into the shoes of an 18th-century apprentice and learn a whole host of Colonial trades. Campers will be immersed in Colonial America as they engage in a variety of hands-on activities and authentic experiences. At the end of the week, campers will take home a bounty of their own projects to share with friends and family. Activities include but are not limited to woodworking, fabric and basket weaving, book binding and pottery.
Jr. Roleplayers: New Republic (1777 – 1818) (FULL – wait list available)
Ages: 12 – 17 (Rising 7th – 12th graders)
Dates: July 26 – August 6, 2021 (2 week camp)
Cost: $580 / SBM Members $480
Register now!
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.
August 2 – 6, 2021
Archaeology Adventure (FULL – wait list available)
Ages: 9 – 12 (Rising 4th– 7th graders)
Dates: August 2 – August 6, 2021
Cost: $290 / SBM Members $240
Register now!
Uncover the secrets of the past left behind by people from long ago. Campers learn the basics of archaeological investigation as they take part in a realistic simulated excavation. Discover how to use the tools and equipment that archaeologists use in the field. Then get an up close look at real artifacts as you examine and help to clean objects uncovered at some of the museum’s archaeological sites.
August 9 – 13, 2021
Dig the Past (FULL – wait list available)
Ages: 6 – 9 (Rising 1st – 4th graders)
Dates: August 9 – August 13, 2021
Cost: $290 / SBM Members $240
Register now!
Archaeologists are not afraid to get messy. Learn how they do their jobs with hands on fun. Dig around in the dirt to discover what secrets lie beneath your feet. Solve mysteries with the objects you find; create your own imagined excavation site; and so much more! By the end of the week, you may be dirty, but you will have tons of fun discovering what archaeology is all about.
Jr. Archaeology (1 spot left)
Ages: 12 – 17 (Rising 7th – 12th graders)
Dates: August 9 – August 13, 2021
Cost: $290 / SBM Members $240
Register now!
Participants will work with Strawbery Banke’s Chief Archaeologist to learn the techniques for mapping and excavating a real archaeological site. During the week, the group will spend time working with archaeological collection cleaning, investigating and recording artifacts from centuries past.
The Boatshop at Strawbery Banke – 2021 Summer Camps
Each of these fun, hands-on, experiential and skills-focused camps offer the unique opportunity to explore the joys and fundamentals of boatbuilding and seamanship with The Boatshop at Strawbery Banke and the Gundalow Company.
Time: 9:00am – 3:00pm / Monday – Friday
Locations: Creek Farm, Prescott Park, and the Boatshop at Strawbery Banke, Portsmouth
Cost: $425 (10% discount for members or when you sign up with a friend or sibling)
Bosuns and Boatbuilders (2 sessions)
Ages: 7 – 10
Dates: June 28 – July 2
Dates: July 12 – 16
Register now!
Captains and Carpenters (FULL – wait list available)
Ages: 12 – 15
Dates: July 19 – 23
Register now!
Sailors and Shipwrights (FULL – wait list available)
Ages: 10-13
Dates: July 26 – 30
Register now!
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For more information and to register for Strawbery Banke summer camps please visit the website.
To request more information, please contact us at camps@strawberybanke.org or (603) 422-7541.
