Take a visit to Old Sturbridge Village and it will feel like you are taking a visit back in time. Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) is located in Sturbridge Massachusetts. It is a 1830s New England living history museum.
OSV is an outdoor history museum set in a countryside town in New England in the 1830s. It is comprised of more than 40 buildings on a 200-acre property. There are crafts and activities, farm animals to interact with, and costumed staff who really keep up with the whole 1830s theme.
Their hours vary during the year so check out their website before you go. Admission prices are as follows:
Adults $28.00
Seniors (55 and over) $26.00
College Student (with valid ID) $14
Youths (4-17) $14.00
Children age 3 and under free
Full-priced admission includes FREE parking and a FREE additional visit within 10 days. Ticket must be validated before leaving on the first day. They have an option that you can purchase your tickets online and print them at home which I highly recommend because the ticket lines can get pretty long.
The minute that we stepped foot on the property we felt like we were transported back in time! When I suggested that we visit OSV, my husband was kind of skeptical. “A history museum with 2 five-year-olds?!” To his surprise, they absolutely loved it and begged to stay longer! We literally stayed there from open to close.
There were so many farm animals to see. We are a family of giant animal lovers so this is right up our alley.
There is a school house where the kids pretended they were the students and I was the teacher.
We spent some time visiting the blacksmith where they do a short little demonstration that the kids enjoyed. Then we got to check out some of his tools.
We learned how wool is pulled and made into yarn and even how they used natural ingredients like vegetables to dye the yarn different colors.
We spent quite some time in the children’s dress up area. Gianna loves to play dress up!
The kids’ favorite activity was definitely dipping and making their own candles. There is a hands-on craft center with all different crafts. An additional fee does apply for some of them.
We stopped into the other buildings, like the sawmill and the meetinghouse to check them out and explore.
The kids were shocked at what a bedroom looked like in the 1830s.
They were even more shocked at what the bathroom was like. Basically an outhouse with a hole in the floor. Yikes!
As we explored the museum we really felt like we were in the 1830s. It was amazing to see how different life was back then. It was almost surreal!
They have examples of games that children would have played at the time which the kids actually really enjoyed playing with.
You can also take a stagecoach ride which we did not have time to enjoy.
The grounds are just so beautiful and lush and green. It makes for a lovely day of exploring.
We had lunch in the Bullard Tavern Cafeteria which has your standard fare like chicken fingers and burgers. There are also other dining options there to choose from or you can pack a picnic lunch.
Our last stop was, of course, the gift shop. The gift shop has what you would normally expect in a gift shop but it also has the cutest little clothes and accessories from the 1830s, like this little bonnet.
We had such a fun day and we probably could have stayed for hours more if they were not closing. I would definitely recommend visiting a 2nd day if possible because there were so many things that we just didn’t have time to see in 1 day.
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