School Program Options

Base Programs

Choose one of the four programs below. All programs are offered at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., and 12 p.m., Monday through Friday during the school year.

Colonial Life

Grades K–12 | 90 min.

Our most popular lesson! Learn how a family of 13 lived in a single-room house through storytelling, inquiry, artifact investigation, images, and hands-on activities. Explore the restored home of Pieter Claesen Wyckoff. Discover how an indentured laborer became one of the wealthiest men in colonial Nieuw Amersfoort.

Choose one hands-on activity: Butter Churning, Herbal Sachet Making, Quill Pen Writing, Colonial Games and Toys, or Wool Felting

Farming & Science

Grades 2–12 | 90 min.
Available May through October

Explore Kings County’s role as a farming community between the 17th and the 20th centuries. What we call “organic” and “sustainable,” was everyday farming to Pieter Claesen and his family. Examine crops and colonial farming practices and get a chance to plant some seeds of your own.

Choose one hands-on activity: Butter Churning, Herbal Sachet Making, Quill Pen Writing, Colonial Games and Toys, Seed Planting, or Wool Felting

African American Lives

Grades 4–12 | 90 min.

Sam, Jack, Lidge, and Cato were enslaved people who worked for the Wyckoff family in the early 1800s. Examine their lives, and investigate primary source documents including slave bills of sale and manumission declarations. In conjunction with this tour, students explore multiple perspectives on servitude and the lives of important African-Americans in colonial New York.

Choose one hands-on activity: Butter Churning, Herbal Sachet and Medicine Making, Quill Pen Writing, Colonial Games and Toys, or Wool Felting

Voyage to a New World

Grades 2–12 | 90 min.

Explore the story of colonial immigration through the rags to riches tale of Pieter Claesen Wyckoff and his rise from indentured farm boy to one of the richest men in Nieuw Amersfoort. Examine traditional Dutch artifacts that would have been reminders of home for the settlers of the New World and learn about the new ways people learned to live and survive here.

Choose one hands-on activity: Butter Churning, Herbal Sachet Making, Quill Pen Writing, Colonial Games and Toys, or Wool Felting

Hands-On Activities

Butter Churning

Participants experience the butter churning process first-hand and learn about this vital food preservation technique through making and tasting. We shake cream in a glass jar rather than use a butter churn, putting a modern twist on this centuries-old process! Students receive a Wyckoff farmhouse postcard with a butter recipe they can follow at home.

Herbal Sachet Making

Participants create and take home their own cloth sachets filled with dried herbs. This activity is great fine motor skills practice for young elementary students who are learning to tie knots.

Quill Pen Writing

A look into 17th-century writing technologies, our quill pen writing activity guides participants through designing their own distinctive marks to symbolize their signatures. After designing their marks with a pencil, students then practice using a quill pen and (washable) ink to sign a document.

Colonial Games and Toys

Take advantage of our large lawn with our Colonial Games and Toys activity! Participants can try on Dutch clogs, or klompen, jump rope, roll hoops, play the game of graces, and much more. Weather permitting. Teachers selecting this activity must also choose a backup activity in the case of inclement weather.

Seed Planting

Classes choosing the Farming and Science lesson may wish to extend their experience by planting seeds, which students can then care for and grow. Participants in this activity will each receive one peat pot with soil and will plant a seed to take home.

Wool Felting

Participants will learn about wool and flax, two important fibers that were produced and worn by Dutch and English colonists. Students will use colorful, naturally dyed wool to create their own felt beads to take home.