BERLIN – Two new events are being offered to introduce children to a local museum.
The Calvin B. Taylor House Museum will host two children’s tours in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
“It’s a great way for families to see the museum in a different light,” said Melissa Reid, president of the museum. “You can experience the house more authentically because it will be lit by candlelight.”
On Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. the museum will host a “December Around the World” tour for children. That will be followed Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. with a “The Night Before Christmas” tour. Tours are $5 a person though children under 5 can attend for free.
Reid said the museum has typically offered candlelight tours to adults but in an effort to expand children’s programming this year it decided to work in some kids’ tours.
“We realized December is a great time to do more kids activities,” she said.
The first children’s tour will highlight different holidays celebrated throughout the month of December.
“In the Harrison Room we’ll have a display of holidays from around the world,” Reid said.
The Dec. 20 event will tie “The Night Before Christmas” to items in the house. Reid said the book was published around the time the Taylor House was built.
“We thought that would be great—to focus on the holidays but with a historic element,” she said.
She believes children will enjoy the tours because they’ll have interactive elements and will give kids the chance to explore the candlelit museum with flashlights. The tours will include cookies and homemade gingerbread.
“We’ll also have our ‘food from the 1830s’ display up,” Reid said. “That’s only out for the holidays.”
This month’s children’s tours follow a series of successful children’s programs held this fall. The series, Junior Historians, gave kids a chance to do a craft tied to an artifact in the museum. They learned about things like historic board games and stained glass.
“The kids that come seem to enjoy it,” Reid said. “The activity is always specifically connected to something in the museum’s collection.”
For more information on any of the museum’s events, visit its website or Facebook page. In addition to the children’s tours on Dec. 13 and 20, the museum will also host adult tours at 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Attendees will have a chance to buy a $10 raffle ticket to win a “Berlin basket” filled with gift cards to local businesses. The winner will be drawn Dec. 21.
