Free admission for kids this summer!

Funding provided by a grant from CT Humanities

Windsor Historical Society was recently awarded a Connecticut Humanities grant to support participation in the CT Summer at the Museum initiative. The program invites Connecticut children ages 18 and under plus one accompanying Connecticut resident adult to visit participating museums free of charge from July 1 through September 5, 2022. Funding for the initiative is provided by the CT General Assembly, the with the support of Connecticut Humanities and the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the federal ARPA.

The popular CT Summer at the Museum program, begun in 2021, offers even more fun for young visitors in 2022. A new scavenger hunt will guide children through the museum and two historic houses, asking questions and suggesting hands-on activities that will encourage them to learn about Windsor’s fascinating history.

Ingredients and materials for making herbal remedies in the Chaffee House doctor’s office.

Kids can carry a yoke with water buckets to water our garden, iron clothes with a real cast iron, make medicines using herbs, or do a number of other jobs and hobbies that kids might have done 200 years ago. Adult caregivers will hold the answer key and be able to help children with the activities, making it an intergenerational experience and engaging for everyone.

The CT Summer at the Museum program was extremely successful in the summer of 2021, with museums throughout the state hosting hundreds of thousands of children, many of whom would not otherwise be able to afford admission. This program is even more important in 2022 given that inflation and high gasoline prices are affecting family travel, making visits to local museums a convenient and affordable alternative.

CT Humanities (CTH) is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. CTH connects people to the humanities through grants, partnerships, and collaborative programs. CTH projects, administration, and program development are supported by state and federal matching funds, community foundations, and gifts from private sources. Learn more by visiting cthumanities.org.

The Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) is the state agency charged with fostering the health of Connecticut’s creative economy. Part of the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development, the COA is funded by the State of Connecticut as well as the National Endowment for the Arts.