ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. – Historic St. Mary’s City is welcoming spring with a full lineup of engaging programs this April. From hands-on history experiences to family-friendly activities, there are plenty of opportunities for visitors of all ages to explore Maryland’s past in a meaningful and interactive way!
Fire & Survival: A Fire-Making Workshop
Wednesday, April 1 | 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Learn the art and science of fire-making during this hands-on workshop with plantation staff. Participants will explore historic and modern methods of starting a fire, gather materials from the natural environment, and practice techniques such as friction fire, flint and steel, and modern survival tools. Discover why fire was essential to both Indigenous communities and colonial settlers.
Godiah Spray Tobacco Plantation.
Ages 10–18. $20 / $15 members (one adult admitted free).
Space is limited. Preregistration with full payment required.
Registration opens March 3.
Spring Senior Thursday
April 2
Enjoy a relaxed day at Historic St. Mary’s City with specially priced guided tours offered throughout the afternoon. Choose one tour or enjoy several at your own pace, exploring archaeology, landscapes, and the stories uncovered beneath Maryland’s first capital.
$5 per participant (ages 6 and under free) for all tours.
Space is limited. Registration is required upon admission purchase.
Ghost Frame Walking Tours
12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. | Approx. 45 minutes
Explore the iconic “Ghost Frames” that stand across the landscape and mark the locations of 17th-century building foundations. On this guided walk, learn how archaeological research has revealed the stories behind these once-mysterious structures and what they tell us about life in Maryland’s first capital.
Meet at Farthing’s Picnic Area.
For all ages.
Changing Landscapes
1:00 p.m. | Approx. 1 hour
This guided tour highlights recent archaeological discoveries at St. Mary’s Fort and sites representing more than 8,000 years of continuous Native presence. Participants will gain an introductory understanding of how Indigenous communities and European settlers interacted during the 1600s, while exploring how the landscape has changed over time.
Guests should be prepared to walk over uneven, rough terrain, including an active excavation site.
Calvert House Site Tour
2:00 p.m. | Approx. 45 minutes
Step behind the scenes of active archaeology at the Calvert House site in the Town Center. This tour begins with an introduction from a costumed interpreter, followed by a visit to the excavation led by an archaeologist. Learn how discoveries at this site are shaping plans for a future interpretive exhibit built on and around the Calvert House location.
Town Center.
Junior Architects: Part I
Thursday, April 2 | 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Explore how Indigenous communities built homes at the time of colonial contact. After touring the Woodland Indian Hamlet with a staff member, participants will closely examine traditional witchotts and learn about their construction. The workshop concludes with a hands-on building activity, creating a miniature structure using natural and craft materials.
Woodland Indian Hamlet.
Ages 7–12. $15 / $10 members. Includes museum admission. One adult free.
Program is outdoors on uneven terrain.
Registration opens March 3.
Sew Far, Sew Good!
Friday, April 3 | 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Discover the importance of sewing skills in early Maryland while learning three basic stitches still used today: the running stitch, backstitch, and whip stitch. Participants will explore sewing traditions in colonial and Indigenous cultures and create a take-home sewing sampler through hands-on instruction.
Margaret Brent Gazebo.
Ages 8–14. $20 / $15 members. Includes museum admission. One adult free.
Registration opens March 3.
Springtime Scavenger Hunt
Saturday, April 4 | 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Celebrate spring break at Historic St. Mary’s City with a self-guided Springtime Scavenger Hunt. Pick up a scavenger hunt booklet at the Visitor Center upon check-in and explore the landscape as you search for signs of spring across the museum grounds.
Included with museum admission.
Spring Saturdays at Historic St. Mary’s City
April 4, April 11, April 18, April 25
Spend your Saturday exploring the stories uncovered across Maryland’s first capital. Spring Saturdays offer guided tours throughout the afternoon, highlighting archaeology, landscapes, and the iconic structures that shape the site. Choose one tour or enjoy more than one during your visit.
$5 per participant (ages 6 and under free) for all tours.
Space is limited. Registration required upon admission purchase.
Ghost Frame Walking Tours
12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. | Approx. 45 minutes
Explore the striking “Ghost Frames” that mark the locations of 17th-century buildings across the landscape. Learn how archaeological discoveries revealed what once stood here and uncover the stories behind these distinctive features.
Meet at Farthing’s Picnic Area.
For all ages.
Changing Landscapes
1:00 p.m. | Approx. 1 hour
This guided tour highlights recent archaeological discoveries at St. Mary’s Fort and sites representing more than 8,000 years of continuous Native presence. Guests will gain an introductory understanding of how Indigenous communities and European settlers interacted during the 1600s, while seeing how the landscape continues to reveal new stories.
Guests should be prepared to walk over uneven terrain, including an active excavation site.
Book Club: James by Percival Everett
Wednesday, April 8 | 2:00 p.m.
Join the discussion of this bold and inventive novel that revisits a familiar American story through a striking new perspective. Expect a thoughtful, engaging conversation.
Visitor Center Auditorium.
Free and open to the public.
Little Explorers: Favorite Colors
Wednesday, April 8 | 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Explore the world of color through stories, art, and hands-on play. Young learners will experiment with the colors they see in the historic landscape while engaging creativity and curiosity through guided activities.
Visitor Center.
Ages 3–5 with an accompanying adult.
$4 per child / $3 members. One adult free.
Includes full-day admission to the living history exhibits.
Homeschool Wednesday Workshops
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Spring 2026 Dates: April 15, May 13, June 3
Designed especially for homeschool families, these engaging workshops combine interpretive discussion, demonstrations, and hands-on activities that bring Maryland’s early history to life. Families may register for one or multiple sessions throughout the day.
Workshop sessions: 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
$10 / $8 members. Additional workshops $7 / $5 members.
Space is limited. Preregistration with full payment required.
Registration opens March 3.
Chickens and Pigs and Cows, Oh My!
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. | Ages 5 and up
Step into daily life at a 17th-century tobacco plantation. This immersive animal husbandry workshop introduces learners to the livestock that sustained early Maryland colonists. Participants will help feed animals, collect eggs, and prepare food over an open hearth, gaining a hands-on understanding of “farm to table” life.
Godiah Spray Tobacco Plantation.
Flourishing Flags
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. | Ages 6 and up
Long before radios and radar, flags were essential tools for communication at sea. In this workshop, students will explore how ships used flags to send messages, identify themselves, and navigate the waterways. Through demonstrations and hands-on activities, participants will learn about flag design and create their own personal flag.
Waterfront.
Digging Through History
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Ages 7 and up
Archaeology helps shape how we understand the past. In this hands-on workshop, students will explore the basics of archaeological practice by simulating real field activities. Participants will learn how archaeologists uncover, interpret, and preserve evidence—and how those discoveries shape the stories told at Historic St. Mary’s City.
Town Center.
Woodland Games
1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Ages 6 and up
Games have long been a vital part of Native American culture, helping to strengthen community and teach important life skills. Join Woodland Indian Hamlet staff to explore traditional games played in the past and still enjoyed today. This workshop features interpretive discussion, demonstrations, and active participation.
Woodland Indian Hamlet.
Lecture: Richard Bell
April 16, 2026 | 7:00 p.m.
Visitor Center Auditorium
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE FATE OF THE WORLD
An electrifying global history of a not-so local war.
When we think of the American Revolution, we often picture a parochial drama: thirteen colonies squaring off against the British Crown in a spirited bid for independence. But
this version of the story is only half the truth—and perhaps not even the most interesting half. In this riveting program, historian and author Richard Bell invites audiences to rediscover the Revolution as a world war that unleashed chaos, opportunity, and transformation across six continents. From the sugar fields of the Caribbean to the court of the King of Mysore, from refugee camps on the Canadian frontier to political uprisings in Sierra Leone and Peru, the war that gave birth to the United States was never simply America’s own. It was a seismic global event that redrew maps, toppled hierarchies, catalyzed migration, and accelerated new movements for liberty—and for empire.
In this program, Bell traces the far-flung reverberations of the war through the lives of the people it displaced, empowered, or destroyed. Participants will encounter a Native matriarch struggling to preserve a transatlantic military alliance, a Prussian officer reinventing himself in a foreign army, and a Boston schoolteacher shipwrecked thousands of miles from home. Along the way, Bell explores how the Revolution stirred a transoceanic refugee crisis, ignited antislavery activism, and inspired uprisings from Ireland to India. The program offers a bold new framework for understanding the Revolutionary War not as a tidy founding moment but as a sprawling, high-stakes struggle fought on land and sea, shaped by commerce, diplomacy, propaganda, and contingency. This is the American Revolution as you’ve never seen it before: complex, global, and astonishingly relevant to the modern world.
Richard Bell is Professor of History at the University of Maryland and author of the book Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and their Astonishing Odyssey Home which was a finalist for the George Washington Prize and the Harriet Tubman Prize. He has held major research fellowships at Yale, Cambridge, and the Library of Congress and is the recipient of the National Endowment of the Humanities Public Scholar award and the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship. His new book, The American Revolution and the Fate of the World, was published by Penguin in November 2025. He maintains a list of upcoming events at Richard-Bell.com.
The lecture is free and open to the public.
Little Explorers: Funny Figureheads
Wednesday, April 22 | 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Discover the playful and imaginative world of ship figureheads. Through stories, movement, and creative activities, Little Explorers will learn how figureheads were used on ships and imagine designs inspired by the waterfront setting.
Waterfront.
Ages 3–5 with an accompanying adult.
$4 per child / $3 members. One adult free.
Includes full-day admission to the living history exhibits.
Spring Dates for Little Explorers: March 25, April 8, April 22, May 6 & May 20.
Dig! St. Mary’s Fort Excavation Experience
Saturday, April 25 | 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Have you ever wondered what it is like to work on an archaeological site? Have you ever considered what stories artifacts can tell us about people who lived in the past? Are you willing to get your hands a little dirty? Then join us for this unique hands-on excavation program at the St. Mary’s Fort site! You will spend the day digging and screening alongside our HSMC archaeologists to learn about the archaeological process and to help us uncover history.
$95 / $85 HSMC members / $75 1634 Society members
Program includes:
- One-day program experience
- Lunch
- Two comp tickets for the participant and a guest to visit Historic St. Mary’s City before the end of the visitation season
- Program keepsake
- A digital photo of the participant working on the site
Registration: https://tinyurl.com/hsmcdig
Plant Swap at Historic St. Mary’s City
Saturday, April 25 | 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Calling all plant lovers! Join us for a community plant swap at Historic St. Mary’s City. Bring cuttings, houseplants, transplants, seeds, pots, tools, or any other plant-related items you’d like to share and trade with fellow garden enthusiasts. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just getting started, this is a fun way to grow your collection and connect with others who love plants.
Visitor Center.
Free. Rain or shine.
Maryland Archaeology Month Lecture: Puzzling Pits and Massive Maps: An Evening with Research and Collections
Wednesday, April 29 | 7:00 p.m.
Join HSMC for an exciting evening in honor of Maryland Archaeology Month. Travis Parno and Lisa Fischer, Director and Deputy Director of HSMC’s Department of Research and Collections, will share the museum’s latest discoveries and new research initiatives. Topics include excavation of a tantalizing feature at the St. Mary’s Fort site and the implementation of digital tools to manage and share archaeological information with the world.