Events & Programs

Upcoming Events & Virtual Programs

Hands On History Days

Friday, October 14, 2022

Saturday, October 15, 2022

Friday, April 14, 2023

Saturday, April 15, 2023

Calling all educators! Are you a K-12 schoolteacher, an homeschool group organizer, or the leader to a community youth organization that’s interested in bringing your students to Stratford Hall? Come explore our 1,800-acre site by registering for one of our Hands-On History Days. These educational programs include five 30-minute, experiential learning activities that allow students to explore different facets of Stratford through the lenses of history and science. Discover what life was like in colonial Virginia while taking a docent-facilitated audio tour of the Great House and historic area. Learn about colonial foodways and the influence of enslaved chefs on the creation of American cuisine while watching an 18^th-century cooking demonstration with Dontavius Williams. Experience the music of the African Diaspora through drumming demonstrations by Slam Stewart. And engage with our knowledgeable museum educators about the scientific studies of Paleontology and Archaeology at Stratford Hall.

Pre-registration is required. Space may be limited. Please contact Kelly Childress, Director of Education, at kchildress@stratfordhall.org or (804) 493-1972 with any questions regarding Stratford Hall’s educational programs. To register a group for one of our upcoming Hands-On History Days please contact Matthew Torres, Programs Coordinator, at mtorres@stratfordhall.org or (804) 493-1380.

Can’t come to us, then let us come to you! Inquire about our in-person and virtual educational program opportunities today!

SAVE THE DATE:

May 6, 2023

Details to Come!

Fossil Hunting Excursions at Stratford Hall

Sunday, May 7, 2023 (Registration opens April 1, 2023)

Sunday, June 4, 2023 (Registration opens May 1, 2023)

Saturday, July 22, 2023 (Registration opens June 1, 2023)

Saturday, August 5, 2023 (Registration opens July 1, 2023)

Sunday, October 1, 2023 (Registration opens September 1, 2023)

Dating from the Miocene Epoch – approximately 17 to 10 million years ago, the Stratford Cliffs are part of a rare geological phenomenon ranking among the most important fossil research sites in the Mid-Atlantic region. Whether you are a seasoned collector, or this is your first experience, Stratford Hall is the place for you! Spend a day hunting for fossils along the shores of the Potomac, explore the Stratford Cliffs, and enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the great outdoors!

Excursions are rated at a moderately strenuous to strenuous activity level requiring long periods of walking, hiking, standing, stooping, and bending. If you wish to access the further extremities of the beach, this will include climbing over or under washed up debris or felled trees. Minimum age requirements for all fossil hunting excursions are 8 years old. Any participant under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Event Time: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Cost: $35 per adults and $30 per child (ages 8 to 13)

Age requirements: 8+ years of age

Availability: 40 slots (35 adults, 5 children)

Additional information will be provided via email prior to your visit. Please contact Kelly Childress at kchildress@stratfordhall.org with any questions regarding Stratford Hall’s fossil hunting excursions.

Caesar’s Chocolate: The History and Legacy of one of Virginia’s Earliest Chocolate Makers

December 15, 2022

7PM EST

Virtual program via Zoom.

Come join us for a cooking demonstration and discussion with Celebrity Chef, Christopher Scott, and Stratford Hall’s Resident Historical Interpreter, Dontavius Williams, as they make two chocolate dishes in our historic 1738 kitchen. Hosted by Stratford Hall’s Vice President of Collections & Visitor Engagement, Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz, this program will discuss the history of Caesar, Stratford’s colonial chocolate maker and chef, highlighting the role of chocolate during the 18th century, and then pivot to the present with Chris Scott’s cooking demonstration.

This program will be offered virtually and pre-registration is required. We invite you to pay as you wish to support lectures like this and future programs at Stratford Hall.

Funded by Forrest E. Mars, Jr. Chocolate History Research Grant, Mars Wrigley.

‘Restless Genius’ – Arthur Lee & the Life of Purpose

December 20, 2022

7 PM EST

Virtual program via Zoom.

The youngest son of Thomas and Hannah Lee of Stratford Hall always made an impression on those he encountered in his several areas of expertise. To some he was a wrongly maligned patriot, to others a paranoid misfit—who was the real man behind these divided opinions? Join Dr. Gordon Blaine Steffey, Barbara Boyle Lemon ’57 and William J. Lemon Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Randolph College, as he commemorates the birthday of the man Benjamin Franklin called “that restless genius,” Arthur Lee.

This program will be held virtually via Zoom. We invite you to pay as you wish to support lectures like this and future programs at Stratford Hall.

Photo Credit: The New York Public Library Digital Collections