History Camps

2026 History Camps

With the GCV&M Historic Village as the setting for adventure, campers dressed in period clothing are immersed in the lives and times of young people of the 19th-century. Campers discover the Early Settlement Farm, sample Village life, or dive deeper into 19th-century trades, skills, and traditions.

Don't forget, Museum Members get a 10% discount!

Ages 4 – 6 | Ages 7 – 10 | Ages 11 – 15 | Ages 15 – 18

Ages 4 - 6

Fairytales & Fables

Ages 4 - 6 | Fee: $299

Week 1: July 6 – 10
Week 3: July 20 – 24
Week 5: August 3 – 7
Week 7: August 17 – 21

Children will enjoy dressing up in costume as they explore nature and history alongside The Little Red Hen, the Tortoise and the Hare, The Gingerbread man, and other children’s classics. We will visit 19th century houses and barns, meet the animals, create crafts, play games, sing sons, make ginger cookies in an old-timey kitchen, and so much more, as we bring these stories to life, like no other place can!

Fun on the Farm

Ages 4 - 6 | Fee $299

Week 2: July 13 – 17
Week 4: July 27 – 31
Week 6: August 10 – 14

During this unique class, our youngest campers will be introduced to the Pioneer Farm and the animals that live there. Collect eggs, grind corn, meet the oxen, listen to stories, sing songs, play games, and more; all in a 19th-century costume. Visiting a farm has never been more fun!

Ages 7 - 10

Stitching Through Time

Ages 7 - 10 | Fee: $299

Week 1: July 6 – 10
Week 7: August 17 – 21

Learn to make all kinds of stitches; from sewing, to cross stitching, to weaving, to embroidery, and more! Visit houses in the historic village to look for handmade crafts and see how they were used. Meet our sheep and discover all of the steps along the way to process their wool into a final garment. Hone your own skills as you make a variety of handcrafted, textiles-based items.

Quills, Slates, & Graces

Ages 7 - 10 | Fee: $299

Week 6: August 10 – 14
Week 7: August 17 – 21

This summer we’re going old-school! Participate in authentic 19th-century lessons at the schoolhouse, barter for supplies at Altay Store and play games from the past. Meet with Historic Village craftspeople and make your own 19th-century projects to take home. You won’t want to cut this class! This is a great choice for an introduction to summer camp at GCV&M.

Farm Kids

Ages 7 - 10 | Fee: $299

Week 1: July 6 – 10
Week 3: July 20 – 24
Week 6: August 10 – 14
Week 7: August 17 – 21

You can bet the farm your children will have fun at this camp! Spend a week learning and doing at the Early Settlement Farm. Help with animal care, collect eggs, tend crops, grind corn, and horse around! Plant the seed for a lifelong love of learning.

History Play

Ages 7 - 10 | Fee: $299

Week 5: August 3 – 7

Campers will work as a team to sample what the Historic Village has to offer as they immerse themselves in the 19th century and engage in a variety of crafts, games, and activities. Visit the one-room schoolhouse, barter in the general store, play old-fashioned games, build a fort, or make up a new adventure. Who knows what the journey will be?

Doyle's Detectives

Ages 7 - 10 | Fee: $299

Week 2: July 13 – 17
Week 4: July 27 – 31

Join the Baker Street Irregulars as they scour the Historic Village looking for clues to mysteries old and new! The 19th century costumes and village create a perfect background for campers to engage in a variety of crafts, games, and activities related to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes.

Ages 11 - 15

Jack of All Trades

Ages 11 - 15 | Fee: $350

Week 4: July 27 – 31
Week 5: August 3 – 7

Let’s get DIYing, 19th-century style! Everyone will enjoy this hands-on class, as we explore the Historic Village to glean all we can from the village tradespeople before trying our hand at a variety of trades. You may learn how to twist a fancy s-hook with the blacksmith, cut and shape tin with the tinsmith, shave staves with the cooper, print your own card with the printer, stitch a broom with the broom maker, and more.

Girls Academy

Ages 11 - 15 | Fee: $299

Week 3: July 20 – 24
Week 6: August 10 – 14

Notice is hereby given that the Genesee Country Village & Museum will be opening an academy for the instruction of young ladies at the Romulus Female Seminary in Mumford, NY. Instruction will be given in the art of sewing, dancing, penmanship, and tea etiquette. Find out what it was like to learn to be a 19th-century lady.

Heritage Farming

Ages 11 - 15 | Fee: $299

Week 2: July 13 – 17

NEW in 2026! What is a heritage breed and why does it matter? How have farming practices changed throughout history? How do you create the “perfect” sheep, grape, or wheat variety? Why does biodiversity matter? Learn the answers to all of these questions and more as you work with the various heritage breeds of livestock and crops, which we help to preserve here at GCV&M. Campers will learn animal husbandry as they help with chores, extract DNA from a strawberry to see what makes it look and taste the way it does, use maps of GCV&M’s farmland to redesign a small farm for the preservation of heritage breeds, and more.

Beginning Hearth Cooking

Ages 11 - 15 | Fee: $350

Week 1: July 6 – 10
Week 3: July 20 – 24
Week 5: August 3 – 7
Week 7: August 17 – 21

Have fun learning open-hearth cooking during this hands-on class for girls and boys. Explore the museum gardens, and bring seasonal ingredients back to the kitchen. Learn how to correctly build a fire for open-hearth cooking and make simple 19th-century dishes. During the week students will also make their very own receipt (recipe) book to bring home.

Confections

Ages 11 - 15 | Fee: $350

Week 2: July 13 – 17
Week 4: July 27 – 31
Week 6: August 10 – 14

A 19th-century adventure in decorative confections! Create fancy sweets such as candies, marzipan, cookies, pies and cakes. Record the receipts (recipe) in your receipt book, so you’ll be able to make masterpieces at home, as well.

2026 Meet-a-Trade Teen Camps

Looking for a chance to work for a week in one of the museum’s trades? This camp provides 15 – 18-year-olds a five-day introduction to one of our historic trades! Each day you will roll up your costumed sleeves as one instructor will guide you, and one other participant, through the fundamental steps of one of our historic trades. One of your finished objects will be entered into the Agricultural Fair Blue-Ribbon contest in October.

*Camps must have 2 campers to run.

Don't forget, Museum Members get a 10% discount!