In this family-friendly activity, participants will tour the Hammond-Harwood House, go on an Easter egg hunt in the garden, and paint the wooden eggs that are found. Ticket price is per child. Price: $15 | Members: $10

Come join the inaugural session of our new program: History ‘Round the Hearth! In this program, you’ll learn the history behind a popular colonial food and try your hand at making it. This month we’ll make Bannocks, a common Scottish quick bread. Participants must be 8+; children under 16 must be accompanied by a paying adult.​ Ingredients: oat, wheat flour, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, oil, butter, raspberry jam​ Prices: Members: $13 Non-Members: $17

Mr. Paca’s Garden Storytime is a fun hour full of reading and activities in the William Paca Garden, a secret treasure in the Historic District of Annapolis. Each program is designed for little ones, 3-7 years, with a book reading, song, and craft/art project, plus time to explore the Paca Garden following the story hour. This Week’s Book: Hornbooks and Inkwells by Verla Kay Life in an eighteenth century one-room schoolhouse might be different from today, but like any other pair of siblings, brothers Peter and John Paul get up...

This presentation addresses the events that led to, and the outbreak of, the armed conflict known as the Revolutionary War. Starting with resistance to British colonial policies that Americans perceived as arbitrary and violations of their liberty, and efforts to seek a redress of grievances, the Colony of Massachusetts Bay was declared to be in a state of rebellion by the British government. As a provisional shadow government prepared for a potential war against the British military occupation, Lieutenant General Thomas Gage, commander in chief of his Majesty’s forces in...

What natural materials make for the best shelters? How do we know if plants need more water? How can we harness the power of nature to propel us into the future? This month we’ll carry out experiments to learn how the answers to many questions can be found by looking at the world around us. ​​ $8 for member children ages 6-12 $10.50 for non-member children ages 6-12​ Pre-registration is required.

What natural materials make for the best shelters? How do we know if plants need more water? How can we harness the power of nature to propel us into the future? This month we’ll carry out experiments to learn how the answers to many questions can be found by looking at the world around us. ​​ $8 for member children ages 6-12 $10.50 for non-member children ages 6-12​ Pre-registration is required.

Mystery Writer Deb Nicholson

The historic Rising Sun Inn, located at 1090 General's Hwy in Crownsville, Maryland, will be open for public touring on Sunday, April 16, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. with tours beginning on the top and bottom of the hour. Admission is $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for children 3 - 10, and children under 3 are free. See this unique pre-colonial farmhouse and 18th century tavern, located in central Anne Arundel County along the famed Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, featuring period furnishing and artifacts as well as a one-of-a-kind...

Historic Annapolis, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is pleased to welcome Dr. Richard Kurin, Distinguished Scholar and Ambassador-at-Large of the Smithsonian Institution, for a special presentation. Ever since the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Smithsonian has become a national and international leader in responding to cultural crises caused by natural disaster and human conflict. It has worked with FEMA, cultural organizations, and local partners in the U.S. following hurricanes and flooding to save museum collections, as well as help survivors recover their family treasures. In Mali, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan,...

Historic Annapolis, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is pleased to present a special presentation with Renée Gokey, the Student and Teacher Services coordinator at the National Museum of the American Indian. Life Along the River: The Pamunkey Indian Tribe of Virginia is a digital storybook that explores the history and contemporary lives of the Pamunkey peoples. The content of the storybook is organized into four chapters. Each chapter explores a particular theme that is important to the Pamunkey Indian Tribe: place, community and culture, history, and the future. The presenter will facilitate...

For the first time, AAHPP has a new annual appropriation of $5 million, up from $1 million annually! AAHPP provides grants to assist in the preservation of buildings, sites, or communities of historical and cultural importance to the African American experience in Maryland. Attend this general overview webinar to learn how to apply and more.

Participants will enjoy a 90-minute guided tour of the house that compares the customs and social graces of the Loockerman family, who lived in the Hammond-Harwood House in the early 19th century, with those of characters in Jane Austen novels. Make it extra special with Tea and a Tour! Hammond-Harwood House is proud to partner with Reynold’s Tavern of Annapolis. Reynold’s Taverns offers an extensive afternoon tea menu – a perfect pairing to enjoy before or after the Jane Austen Tour. Tours and tea are booked separately, please call for...

From punches to bounces, syllabubs to juleps, colonists imbibed a wide variety of alcoholic beverages. At Colonial Cocktails, you’ll get to make and enjoy two historical drinks and learn about colonial tavern culture. To welcome spring, we'll try two exotic and fruity rum drinks: Orange Shrub and Pineapple Rum Punch. Not limited to spring break in Cancun, these drinks were popular in Maryland in the 18th century! Participants must be 21+ Prices: Members: $25 Non-Members: $33​ Please note: this program is held outside under a tent.

Mr. Paca’s Garden Storytime is a fun hour full of reading and activities in the William Paca Garden, a secret treasure in the Historic District of Annapolis. Each program is designed for little ones, 3-7 years, with a book reading, song, and craft/art project, plus time to explore the Paca Garden following the story hour. This Week’s Book: My Friend Earth by Patricia MacLachlan We’re celebrating Earth Day!!! After waking from a wintertime snooze, My Friend Earth begins a new journey. She does so many wonderful things! She tends to...

Having the right pollinators in your yard makes all the difference in ensuring beautiful blooms and verdant vegetable patches. In this program we’ll learn all about the different pollinators of the tidewater and make a mini potted garden to take home. Members: $15 Non-Members: $20

It's tea time at the Historic Rising Sun Inn! Come join us on Saturday April 22nd for a Tea and Tour! Reserve your seat for either 11AM or 1:00PM. Tea time took place in colonial America and was held dear because of the high import costs of tea, coffee and chocolate. The Rising Sun Inn has a collection of colonial tea serving pieces, as well as a traditional tea caddy, which was kept locked by the lady of the house. Learn about this and more on a lovely guided tour...

Visit the Museum of Historic Annapolis on Sunday, April 23 to Meet the Annapolis Blues Soccer Team! Step into our story and explore the history of Maryland’s Capital City at the Museum – and get the chance to meet the players in a new chapter of our history! The Annapolis Blues will be visiting the Museum between 1 pm and 3 pm, and you can meet the team as they get ready to begin their inaugural season in the National Premier Soccer League this spring. Included with Museum admission. Advance...

Join us for a special Homeschool Day at the William Paca House & Garden. Through a unique, hands-on experience, students will learn about the varieties of vegetables, flowers, and herbs grown and used in the 18th century. We’ll step back in time in the Historic Kitchen to see what foods were eaten and how they were prepared, and then see how it all came together at the formal table in the Dining Room. Students will examine a variety of replica cookware and create a craft. Advance registration required. This program...

Join us for a special Homeschool Day at the William Paca House & Garden. Through a unique, hands-on experience, students will learn about the varieties of vegetables, flowers, and herbs grown and used in the 18th century. We’ll step back in time in the Historic Kitchen to see what foods were eaten and how they were prepared, and then see how it all came together at the formal table in the Dining Room. Students will examine a variety of replica cookware and create a craft. Advance registration required. This program...

This talk explores westward expansion and its impact upon Native communities. Even though the phrase ‘manifest destiny’ was not used in print until 1845, the spirit of American expansionism that it referred to was very apparent long before the 1840s. Americans had been talking about pushing westward as if it was their manifest destiny ever since folks in Jamestown in the 1600s had started eyeing the land that Natives were settled on. University of Maryland historian Richard Bell will begin by tracking the story of Native expulsion and westward expansion...

For the first time, AAHPP has a new annual appropriation of $5 million, up from $1 million annually! AAHPP provides grants to assist in the preservation of buildings, sites, or communities of historical and cultural importance to the African American experience in Maryland. Attend this general in-person overview to learn how to apply and more.

Presenter: Maya Davis, Executive Director of Riversdale Historic Site Join Riversdale House Museum Director, Maya Davis as she shares the groundbreaking work to transform a traditional 19th century historic house museum into a community centered space and descendant inspired space focused on social justice. She will share the ways that the team has worked to reimagine the museum's interpretation, build relationships with a changing community, and incorporate the perspectives of Riversdale descendants. Maya Davis is the Director of the Riversdale House Museum, a former 19th Century Plantation home that interprets the...

One if by land, two if by sea - the Revolution depended on coded messages passed along by rings of spies. Discover your inner cryptographer as you uncover clues, visit the tavern in search of secret codes, and try to decipher the messages needed to help win the American Revolution. Two adult beverages will be provided. Participants must be 21+. Pre-registration required. Space is limited. ​Members: $35 Non-Members: $45 ​Please note: This program includes active moving from place to place and is held both indoors and outside

Join the Friends of the Rising Sun Inn on April 29, 2023 when we welcome award winning author, Luke Salisbury with his book, No Common War. The book deals with issues that are fresh today—a family disagreeing on the rightness of going to war and the pain the family experiences when a son returns home, after being wounded in battle, struggling with PTSD. But No Common War isn’t about Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq, it’s about the Civil War and is based on Salisbury’s own family history. Moreau Salisbury was the...

Come join the Friends of the Rising Sun Inn as they welcome Pasadena Paranormal back on Saturday, April 29th as they take you on a public paranormal tour of the Rising Sun Inn. They will attempt to communicate with the spirits tied to the Inn using the flashlight method, cat balls, multiple types of EMF and ultrasonic motion sensors. They will also try to capture visual evidence with the SLS camera and Infrared cameras. Sit in and conduct your own ITC sessions with the Echovox and Pasadena Paranormal ghost box...

We’re celebrating National Poetry Month with Maggie Benshaw, Poet Laureate of Annapolis. Join us for an afternoon of poetry in the picturesque Paca Garden. Participants will have the opportunity to compose their own poems in our beautiful garden oasis, and then present their poetry to the audience during our special poetry open mic. Event Schedule: 2 pm – 3 pm – Compose poetry & explore the William Paca Garden 3 pm – 4 pm – Poetry Open Mic *Each poet will have 4-5 minutes to read during the open mic...