News & Events
Summer Workshops
Registration is now open for the variety of wonderful workshops available this summer. For more information about programs please click here to go to our Summer workshops page.
For further information or to register a child please contact the museum at 705-743-9710.
Junior Volunteer Program
Every summer Hutchison House is lucky to have a group of 40-50 young volunteers help us with our Scottish Teas. These young pople are members of our Junior Volunteer program. Junior Volunteers are between the ages of 8 and 13 years old. They come to the museum 4 or 5 times a summer to help us by serving Scottish Tea to visitors. Juniors Volunteers help to set up the tables, dress in period cosutme, take orders and serve tea to visitors over the course of the summer. When not busy there are variety of crafts and activities to enjoy and participate in. At the end of the afternoon the junior volunteers help to take down the tables and tidy, then they themselves get to enjoy a delicious piece of scone with jam.
Once a junior volunteer reaches the age of 13 they are given the opportunity to train to be an apprentice tour guide. They recieve their own training session and are scheduled with experienced adult volunteers so that they can learn how to give a tour and greet visitors appropriately. They are encouraged by the experienced guides to give partial tours of the rooms they feel comfortable with until they are ready to give a whole tour by themselves. High School students may log their hours and use them for the mandatory community service requirements for 40 hours prior to graduation.
The junior volunteer program at Hutchison House provides children with a wonderful opportunity to meet new people, get valuable volunteer experience, gain confidence interacting with adults as well as speaking in publioc. If you have the opportunity to visit Hutchison House this summer and are given a tour or served tea by one of these enthusiastic young people be sure to thank them for a job well done!
Click here for more information or to download the form
Canada 150 Celebrate at Home
Date: July 2, 2107
Location: Heritage Pavillion, Peterborough Museum and Archives
To celebrate Canada's 150th Birthday, Hutchison House Museum will be closed July 2, and staff and volunteers will be at the Heritage Pavillion at the Peterborough Museum and Archives with games, crafts, displays, a pioneer photo booth and more! For more information on the four day Canada 150 celebration, and to see what else is going on July, check out the Canada 150 homepage here.
We hope to see you on the Hill!
Scottish Tea
Date: July 4th Daily except mondays until September 3rd.
Time: 1-4pm
Summer is just around the corner and that means that Scottish Tea at Hutchison House is almost here! Take a walk through history as you experience the old doctors home with a costumed interpreter. Relax and enjoy the afternoon on the terrace while you enjoy delicious homemade scones and oatcakes with your choice of jam and whipped cream. Scottish Tea also includes your choice of hot tea, iced tea or lemonade. Scottish Tea is served daily (except Monday) starting on July 4th, Martha Hutchison's Birthday, until Labor Day. Scottish Tea is $10 for adults, $5 for youth (6-18) children 5 and under are free. The cost for Scottish Tea includes admission to the museum for a tour.
Doors Open Peterborough
Date: May 6, 2017
Time: 10am-4pm
Join local authors and distinguished academics to hear selected reading from some of the area's most distinguished female writers of the 19th century. Works by Catharine Parr Traill, Susanna Moodie, Isabella Vallency Crawford and others will be examined in a lovely period setting on the terrace (weather permitting). Tours of the museum itself and hearth demonstrations will occur throughout the day. For more information on other Doors Open event click here.
Rhubarb Spring Fling
Date: Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Sittings: 1PM &2PM
Cost: $7 in advance; $9 at the door
Hutchison House Museum will host a Rhubarb Spring Fling on Wednesday May 24 from 1-3pm. Enjoy a taste of spring with a delicious rhubarb dessert, topped with a dollop of ice cream. Tea, iced tea, or lemonade will add a refreshing compliment to this delightful spring repast.
Tickets for the Rhubarb Dessert may be purchased in advance at a reduced rate. Pay for tickets in advance at a cost of $7 or at the door for $9. Sittings are 1pm and 2pm. For more information or to make a reservation please contact the museum office at (705) 743-9710.
March Break
Date: Tuesday, March 14th, 2017- Friday, March 17th, 2017
Time: 9:30am til noon or 1-3:30pm
Cost: $15 per child
Take a step into the past this March Break at Hutchison House Museum. From Tuesday March 14th to Friday March 17th, 2017 come to the museum for hands-on activities, pioneer games and lots of fun!
Programs run from 9:30am - 12pm or 1-3:30pm and are suitable for children ages 6-12. The cost is $15 per attendant and pre-registration is required. Children are encouraged to bring their own peanut free snacks.
For more information or to register phone 705-743-9710.
2017 Woodland Fairy and Elf Week
Woodland Elves and Fairies
Tuesday, March 14, 9:30-12pm
Wednesday, March 15, 1-3:30pm
Thursday, March 16, 9:30-12pm
Friday, March 17, 1-3:30pm
Woodland Villages
Tuesday, March 14, 1-3:30pm
Wednesday, March 15, 9:30-12pm
Thursday, March 16, 1-3:30pm
Friday, March 17, 9:30-12pm
"And as the seasons come and go here's something you might like to know. There are fairies everywhere: under bushes, in the air, playing games just like you play, singing through their busy day. So listen, touch, and look around-in the air and on the ground. And if you watch all nature's things, you might just see a fairy's wing" - Author Unknown
The wee folk are coming to Hutchison House this March from Tuesday March 14 to Friday March 17. The Victorian era saw an increase in the interest in fairies and elves as settlers looked back to the folk tales of their ancestors. Fairies and elves were both good and bad, pranksters and helpful. They were the guardians of nature, woodland animals and gardens. They were helpful if you respected them, but caused problems when you didn't. Over the course of March Break children will have a variety of opportunities to create their own fairies or elves and woodland villages from a variety of recycled and natural materials.
St. Valentines Day Afternoon Tea
Date: Sunday, February 12th, 2017
Time: 2:30pm
Cost: $25
The Hutchison House Volunteers will host a Valentines Day themed Victorian Afternoon Tea on Sunday February 12, 2017 at 2:30pm. A light lunch of savories, sweets and tea will be served in the historic Keeping Room by costumed interpreters. Tours of the museum are available. Cost of the event is $25 each. Pre Registration is required as seating is limited. For more information or to make a reservation please contact the museum office at 705-743-9710.
Hogmanay
Date: January 1st, 2017
Time: 1-3:30pm
The Scots have been celebrating Hogmanay since the 16th century. Before the Reformation, the Scots celebrated a wide range of festivals from Christian, Norse and Celtic traditions. At the time of the Reformation, the Church of England cancelled all festivals except the most important feast days and by the mid-16th century, the observation of many of these had been almost entirely abolished. Christian feasts were seen to incorporate and sanctify pagan rituals. The Scottish Kirk forbade the celebration of Christmas, and in 1647 its observance was forbidden by an Act of Parliament. The result was that the Scots focussed on the celebration of the New Year - Hogmanay. By the 19th century, Christmas had been restored as a religious observance and Hogmanay continued as a time of merry-making.
Part of the preparation for the coming year involved putting one’s house in order. Debts were paid, the house was swept clean, clocks were wound, musical instruments were tuned, silver, brass and pewter were polished, clothes were mended, clean sheet were put on the beds, and anything borrowed was returned to its owner to ensure that all was in readiness when the new year arrived. Stray dogs were sent away, as they were thought to bring bad luck. Finally, the fire was piled high, the higher the flames, the greater the luck to come.
As with any festive occasion, Hogmanay includes the preparation of special food and beverages. At Hutchison House, on New Year’s Day, visitors will be treated to Scotch Black Bun, a rich mixture of currants, raisins, peel, spices and whisky, baked in a fine pastry dough, Clooty Dumpling or Duff, Scotch Eggs, Potted Salmon, cheeses, oatcakes, shortbread and Haggis. In the Highland tradition, the Hogmanay beverage, Atholl Brose, a heated mixture of honey and whisky topped with a dollop of whipped cream and toasted oats, will also be available.
Our first-footer will be “piped in” at precisely 1 p.m. January 1st with a rousing rendition of ‘Burns’ Address to a Haggis’ to follow shortly thereafter. Visitors will enjoy tours of the museum as well as samples of the taste of Scotland throughout the afternoon. Fiddle music, Highland dancing, and the skirl of the bagpipe and drum will round out the day. Plan to drop in to wish new friends and old neighbours the best for the coming year.
Help us ring in the new year at Hutchison House with a Hogmanay celebration from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on, January 1, 2017. Admission prices: adults $7.00; children $4.00; family rate $18.00 (2adults/2 children). This is a ‘drop-in’ affair. Space at the museum is limited and in order to accommodate visitors to this popular event and we would respectfully ask participants to keep the length of their visit as short as possible to avoid overcrowding. Atholl Brose sold separately. For more information call the museum at (705) 743-9710.
Snofest
Date: Tuesday January 10, 2017
Sittings: 2PM & 3PM
Hutchison House Museum will host a Snofest event on Tuesday, January 10, 2017. Visitors will enjoy scrumptious 'sweet apple buckle' topped with whipped cream. The Fireside Tea & Dessert will be served by the crackling fire of the keeping room (1840s kitchen). Sweet apple buckle is a delicious old fashioned dessert that is similar to apple cobbler. Coffee and/or tea are included. Tours of the museum will also be available.
Tickets for the event are $5 per person and must be booked in advance. Dessert will be served at 2pm and 3pm. To place a reseration, or to obtain more information, please call the Hutchison House office at 705-743-9710.
New Interactive and Accessible Program
New to Hutchison House: In an effort to make every learning experience a valuable experience, we have included a new interactive program within the Museum! As an addition to our Virtual Museum Tour DVD, Museum Management and Curatorship students from Sir Sandford Fleming College have created a new chest full of artifacts that represent a great deal of the history presented in the museum for individuals who cannot access the upstairs levels of Hutchison House. This chest is accompanied by a book providing an introductory explanation to the history of Hutchison House, allowing an independent learning experience for those who wish this. There is also a short Braille version. This experience is great for visitors who cannot trek up the stairs of the museum, those who would rather sit and experience the artifacts first-hand, or those who are visually impaired. Come and join us for your next museum experience and enjoy the history of our museum hands-on!
Hutchison House on YouTube
In honour of our 175th Anniversary last year Graham Hart from CHEX TV created this clip which can be viewed on YouTube.
Flash Back 1988: Hutchison House Museum
This past spring in honour or Toursim Week in Peterborough, the film students at Crestwood High School created 2.5 minutes clips of various attractions around town. These promotional clips aired on local CHEX TV the first week of June, 2013 and can also be found here on YouTube.
Hutchison House Living Musuem, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.
Virtual Exhibit Growing Up in Peterborough: A Century of Stories
When the City of Peterborough, Ontario celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2005, reminiscing about the way things used to be was an important part of the occasion. "Growing Up in Peterborough: A Century of Stories" is a collection of these reminiscences, memories of how the city came to be the city it is today.
This Hutchison House Museum exhibit looks back at the lives of 11 citizens born, raised and still residing in Peterborough. Some left for one reason or another, such as war or school, but all returned to testify that there is no place in the world they would rather live.
This exhibit is available online and can be visited by clicking here.
Virtual Exhibit on the Life of Dr. Hutchison
In 2010 Hutchison House Museum received funding to create a virtual exhibit for the Community Memories section of the Virtual Museum of Canada. After a year of hard work by staff and volunteers the result was the creation of ‘The Life and Times of Dr. Hutchison in the backwoods of Upper Canada’. This exhibit is now online and can be found by going to this link:
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/pm_v2.php?id=exhibit_home&fl=0&lg=English&ex=00000758
The museum would like to thank Peterborough Museum and Archives, Trent University Archives, Royal Ontario Museum, Library and Archives Canada, Jean Cole, Ann Baker, Gale Fewings and Erin Panepinto for all your help in the creation of this exhibit.
