Upcoming Events
Schedule Changes
We will be closed on Friday, May 19, and Friday, June 2, for school visits. We also will have a delayed opening to the public on Saturday, May 20. Tours will begin at noon that day.
Mother’s Day Promotion
Looking to do something special for the mother figure in your life? Treat her to a day at the museum! Mothers can go free while we are open on Sunday, May 14, noon – 4 p.m.
Use the code MOMFREE online or at the door.
Upcoming Presentations
Early Forms of Transportation in New England – May 20, 11 a.m.
Join historian Ken Ethier as he talks about the building of the Blackstone Canal, early railroads, and trolleys. Register here.
Women and Children on the Time Clock – June 10, 11 a.m.
Join historian and Hopedale Women’s History Project founder Linda Hixon to learn more about women and children in the working world and how their labor helped shape this country. Register here.
Samuel Slater’s Birthday Weekend
Friday June 9: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Discounted admission – $5 off adult and senior ticket prices. Last admission is 3 p.m.
Saturday June 10: 11 a.m. Free Presentation – Women and Children in the Mills by Linda Hixon (Registration required.)
Sunday, June 11: 1-3 p.m. Udder Delights Ice Cream Truck. Visit the museum and get a $1.50 voucher towards ice cream!
Weaving Courses
We have two weaving courses coming up with Sharon Geyer. Sharon Geyer is a fiber artist who specializes in weaving; she also enjoys spinning, knitting, sewing and dyeing. Sharon’s most recent work has been as a rigid heddle weaving instructor at Woolworks in Putnam, Connecticut.
Pick-up Technique for Intermediate Weavers
The first class will be on June 24 from noon to 3:30 p.m. It is intended for intermediate weavers who have a loom and are familiar with warping their loom. In this workshop you will make a scarf with pick-up designs that will allow you to explore weft floats and warp floats to create interesting patterns. See an example of the pick-up pattern in the picture below.
Introductory Course for Beginners
The second course will be another introduction course for beginners. It will be held on three consecutive Saturdays, July 15, 22, and 29 from noon to 3:30 p.m. Fee for the three days is $150 which includes the yarn for the first weaving project. Looms will be available to borrow.
Click the image below for more details about both courses. The maximum capacity for both classes is six people each. Email admin@samuelslaterexperience.org to register.
Events Recap
SSE in the Community
“Travels with George and the Importance of Local History”
We partnered with the Uxbridge Historical Society and Booklovers’ Gourmet to host a pop-up shop of signed copies of “Travels with George” by author Nathaniel Philbrick. Learn more here.
Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce Home and Community Expo
We tabled at the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce Home and Community Expo. You can learn more about the event here.
Books, Bites, and Blooms
We had a display at the Friends of the Gladys E. Kelly Library’s Books, Bites, and Blooms. A huge thank you to Experience Guide Linda Casey for her creative and green thumb in designing our display.
A Lesson in Weaving
Our Experience Guide, Trish Stuart, visited kindergartners at Mason Road Elementary in Dudley to talk about yarn and weaving as a part of their colonial history unit.
East Meets West Health and Business Fair
We tabled at the East Meets West Health and Business Fair on April 29 at Park Ave. School in Webster. You can learn more here.
Richard Hughes
Thank you to everyone who came to see Richard Hughes and his Traveling Silent Movie Show! We hope you had a great time. Keep an eye out for a video of some of the hands-on fun we had on Thursday afternoon.
Guides’ Guided Tour
On April 20, we hosted an Experience Guides’ guided tour in order for our guides to get to know and learn from each other. While we are unfortunately missing a few, here is our great group of volunteers.
Recent Visits
We are looking forward to welcoming many students and schools to Samuel Slater Experience this May and June. Check out some of our recent visits below.
On April 2, members of the Industrial History New England group came to visit and learn more about us.
On April 12, we had the Oxford Huguenot Society visit. We were excited to engage with them the richness of our towns’ histories.
On April 14, we had a brief visit from Alexander Racicot’s grandchildren, Edouard Piché and Louise Piché Epperson. Their mother, Beatrice, was Alex’s tenth of 11 children.
