4811 Riverdale Road, Riverdale Park, MD 20737
301-864-0420; TTY 301-454-1472; Fax 301-927-3498
riversdale@pgparks.com

PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Learn about and experience the rich history of Riversdale by participating in a variety of events, educational programs, and tours that are offered. To register for events at Riversdale, call 301-864-0420.

• Event Calendar
  
• Educational Programs
  
• Girl Scout Programs
  
• Tours & Admission
  

2008 EVENT CALENDAR

Tuesdays, March 11, March 18 (1:30 pm), April 8 & 22, May 13, 7:30 pm
Spring Lecture Series
    March 11 - Michael Twitty, Director of Interpretation for the Menare Foundations, Fighting Old Nep: The Food Culture of Enslaved Afro-Marylanders
Fee: Free, made possible by a grant from the Maryland Humanities Council
    March 18 - Mary Ann Jung, "Julia Child: America's Favorite French Chef"In this costumed living history presentation, Mary Ann Jung portrays Julia Child. Come learn the story of this groundbreaking and charismatic American woman who founded her own school of French cooking and co-authored the comprehensive cookbook classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
    April 8 - Nancy Struna, Professor and Chair, Department of American Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, Taverns in Early America
Fee: $5
    April 22 - Jenny Masur, Underground Railroad Regional Coordinator, National Capital Region, National Park Service, Seeking Freedom: The Underground Railroad
Fee: $5
    May 13 - Leigh Ryan, Writing Center Director, University of Maryland, College Park, "I Write to Tell You…": Conventions in Early 19th Century Letters
Fee: $5

Sunday, May 4, 12 noon
Children's Day
Come out and play! Children of all ages can enjoy old-fashioned, unplugged fun and games, a Maypole dance, a puppet show, and make and take crafts.
Fee: $2 children and adults; children must be accompanied by an adult.

Monday-Friday, June 23-27, 10 am-3 pm
Hands on History Days: Early American Life
Children, ages 8-12, sign up for as many days as you like during the week - each day features a different theme
Fee: Resident $30, $135 for all 5 days; Non-Resident $36, $144 for all 5 days; advance registration required.

Wednesdays, June 25, July, 30, August 27, 7 pm
Jazz on the Portico

    June 25 - Cheek to Cheek
    July 30 - Sandy Asirvatham
    August 27 - Bruce Ewan

Bring your blanket or lawn chair and relax on the grass for these free summer concerts featuring some of the area's finest jazz musicians. Dinner is available for purchase before the show, or bring your own picnic basket. In case of rain, the concerts move inside. These concerts are supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts.
FREE

Monday-Thursday, June 30-July 3, 10 am-12 noon
Hands on History Days: Fairytale Days
Children, ages 5-8, sign up for as many days as you like - each day features a variety of historic arts and crafts.
Fee: Resident $15, $55 for all 4 days; Non-Resident $18, $60 for all 4 days; advance registration required.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

The Keys in Her Pocket: Household Management of an Early American Estate
This program will highlight the inner economic workings of an early 19th century Maryland estate and working farm. The central role as mistress of the household was to oversee all domestic tasks. Riversdale's early 19th century mistress, Rosalie Stier Calvert, approached this job with skill, efficiency, and pride. Students will be given a special tour of the house designed to highlight the types of economic resources that were purchased compared to the many items that were produced at Riversdale by Mrs. Calvert and her servants, enslaved or free. Students will also participate in a hands-on workshop where they will grind spices, card wool, and see and touch items that were common in early 19th century households.
Tour Length: 60-90 minutes
Level: Grades 3-6
Cost: $2 per person (Adult and Student)
NOTE: Fulfills 4th Grade Content Standard of Voluntary Curriculum: Economics: Explain how limited economic resources are used to produce goods and services to satisfy economic wants in Maryland.

WORKSHOP ADD-ON
Rosalie's Helpers: A Hands On Workshop

Textile Production: Processing & Spinning Wool

Butter-Making in the Dairy

Workshop Length: 90 minutes

Workshop will follow The Keys in Her Pocket Tour

Workshops can only be offered to one class per day.

Students need to bring a bag-lunch (Students may eat lunch on the grounds or inside the mansion depending on weather.)

Pinch, No Smiles: Early Nineteenth Century Play at Riversdale
This tour is designed to introduce students to Riversdale by using the perspective of a child. George and Rosalie Calvert had nine children, five of whom lived to adulthood. Students on this tour will move from room to room and discover the ways in which an early nineteenth-century child would have played, worked, and lived in each room. In addition, slave children also resided at Riversdale. Students will compare and contrast their living, working, and playing conditions with that of the Calvert children. Students will also participate in a hands on workshop where they will learn a traditional English country dance and play the game, Pinch, No Smiles.
Tour Length: 60-90 minutes
Level: Grades 1-4
Cost: $2 per person (Adult and Student)
Note: This tour fulfills the Content Standard for 3rd Grade: Individuals and Society Change Over Time

WORKSHOP ADD-ON
Riversdale Amusements: A Hands On Workshop

Make an optical illusion toy such as a Thaumatrope

Play early American games such as Pinch, No Smiles

Workshop Length: 60 minutes

Workshop will follow Pinch, No Smiles Tour

Workshops can only be offered to one class per day.

Students need to bring a bag-lunch (Students may eat lunch on the grounds or inside the mansion depending on weather.)

Open Hearth Cooking Workshops
Choose A Cooking Workshop:

$50 Flat Fee

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GIRL SCOUT PROGRAMS

Brownie Try-Its

Colors and Shapes
Colors and shapes will come alive as Brownies tour the Riversdale mansion looking for colors and shapes in the historic artwork, fabrics, and furniture contained within its doors. Scouts will make stamps, weave a placemat, and design their own quilt square.
Fee: $10 per scout, $2 per adult (Try-It not included)

Write Away
(Recommended for 3rd Graders, or those with strong reading and writing skills)
The Mistress of Riversdale, Rosalie Calvert, is the perfect role-model for how important letters can be to the study of the past. The extensive collection of letters still in existence between Rosalie Stier Calvert and her family in Belgium provides a remarkable narrative window into the past. Scouts will tour of the house, make marbleized journals, play games, and become reporters to help them build an appreciation for the written word.
Fee: $10 per scout, $2 per adult (Try-It not included)

Listening to the Past
Riversdale House Museum is the perfect environment for scouts to complete the Listening to the Past Try-It. Scouts will tour the house, cook in the open hearth, read wallpaper, and make and play with early American games and toys.
Fee: $10 per scout, $2 per adult (Try-It not included)

Junior Badges

Folk Arts
Folk traditions are those that are passed down from generation to generation and learned by observation and imitation. The products of folk art are aesthetically embellished objects that have a utilitarian purpose and do not necessarily need the decoration to carry out that purpose. In this program, scouts will compare and contrast fine art with folk art, make theorem paintings, learn an English country dance, and learn about quilts.
Fee: $10 per scout, $2 per adult (Badge not included)

Architecture Adventures
Riversdale, completed in 1807, is unique to the area in that it includes elements of both traditional American Federal and European architecture. While touring the house, Scouts will gain an understanding of the main components of these types of architecture. Scouts will also learn about modern design, form, and function when they tour Riversdale's new Visitor Center building. Afterwards, Scouts will redesign a room and create a three dimensional garden.
Fee: $10 per scout, $2 per adult (Badge not included)

A Stitch in Time
Fabric arts were as varied 200 years ago as they are today. Rosalie Stier Calvert dressed her family and decorated her home in a wide variety of European and American fabrics and cloths. Scouts will learn about decorative and functional fabrics, experiment with natural dyes, weave on a loom, and create their own fabric project.
Fee: $10 per scout, $2 per adult (Badge not included)

Toymaker
200 years ago, toys and games were quite different than they are today. Riversdale was home to nine of Rosalie and George Calvert's children, as well as the children of their enslaved servants. While touring the house, Scouts will learn about how these children lived and played. They will try their hand at some nineteenth century games, make their own period toy, and create a board game about Riversdale.
Fee: $10 per scout, $2 per adult (Badge not included)

Local Lore
The town of Riverdale has a rich history with a great deal of importance placed on the Calvert family and their home, Riversdale. Scouts will discover how the Calverts would have lived and why they were so important. After a tour of the house, Scouts will use primary sources to make a poster about the local Battle of Bladensburg, perform a short play about an important event in the history of Riversdale, and become stewards of Riversdale by learning about how important it is to have volunteers work with the paid staff (scouts will lend a hand in a small project to assist the staff).
Fee: $10 per scout, $2 per adult (Badge not included)

Patch Programs

House Tour
Explore c. 1801 Federal style house and kitchen dependency. As scouts tour the house they will learn about art, architecture, and the Calvert family, particularly about Rosalie Stier Calvert, the empowered Mistress of Riversdale.
Fee: $1 per person, additional fee of $2.50 per Riversdale custom patch.

Open Hearth Cooking Workshop
Give your troop the unique experience of cooking on an early 19th century hearth using period correct recipes and receipts. This workshop is limited to groups of no more than 10 (including adults).
Fee: $50 per 2 hour session, additional fee of $2.50 per Riversdale custom patch.

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TOURS & ADMISSION

Walk-in tours:
Fridays & Sundays, 12 noon-3:30 pm
Group tours by appointment.

Admission:
$3/adults, $2/seniors/groups, $1/ages 5-18, FREE/ages 4 & under