Reconnecting with Nature and the Past Through Workshops at the Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown, NY

The Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown, NY (www.farmersmuseum.org) offers modern day people a terrific glimpse into 19^th century farm life, not only through exhibits but also by offering daily or two-day hands-on workshops and events that allow visitors to reconnect to times gone by.

For a back-to-nature holistic, educational experience, this Cooperstown attraction is a good place to check out. Located just four hours north of New York City, the museum offers a pastoral idyll of the way farming life impacted everyday aspects of the nineteenth century way of life. Mini-workshops, which the Farmers' Museum offers daily on a first-come, first-served basis, show visitors how to do simple blacksmithing, prepare medicines and lozenges the same way pharmacists from the 1800s did, bake in an open first hearth oven, and how to mow grasses and harvest grains with a scythe.

More advanced workshops at this New York rural life museum like basic blacksmithing help hone skills or foster existing familiarity. The great thing about the Farmers' Museum's workshops is that they provide historical background and context in addition to a hands-on approach. For example, the Fall into Honey Workshop teaches participants the summer and winter habits of bees while they learn historical and modern methods for extracting honey from combs. The Letterpress Printing Workshop in October will teach how to create masterpieces of 19^th century type, and the Fragrant Waters Workshop is a class that uniquely blends making fragrant floral waters and hot sauces!

Whether you're an amateur historian, foodie or decorator, the Farmers' Museum Lecture Series covers all your bases with lectures on Empire State Iron, Heirloom Vegetables and Decorating for the Holidays; these discussions can be both insightful and provocative.

Also make sure to swing by Lippitt Farmstead where the museum's heritage breeds roost. Visitors to the farmstead can also learn how to nurture, care for and feed young farm animals, sheer sheep and process the wool. For kids, the Children's Barnyard provides a welcoming and friendly place to interact with farm animals.