Certain program offerings require six or more participants to hold. WM reserves the right to reschedule or cancel any program, with notice to participants.
Feedback helps us create programs and events that are relevant to the public. Please participate so we may align our offerings to serve our community better!
Connecticut Witch Panic Escape Room Returns!
Special Event
Saturday, February 18 - June 24, 2023
8:00 pm
Our escape room runs from February 18th through June 24th. Time slots are available Tuesdays-Thursdays from 11:30 am to 5 pm; on Fridays and Saturdays slots run from
...Read More
LGBTQ Oral Histories Wanted!
Free Event
Thursday, June 1 - June 30, 2023
12:00 pm - 7:15 pm
Westport Pride and the Westport Museum for History & Culture have joined forces to create a new LGBTQ Oral History Project!
Historically, queer narratives have been conspicuously absent from community archives, leaving a void in the historical record. This omission is a consequence of the pervasive bias and criminalization endured by gay, trans, and nonbinary citizens throughout
...Read More
Father’s Day Card Kit
Special Event
Tuesday, June 6 - June 17, 2023
All Day
Make your own celebratory card for the dads in your life with a Westport Museum card kit. Each kit includes vintage-themed supplies to create your very own vintage-styled cards!
...Read More
Student Exhibit Opening “Reluctant Liberators: Westport in the Civil War”
Exhibit Opening
Thursday, June 8, 2023
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Join us for the opening of our new, student-curated exhibit on the Civil War! Come see how local residents contributed to the war effort. Hear how Westport, despite its Union status, may not have supported abolition and racial equality in the way we’d believe. The conflict marks a period of great change in American history – one Westport helped shape.
...Read More
Destination Westport: In Gatsby’s Shoes
Walking Tour
Sunday, June 11, 2023
9:30 am - 11:00 am
Imagine it’s the summer of 1920. Westport is a sleepy farm community that lures New York’s most glamorous couple-F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald—to its shores.
...Read More
Heartfelt Letters: Discussions of Grief
Virtual Event
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
7:00 pm - 7:45 pm
Society has been in the midst of a difficult time in global history. Many are experiencing grief, either personal or as a community. This sense of profound loss is a part of the shared human experience and can be made easier through expression in many forms.
...Read More
Chats on the Past: The Secret History of Street Names with Deirdre Mask
Chats On the Past
Thursday, June 15, 2023
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Deirdre Mask is the author of The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power. The Address Book gives us the fascinating histories of street names ranging from ancient Rome to modern times, as well as revealing the reality of millions today who live without street addresses. Street names tell us far more than where we are on a map – they show us who has the power to name our land and who was deemed “important” enough to have their names written into our very landscape.
...Read More
Destination Westport: Black Stories
Walking Tour
Monday, June 19, 2023
9:30 am - 11:00 am
Traverse downtown Westport and learn the hidden African American history of Westport, based on the Museum’s award-winning exhibit Remembered: The History of African Americans in Westport. Trained guides reveal the untold stories of the region’s Black community from colonial times through today. From enslaved people to soldiers, sailors, activists, artists, and respected citizens this rich history is deeply explored through existing buildings and long destroyed sites. Follow along with our virtual exhibit of the same name online here.
...Read More
Destination Westport: Black Stories
Walking Tour
Saturday, June 24, 2023
9:30 am - 11:00 am
Traverse downtown Westport and learn the hidden African American history of Westport, based on the Museum’s award-winning exhibit Remembered: The History of African Americans in Westport. Trained guides reveal the untold stories of the region’s Black community from colonial times through today. From enslaved people to soldiers, sailors, activists, artists, and respected citizens this rich history is deeply explored through existing buildings and long destroyed sites. Follow along with our virtual exhibit of the same name online here.
...Read More
Cocktails and Collections
Free Member Event
Monday, June 26, 2023
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Come sip a cocktail and view special pieces from the museum’s collection! This event is for members to enjoy private access to our newly renovated historic barn space and never-seen-before collections.
...Read More
Connecticut Witch Panic Escape Room: Behind the Build
Special Event
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of our Connecticut Witch Panic Escape Room! Hear the story behind the concept, how the puzzles were designed, and how each was executed. Learn how we created our most technologically complex puzzles, and get some tips and tricks for designing your very own escape room.
...Read More
Free First Saturdays
Free Event
Saturday, July 1, 2023
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
First Saturdays are a great opportunity to experience what we have to offer at the Westport Museum free of charge on the first Saturday of each month.
...Read More
Destination Westport: Path of Patriots Tour (Greens Farms Church Lower Cemetery )
Walking Tour
Monday, July 3, 2023
10:00 am - 11:00 am
On July 8, 1779, during the war for Independence, British soldiers attacked Green’s Farms, burning buildings to the ground. Learn about Westport’s role in the American Revolution, by visiting the gravestones of those who served during the war for Independence—including stories of the fateful day Greens Farms burned.
...Read More
Thursday Treasure: Maps
Thursday Treasure
Thursday, July 6, 2023
6:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Whether hand-drawn by a famous cartographer or read off an app on your phone, we have all held a map. Maps have been used for tasks as grand as crossing an ocean to as simple as finding a grocery store. While cartography may seem like a straightforward subject, the history of mapping out our globe has been intensely political and cause for enormous debate. Westport’s landscape has
...Read More
Destination Westport: Saugatuck Stories Walking Tour
Walking Tour
Saturday, July 15, 2023
9:30 am - 10:30 am
Explore diverse experiences as you stroll through the riverside neighborhood of Saugatuck. Situated at the mouth of the Saugatuck River at the Long Island Sound, the area has been historically significant from before European colonization, through the 20th century. Explore commerce, including the Atlantic trade, as well as 19th and early 20th century immigrant and women’s experiences in the town through the history of this area.
...Read More
Destination Westport: In Gatsby’s Shoes
Walking Tour
Saturday, July 22, 2023
9:30 am - 11:00 am
Imagine it’s the summer of 1920. Westport is a sleepy farm community that lures New York’s most glamorous couple-F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald—to its shores.
...Read More
Destination Westport: Evergreen Burial Ground
Walking Tour
Saturday, August 5, 2023
9:30 am - 10:30 am
Survey the resting place of past Westporters and learn their stories as you meander through Saugatuck Congregational Church’s Evergreen Cemetery. Discover gravestones belonging to everyday citizens as well as prominent individuals and families.
...Read More
Free First Saturdays
Free Event
Saturday, August 5, 2023
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
First Saturdays are a great opportunity to experience what we have to offer at the Westport Museum free of charge on the first Saturday of each month.
...Read More
Exhibition Curator Tour: “Legacy: The Adairs of Westport”
Special Event
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Join our curators to immerse yourself in the story of the Adair family in this special tour of our exhibit “Legacy: The Adairs of Westport.” Hear the fascinating story of how the Westport Museum brought to light a family that Westport had forgotten. See the artifacts up close, and learn how the exhibit came to life through years of research and an intense writing and design process.
...Read More
Destination Westport: In Gatsby’s Shoes
Walking Tour
Saturday, August 12, 2023
9:30 am - 11:00 am
Imagine it’s the summer of 1920. Westport is a sleepy farm community that lures New York’s most glamorous couple-F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald—to its shores.
...Read More
Destination Westport: Saugatuck Stories Walking Tour
Walking Tour
Saturday, August 19, 2023
9:30 am - 10:30 am
Explore diverse experiences as you stroll through the riverside neighborhood of Saugatuck. Situated at the mouth of the Saugatuck River at the Long Island Sound, the area has been historically significant from before European colonization, through the 20th century. Explore commerce, including the Atlantic trade, as well as 19th and early 20th century immigrant and women’s experiences in the town through the history of this area.
...Read More
Destination Westport: In Gatsby’s Shoes
Walking Tour
Saturday, September 2, 2023
9:30 am - 11:00 am
Imagine it’s the summer of 1920. Westport is a sleepy farm community that lures New York’s most glamorous couple-F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald—to its shores.
...Read More
Free First Saturdays
Free Event
Saturday, September 2, 2023
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
First Saturdays are a great opportunity to experience what we have to offer at the Westport Museum free of charge on the first Saturday of each month.
...Read More
Destination Westport: Evergreen Burial Ground
Walking Tour
Saturday, September 16, 2023
9:30 am - 10:30 am
Survey the resting place of past Westporters and learn their stories as you meander through Saugatuck Congregational Church’s Evergreen Cemetery. Discover gravestones belonging to everyday citizens as well as prominent individuals and families.
...Read More
Mock Colonial Wedding
Special Event
Saturday, September 16, 2023
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Join us for an exclusive wedding* from the past! Our bride and groom will be dressed in their finest 1770s garb with authentic vows from the period. Experience how a ceremony from the past both differs and rings true compared to today.
...Read More
Destination Westport: Art from the Beyond
Spooktober
Saturday, October 7, 2023
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Ever wondered why you shouldn’t walk on a grave? Or why there are so many skulls on tombstones? Do you know the story of Connecticut’s witch trials?
...Read More
Free First Saturdays
Free Event
Saturday, October 7, 2023
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
First Saturdays are a great opportunity to experience what we have to offer at the Westport Museum free of charge on the first Saturday of each month.
...Read More
Destination Westport: Westport Sanitarium
Spooktober
Saturday, October 14, 2023
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Though the buildings are long gone, the site of the Westport Sanitarium—one of two in Westport—stood in what is, today, Winslow Park. Follow our docent through the park and discover the tales of the administrators, doctors and patients that lived and worked in the sanitariums. See images from the time and ear tales of heartbreak, control, medicine, life and death.
...Read More
Destination Westport: Dark History of Westport
Spooktober
Friday, October 20, 2023
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Sneak along the paths of downtown as you hear curious tales from the darker side of Westport’s past. Care for a stroll along the waters that once contained the runoff of the Embalmers Supply Company? Peek into the windows of the former Coffin Tack factory, rest at a speakeasy, and hear about the Westport Museum’s resident ghost.
...Read More
Free First Saturdays
Free Event
Saturday, November 4, 2023
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
First Saturdays are a great opportunity to experience what we have to offer at the Westport Museum free of charge on the first Saturday of each month.
...Read More
Modern Chocolate Tasting
Historic Food Workshop
Thursday, November 9, 2023
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Join Westport Museum and a local chocolatier to see a demonstration of how modern chocolate is made and try some delicious samples.
...Read More