With its working grist mill, footbridge over the Pocantico River, and little lambs scurrying about, Philipsburg Manor is perennially popular with the younger set. This year, the PM powers that be are offering a new tour geared for children 6-12 and their parents.

The "Hands on the House" tour, offered weekends at 11:30 and 2:30, focuses on the site's Manor House, its inhabitants, and the tasks they had to perform during the 18^th century.

There are numerous opportunities for kids to literally put their hands on the house (and its non-artifact stuff). To cite a couple, in the dairy, all of the items are reproductions that allow children to feel first-hand, for example, a butter churn and milk buckets. In the house's warehouse rooms, a number of reproduction objects let visitors appreciate the wide variety of goods available during the colonial period and the vast network of trade that allowed these goods to make their way around the globe.

Tickets for ALL Philipsburg Manor tours, including Hands on the House, are now available in advance online. Rather convenient, particularly when you can only visit at a specific time or want a specific tour.