Sunnyside, the home of Washington Irving (1783-1859), stands on the banks of the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York. Writer, intellectual, diplomat, designer, and American hero celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic, Irving created Sunnyside as a splendid, peaceful, Romantic-style home, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Admission: $6
Program length: 2 hours
Group limit: 45
Grades: 4 - 6


Pre-Visit Materials

Tales of a Traveler: Creating Sunnyside

Washington Irving traveled throughout America and Europe, capturing ideas for his stories and the design of his home, Sunnyside. In this program, students are encouraged to imagine what life was like during the 1850s at Sunnyside. Through examining primary documents and handling reproduction objects, students draw conclusions about life in another time period. A 19th-century-style talk show allows students to synthesize the information they have gathered. To prepare for the talk show, students work collaboratively, fashioning questions and answers for fellow students who portray characters they've learned about on the tour.

Admission: $7
Program length: 2 hours
Group limit: 30
Grades: 3 - 6



Pre-Visit Materials

Legend Days

Celebrate American author, Washington Irving, and his tales of ghosts, pumpkins, talking skulls, and things that go bump in the night. A live shadow puppet performance of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow acquaints your class with Ichabod Crane, the Headless Horseman, and Katrina Van Tassel. Then it's on to a woodland walk and the telling of Irving's folktale, The Devil and Tom Walker. On a guided tour of Irving's cottage, students will sharpen their observational and recording skills by looking for the clues in each room that tell about the people who lived and worked in the house. A concluding group letter-writing activity allows students to try their hand at creating a story!

Admission: $7
Program length: 1 1/2 hours
Group limit: 55
Grades: 2 - 5

Holiday Life in the Nineteenth Century

Pay a visit to Uncle Wash's home, decorated for his family's Christmas celebration. Hear how members of Irving's extended family and his Irish-born servants celebrated the holiday. Students recognize the origins of many popular, secular American Christmas traditions still practiced today and observe the English customs made fashionable by Irving. The program concludes with selected dramatic holiday readings.

Admission: $6
Program length: 1 1/2 hours
Group limit: 55
Grades: 3



Pre-Visit Materials

At Home with Washington Irving

Who was Washington Irving? Why was he a national and international cultural hero in the early 1800s? What was it like to live in a "modern" house of the 1850s? Students will discover age-appropriate answers to these questions by visiting Washington Irving's Sunnyside. Washington Irving, best known today for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, was even more significant in the mid-19th century. At Sunnyside, he created a warm and comfortable home for his extended family and large circle of friends. With costumed interpreters as their museum teachers, students view period objects, examine primary documents, and handle reproduction objects, gaining new perspectives and drawing conclusions about an important writer and social commentator from America's past.

Available Spring 2008
Admission: $6
Program length: 1 1/2 hours
Group limit: 25
Grades: 1



Pre-Visit Materials

A Cottage on the Hudson

A long time ago, a young boy, about the age of a first grader, was introduced to George Washington, the hero of the American Revolution. That little boy was Washington Irving, a namesake of our first president. We invite first grade students to explore Sunnyside, the home Irving designed for his family. This program directly supports the Social Studies curriculum that focuses on "My Family and Other Families - Now and Long Ago." Students learn about Irving and his family through stories illustrating how people lived in the mid-19th century. There are touchable reproduction objects and a concluding home-school connection activity.