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Archaeology Behind the Scenes

Visit the Archaeological Lab for a guided tour and learn about a century of archaeological discovery at Colonial Williamsburg!

At a Glance

Join us on a 20-minute guided tour and enjoy some Museum favorites at a glance.

Conversation: Meet a Nation Builder

Find a Nation Builder, a significant figure of 18th-century Williamsburg, around the Palace Green for some informal conversation.

Conversation: Meet a Person of the Past

Find people of the past in front of Wetherburn's Tavern for some informal conversation or activity.

Cry Witch

Question witnesses, weigh evidence, and determine the guilt or innocence of "the Virginia Witch." Not appropriate for young children due to subject matter and intense emotion.

Evening Program: Haunted Williamsburg

Brave centuries of scares, from 18th-century colonial ghost stories to creepy modern-day encounters!

Evening Program: Music at the Raleigh Tavern

Explore how music shaped identity in the newly independent United States through musical entertainment featuring songs and pieces enjoyed in post-Revolutionary America.

Evening Program: Palace Concert

Colonial Williamsburg's early music ensemble, the Governor's Musick, offers an elegant evening of chamber music.

Fire a Flintlock Musket

Fire live rounds at a target from two different reproduction 18th-century flintlock firearms used during the Revolutionary War.

For Donors: Visit a Nation Builder

Donors who contribute $250 or more annually to the Colonial Williamsburg Fund are invited to visit with a Nation Builder.

Good Stories about Great Stuff

Join a curator, conservator, educator, archaeologist, or historian to discover who created the object, who owned it, and how it ended up in the Colonial Williamsburg Collection.

Hands-On: For Families

Participate in the daily activities of an 18th-century family at the Geddy House.

Home School Hands-On: Art

Explore the Galleries at the Art Museums, then drop by the Goode Education Studio and create art inspired by objects on exhibit.

Homeschool Hands-On: First Baptist Church Site

Participate in an activity where you can learn what the science of archaeology is like.

Homeschool Hands-On: Importance of Tobacco

Visit the Ewing field to see some tobacco firsthand, then learn about how tobacco shaped the basis of the economy.

Homeschool Presentation: Order in the Court

Participate in a local court session where lives, liberties, and property are contested.

Homeschool Tour: Capitol

Students and their families are invited on an engaging and interactive tour of Virginia’s second capitol building.

Homeschool Tour: Palace

The Royal Governor of Virginia wielded great influence over the colony of Virginia. See how that authority, power, and wealth set the Governor above Williamsburg's residents.

Indigenous Short Films

Richmond's acclaimed Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival comes to Williamsburg to share a series of short films written, directed, and produced by Indigenous artists.

Lecture: Life and Character of George Washington

In this series of seven talks, Professor Henriques details what he views as the seven stages of George Washington's life to understand the United State's central figure better.

Music: Early American

Enjoy music that has come from distant shores to become the music of Early America.

Music: Fife & Drum

Watch and listen to the Fifes and Drums as they demonstrate the music and drill of various military ceremonies from an 18th-century soldier's working day.

Music: Fife & Drum March

The Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums, representing military field musicians, march from the Capitol to the Palace Green.

Music: Governor's Musick at the Art Museums

Join members of the Governor’s Musick in the Hennage Auditorium as they present some of their favorite topics.

Music: The Art of Fifing & Drumming

Join the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes & Drums as they demonstrate the many musical tasks and ceremonies that occurred throughout a revolutionary soldier's day.

Performance: A New Republic

This series of museum theater programs relate to the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and democracy.

Performance: Community Connections

This series of museum theater programs relates to the need to belong, identify, and struggle with and against our community.

Performance: Family Theater

The Jug Broke Theatre Co. present from their repertoire of plays, ballad operas, and music bringing the spirit of 18th-century theatre to you!

Performance: Revolutionary Acts

This series of museum theater programs relate to the experience and meaning of the Revolution for the 18th-century Williamsburg community.

Performance: Street Theater

The Williamsburg community comes to life in this street theatre experience exploring the daily lives of ordinary people during extraordinary times.

Performance: Visit a Nation Builder

Step into the past with a Nation Builder. Through stories, discussion, and questions, explore the hopes, choices, and challenges they faced.

Performance: Voices of Freedom

This series of museum theater programs relates to freedom from different perspectives — meaning, denial, and the risks people take for it.

Performance: Voices of the Past

This series of museum theater programs explores the connections between the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of 18th-century people and people of today.

Presentation: Excavation to Programming

Join a Nation Builder and a Colonial Williamsburg Archaeologist as they discuss important sites in Williamsburg from the 18th century to today.

Presentation: Good Stories about Great Stuff Kids

Calling all KIDS! Join us as we explore stories about objects chosen just for YOU!

Presentation: Order in the Court

After a short exploration of the Courthouse and its surroundings, participate in a local court session where lives, liberties, and property are contested.

Presentation: Students of Brafferton Indian School

Join Fallon Burner, historian, on an Indigenous tour of 18th-century Williamsburg while introducing the legacy of four centuries of Indian School projects in North America.

Public Auction

Take part in an exciting auction! Bid on selected items from Colonial Williamsburg stores as well as exclusive items not available elsewhere.

Revolutionary Points of View

Step back in time to the eve of the American Revolution, and there are just as many opinions about war and independence as we hear about politics and religion today.

Special Event: A Veterans Day Salute & Procession

Join us this Veterans Day weekend for a march and ceremony honoring America's veterans.

Special Event: Custis Square Community Open House

Join us for a day of archaeology at Custis Square! Free flow exploration all day and conversations with George and Martha Washington.

Special Event: Firing of the Brick Kiln

Fall is time to fire the bricks! Come see the kiln fires rage as the bricks reach a temperature of over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Special Event: Idea of America Seminar

The Idea of America Seminar explores how shared values have shaped our American identity and how you can apply them to the fundamental issues facing our nation today.

Special Event: Lighting of the Cressets

Join us on the historic Duke of Gloucester Street as we bring our 18th-century streets to life at night.

Special Event: Salute to the Heroes

A lone bagpiper plays from the Governor's Palace in a heartfelt tribute to honor those men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces.

Special Event: Veterans Day Proclamation

Our Veterans Day begins at 10 a.m. with a ceremony on Palace Green honoring the men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces.

To Hang a Pirate

Join us in a trial of a Blackbeard crew member that occurred in Williamsburg in 1719. Hear the evidence and make a judgment!

Tour: Arboretum Central Historic Area

Learn about some of Colonial Williamsburg's most asked-about trees, how the colonists used them, and how they continue to be important today.

Tour: Bassett Hall Trace

Take a leisurely stroll on Bassett Trace Nature Trail and learn about Virginia’s wildlife and native habitats. If you like nature and enjoy being outdoors, this walk is for you!

Tour: Black Artists and Artisans

Tour the museum galleries, including the “I Made This” exhibition, to explore decorative arts and folk art made by Black American artists and artisans.

Tour: Custis Square Archaeology

Take a guided tour and talk with archaeologists in the field about the current archaeological investigations at John Custis IV’s four-acre home and early 18th-century gardens.

Tour: Designer in Residence

Explore the interior of the oldest frame house in Virginia (circa 1695) and discover how Designer Heather Chadduck Hillegas reimagined these spaces for today.

Tour: Freedom's Paradox

Explore the paradox of the institution of slavery and the movement for independence in a 60-minute walking tour that begins and ends at the Randolph Yard.

Tour: Meet the Gardener

Garden volunteers answer questions about growing flowers and vegetables in the Historic Area.

Tour: Robert Carter House

Explore the life and history of the Robert Carter family and the enslaved and free individuals who worked and labored here.

Tour: Stables Behind-The-Scenes

Get a behind-the-scenes look at our modern stables and learn more about our carriages.