Find Events For Your Visit

A visit to this original house will give everyone a chance to get their "Hands on History." Children of all ages have an opportunity to try out various chores, lessons, toys, and games. Guests may enter and leave at will.

The orientation walk is designed to help guests plan their visit. Guides share the latest information on programming, dining, and shopping options. Guests get an overview of the 18th century community and learn about the restoration of Williamsburg. The experience lasts approximately 30 minutes.

Included in all Historic Area or Museum admission passes.  Tours depart every 10-15 minutes.

This tour focuses on the historic documents and archaeological evidence used in creating the Historic Area gardens.

Reservations or additional tickets required.

Ticketed event.

Learn a trade while we’re at war? On this guided tour, visit three trade shops and decide just what you want to be when you grow up. At the start of the tour you'll receive a paste-paper cover for a stitch book and period descriptions of the trades.

At each trade shop you visit, collect a memento to include in your book. At the end of your experience, sew your stitch book, choose your trade, and fill out an apprenticeship contract.

90-minute tours begin at 9:30, 9:55 and 10:20 a.m.. Adult tickets $15. Children under 6 $7.50.  Starting location will be listed on ticket.

Reservations or additional tickets required. Call 1-800-HISTORY for prices and reservations.

See an extensive collection of American and British antiques. See furniture, metals, ceramics, glass, paintings, prints, firearms, and textiles from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries and the Public Hospital of 1773. Attend lectures and musical performances in the Hennage Auditorium. Visit the Museum Store and the Museum Café.

View Current Exhibits

Enjoy changing exhibitions of American folk art, the colonial and contemporary artists and craftspeople who work outside the mainstream of academic art to record aspects of everyday life. Attend lectures and musical performances in the Hennage Auditorium. Visit the Museum Store and the Museum Café.

View Current Exhibits

Programs and exhibitions at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.

A ball at the Capitol for Lady Dunmore provides an opportunity for romance. Will young Mister Randolph and Miss Nicholas begin their "dance?"

On Duke of Gloucester Street, in front of King's Arms Tavern.

There are many story books for children of varying ages published by Colonial Williamsburg. Guests are invited to bring the children to the Benjamin Powell house and make their way to the stableyard, where a costumed interpreter reads one of these popular titles.

Weather permitting.

The Children's Orientation Walk is designed to assist guests with planning their visit and will highlight options that families will enjoy. Guides share the latest information on programming, dining, and shopping options. Guests will receive an overview of the 18th century community and specifically understand what childhood and family life was like in the 18th century. The walking tour lasts approximately 30 minutes.

From October, 1765 to May, 1776 events take place in Williamsburg that change Virginians from servants of a distant monarch to citizens of a self-governing republic.  These events cause colonists to declare that they are no longer dependent on the British crown, but are citizens of the free and independent United States of America.

The Revolutionary City recreates these critical moments that relive Williamsburg's role in the American Revolution and the War for Independence.  Come take part in the everyday life of the city against the backdrop of these momentous, world changing historic events.

Meet famous patriots like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Patrick Henry, and lesser known people such as, Alexander Hoy, a poor man who enlisted in the army, enslaved African Americans like Kate, Hannah and Marcus who debate whether to escape to the British, and a Baptist preacher named Gowan who talks about his hopes for the future where all citizens are equal.

Meet the men and women – rich and poor, great and humble, free and enslaved – who live in these extraordinary times and create our nation.

Guests are free to come and go through the course of this two-hour event. 

Learn more.

Drop in and create a toy inspired by ones seen in 18th and 19th century portraits on exhibit.

Programs and exhibitions at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.

Find out what to look for and how best to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Revolutionary City scenes and events that take place today.

Guided tours by knowledgeable museum volunteers introduce you to some of the masterworks on exhibit, such as paintings, ceramics, furniture and silver.

Included in museum admission ticket.

Programs and exhibitions at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.

In 1765, Richard Charlton’s Coffeehouse was a center of political debate, commercial transaction and social discourse. On October 30, 1765, Gentlemen of property, The Royal Governor, his Council, and George Mercer, Virginia’s appointed Stamp Distributor all converged at Charlton’s Coffeehouse. Is this the beginning of a Revolution?

The Children's Orientation Walk is designed to assist guests with planning their visit and will highlight options that families will enjoy. Guides share the latest information on programming, dining, and shopping options. Guests will receive an overview of the 18th century community and specifically understand what childhood and family life was like in the 18th century. The walking tour lasts approximately 30 minutes.

In the night of April 19 in 1775 Virginia’s Governor, Lord Dunmore removed the gunpowder from the Public Magazine. Some local patriots threatened retaliation. Several days later, as Peyton Randolph, president of the Congress prepares to leave for Philadelphia news arrives of the battles of Lexington and Concord.

Guided tours by knowledgeable museum volunteers introduce you to the whimsical and fascinating paintings, sculpture, textiles and more from Mrs. Rockefeller's original collection, for which the museum was founded.

Thirty-minute tours begin at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. Included in museum admission ticket.

Programs and exhibitions at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.

May 15, 1776 – With the local Militia providing fife and drum fanfare and cannon salutes, the representatives of the free men of Virginia take the bold first step in breaking from Great Britain by passing resolutions for independence. They must now set about establishing a republican form of government!

This one-hour walking tour takes guests through the stable and carriage facilities and introduces them to the rare breeds conservancy program operated by Colonial Williamsburg. Guests will view the facilities, see some of the animals and view the various vehicles owned and operated here.

Discussion of animal treatment, training, equipment use and the Coach and Livestock operation is ongoing throughout the tour. This experience includes some hands-on activities, such as trying out a sidesaddle or inspecting a horse’s hoof. Children must be accompanied by adults at all times.  Space is limited.

Please make reservations at any on-site ticket location. 

Guided tours by knowledgeable museum volunteers introduce you to some of the masterworks on exhibit, such as paintings, ceramics, furniture and silver.

Included in museum admission ticket.

Programs and exhibitions at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.

Colonial Williamsburg's Fifes and Drums, representing militia field musicians as they march from the Capitol Building to the Palace Green.

Everyone knows Thomas Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of American Independence, but how did he decide what to say? Meet the President as he recollects writing the Declaration of Independence and ask him questions about this important document. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition "Declarations of Independence" at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum.

Programs and exhibitions at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum are supported by the DeWitt Wallace Endowment Fund.

In colonial Virginia the majority of enslaved African Americans lived in the countryside. Join us to explore what daily life was like for them. Learn about the work they performed and the integral role slavery played in the Virginia economy. Find out how the ruling class coerced and controlled the enslaved population and discover how slaves resisted, survived and drew strength from the unique community they built.

Weather permitting.

Come and participate in a local court session where lives, liberties and property come into contest.  Our guests may take on roles as justices, attorneys, litigants, petitioners or defendants.  See how the rights of Virginians were maintained in open court.

Offered Tuesday through Saturday at 2:00, 2:30, 3:00 and 3:30 p.m.