6/1/2003
By Lauren Eisenstodt
Summer 2003's best bets for celebrating your heritage and reliving history.
Shelburne, Vermont: Patchwork Past
Discover the patterns of your ancestors' pasts with Art of the Needle: 100 Masterpiece Quilts from the Shelburne Museum. The exhibit, May 17-Oct. 26, showcases Shelburne Museum's finest 18th-, 19th-and early 20th-century quilts, grouped into 10 diverse design themes: album, Amish, appliqué, chintz appliqué, comparisons, pieced, revival, Victorian (crazy and log cabin), white work and whole cloth. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; admission is $17.50 for adults and $8.75 for children ages 6 to 18. For more information, call (802) 985-3346 or visit <
www.shelburnemuseum.org>.
Mount Vernon, Virginia: Capturing Colonial Life
Introduce your children or grandchildren to George and Martha Washington this summer through the Hands-on History exhibit at George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens. May 24-Sept. 1, children can learn about early American life by carding and spinning wool, dressing up in Colonial clothing, using 18th-century tools and playing Colonial games. They can also harness Nelly, a life-size fiberglass mule, and crawl into a Revolutionary War tent stocked with soldiers' gear. The exhibit's open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily; admission costs $11 for adults and $5 for children ages 5 to 11. Call (703) 780-2000 or visit <www.mountvernon.org> for details.