Historic Sotterley, the Southern Maryland Folklife Center, St. Mary’s County Public Library, and local author Nocola Williams are teaming up to offer a full week of low-cost, family friendly Spring Break programs designed to keep children active, curious, and learning while school’s out.
From March 30 through April 3, families can enjoy a different hands on activity each day, exploring the ways early Marylanders used natural resources available to them to survive and thrive.
All programs run from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and require advance registration.
Tuesday through Friday, programs are $5 per attendee per day. Monday’s program is free, thanks to St. Mary’s County Public Library and a generous anonymous donor.
Parents or guardians must purchase a ticket and remain with their children for the duration of each program. Activities are recommended for ages 3 and up.
Schedule of Events
Monday – Pollinator Party – Kick off the week with a celebration of pollinators! Children will meet a local author and beekeeper for a reading of Bugzee and the Bees, a story that introduces young readers to the important role pollinators play in our environment. After the story, students will rotate through hands-on learning stations. Campers will explore how pollination works, discover how bees see the world, practice the famous waggle dance, and plant pollinator-friendly seeds to take home.
Along the way, they’ll learn why pollinators are so important to Southern Maryland’s ecosystems and how even kids can help protect them. Join local author and educator, Nocola Williams, the team from the St. Mary’s County Mobile Library, and educator Dorothy Birch for a fun filled day of exploration and hands on learning opportunities.
Tuesday – Wild Food, Wild Fiber, Wild Medicine – We will explore the woods and fields of Historic Sotterley, learning to identify the plants and fungi that were used by Native, colonist, and enslaved peoples as food, fiber, and medicine!
Wednesday – Gardening for Good Health – We will explore, pot up, and take home the plants that the women of olden times grew in their gardens and used as medicine for their families!
Thursday – A Wild Year in Maryland – March 9, 2026 – We will create a calendar of natural happenings, month by month, in this part of Maryland, when early people could harvest wild plants and catch wild animals, how they knew when to plant various seeds, and all of the secret cues that nature gives us all year!
Friday – Dyeing from Nature – Experience natural dyeing techniques used before commercial dyes existed. Participants will use plants and other natural materials to dye their own take‑home bandana.
For registration links and additional details, please visit www.sotterley.org/events
About Historic Sotterley – A National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO Site of Memory for the Routes of Enslaved Peoples, Sotterley is one of the oldest museums of its kind in the United States, with a history dating back to the turn of the 18th Century. Through the preservation of the site’s historic structures and natural environment and the use of powerful stories to educate and bring American history to life, the organization strives to foster a better understanding of our world today by providing a living link to America’s complex history and legacy of slavery.
