Hancock Shaker Village

On-site interpretive programs are provided by education staff for all visiting children, adults, and groups. Topics showcase how the Shakers relate to 21st century hot button issues, e.g. green environment, sustainable agriculture, and equality, and also delve into the history of Shaker life, beliefs and practices. Among daily offerings are guided tours, an acapella music performance, water powered operation of machines and tools, craft and trade demonstrations (oval box construction, blacksmithing, bee keeping, etc.), and hands-on farm and craft making experiences. Special topic tours, demonstrations, and lectures change daily with a schedule posted in the Visitors Center. Periodic large scale events include Themed Workshop Weekends, Baby Animals on the Shaker Farm, Spirit Houses and Woodland Wonders, Free Fun Friday, and Country Fair. Daily self-guided experiences include an orientation film/site map/ and audio curators tour, provided in four languages; woodland walks with interpretive signs; hand crank interpretive devices in various locations; text panels in historic buildings and special exhibitions. Staff members (paid and unpaid) are posted in key locations, e.g. Brick Dwelling, Round Stone Barn, and farm animal pastures and barns, to facilitate visitor experiences and answer questions. The HSV website includes a timeline of the Shakers, an interactive map of the historic site, a database of the permanent collection, school curriculum materials, interactive games, a genealogy of the Shakers who lived at Hancock, and more. HSV partners with other museums and organizations on special exhibitions, programs, workshops (e.g. timber frame construction), teacher training, marketing, and more. For five years, the University of Massachusetts and HSV have collaborated on a historic preservation graduate program, with some classes and field experiences offered at the Village. HSV provides free admission to children 12 and under on family visits, to handicapped individuals, for library pass holders, and to members; and admission discounts for seniors, military, teachers, AAA members, etc. Many programs are held offsite, e.g. Shaker Seminar, a five day lecture and study program that presents new scholarship, takes place at significant Shaker sites and communities and serves 45 to 75 individuals. HSV is an employer of 6- 10 learning disabled and special needs individuals, via community agencies such as Berkshire County ARC, Soldier On and Elder Services; and the museum sponsors interns and graduate fellows from various colleges and universities.

The HSV mission and budget also support and staff a working farm and extensive gardens. The farm is home to cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, with heritage breeds chosen according to Shaker tradition, and we maintain goats as well, which are not a Shaker tradition. Animals are displayed according to best practices in pens and pastures to the delight of visitors. HSV gardens are famous and cultivate heritage seeds common to the Shakers for food and medicinal uses. Gardens grow and showcase in an open air exhibition a wide range of herbs, flowers, and vegetables. The HSV Shaker Farm Share program (Community Supported Agriculture) has 50-80 household subscribers and also school kitchen and food pantry users. Our chemical-free garden products are wholesaled to restaurants and chefs in an effort to spread the brand and excellence of HSV.

An accredited museum, National Historic Landmark, and three-star Michelin destination, HSV stewards a world renowned 750 acre Shaker site with 20 Shaker buildings, and 22,000 permanent collection objects, many derived from the Shakers who inhabited the site from 1790s to 1960. Artifacts include 25 gift drawings, 6,600 tools, oval boxes, and household objects, 1,000 pieces of furniture, 1,200 textiles, 1,300 commercial graphic labels, seed packs and containers, and 10,000 photographs. Scholars (50 a year) perform research using our archives; we publish exhibition catalogues and other books; these titles and many Shaker-related products are sold in the Village Store. Building preservation and repairs, conservation supplies, and theft and fire detection systems are all necessary for proper stewardship. At HSV, children and adults learn how the Shakers were ahead of their time in regards to faith, community, innovation, sustainability, gender equality, land stewardship, architecture and furniture design, marketing and business practices.