Woodstock Museum National Historic Site
466 Dundas Street N4S 1C4 Woodstock, ON, Canada

Season's Greetings! Did you know the first mass-produced Christmas card was the brainchild of English civil servant Sir Henry Cole in 1843? You can learn more about Cole's inspiration in our virtual exhibit, The History of Christmas Cards: https://www.cityofwoodstock.ca//live-and-play/mus-virtual-

If you didn't have a chance to order your Christmas cards online, we will have some extra available this weekend at the Woodstock Farmers' Market! Cards are available in packs of 12 for $15 each (cash only). Online orders will be ready for pickup at the Museum next week.

There are only a couple spots left in our December felting workshop! Join us on Tuesday, December 15 at 6:30pm to learn how to make your own little felted partridge (pear tree not included ). Register online to secure your spot: https://cityofwoodstock.legendonlineservices.ca//prog/9391

We didn't swan around at last night's felting workshop! The Museum has two more workshops in our felted birds series coming up in November and December, featuring the Canada goose and the partridge. Visit our website for details and to register in advance: https://www.cityofwoodstock.ca//live-a/adult-programs.aspx

This weekend is your LAST CHANCE to order from the Woodstock Museum's Vintage Christmas Card Sale. Orders are due Sunday, November 22 at midnight and will be available for pickup the first week of December. Cards are sold in packs of 12 for $15 and feature four festive designs from the Museum's collection, dated 1912 to 1945. Visit our website for details and to order online: https://www.cityofwoodstock.ca//live-an/museum-events.aspx

ICYMI our curator Karen Houston was on CBC London's Afternoon Drive last Friday to talk about our new Vintage Christmas Card Sale and The History of Christmas Cards virtual exhibit! Listen here:

This week is your last chance to experience Escape the Panic Room at the Woodstock Museum! Call 519-537-8411 ext. 2901 to book your group for Friday or Saturday evening.

Look how lifelike these little felted Canada geese are! We have one more workshop left in our felted birds series on Tuesday, December 15, featuring the festive partridge. Space is limited, so be sure to register early: https://cityofwoodstock.legendonlineservices.ca//prog/9391

Get to know arts and culture in our community during Ontario Culture Days, on now until October 25. Check out the Woodstock Museum's virtual resources including puzzles, colouring pages, educational resources, virtual exhibits and more!

Looking to get out of the house and enjoy the fall colours this weekend? Put on your coziest sweater, grab a hot drink and head out on a self-guided walking tour of historic downtown Woodstock! Check out the Ontario Culture Days website for details:

There are still a few weeks left to experience our latest escape room! Time slots are available Fridays and Saturdays from 4pm 9pm until October 24. Book your group of four today by calling 519-537-8411 ext. 2901. Check out the event page for details:

We still have a few spots left for our felting workshop on Tuesday, October 20 at 6:30pm. Learn how to create your own cute swan in this fun program for adults! Advanced registration is required. Call 519-539-6761 ext. 2901 or register online: https://cityofwoodstock.legendonlineservices.ca//prog/9389

Explore downtown Woodstock and its past with our new self-guided walking tour! We've created an interactive map to guide you as you discover Woodstock's heritage architecture. You can also download a PDF copy of the tour. Visit our website to get started: https://www.cityofwoodstock.ca///museum-walking-tours.aspx

Do you know the story behind the first Christmas card? Learn all about the history of this holiday tradition with our new virtual exhibit: https://www.cityofwoodstock.ca///mus-virtual-exhibits.aspx Don't forget to check out our Vintage Christmas Card Sale, on now until November 22! Visit our website for details and to order your cards online: https://www.cityofwoodstock.ca//live-an/museum-events.aspx

Stay connected with your loved ones this holiday season with the Woodstock Museum’s Vintage Christmas Card Sale! Cards are sold in packs of 12 and feature four festive designs from the Museum’s collection, dated 1912 to 1945 C. Purchases must be made in advance through our online order form. Orders placed by October 25 at midnight will be available for pickup November 3 7. Orders placed by November 22 at midnight will be available for pickup December 1 5. Visit our website for details and to order your cards now: https://www.cityofwoodstock.ca//live-an/museum-events.aspx

What a fun virtual Bike Month at the Museum! We loved sharing our bicycle-themed photos and artifacts with our community. Now it’s time to announce the winner of the Bike Month Scavenger Hunt Congratulations Chris Ferrell! You can pick up your prize at the Museum with ID during our regular hours: Tuesday to Friday 10am 4pm and Saturday 12pm 4pm. Thank you to everyone who took part in our Bike Month festivities! Don’t forget to visit the Museum in person to see the exhibits (including Herbert Clark’s champion high wheel!). #BikeMonth #WdskMNHS

For our last historic photo in honour of Bike Month, here is a behind the scenes look at one of the Museum’s larger sized photos. This is the Champion Bicycle Team of Oxford County 1895. Featured is William H. Martin, manager of Woodstock Amateur Athletic Assoc. and bike shop owner, in the back row far left in suit. Others are Charles Gunn, E. Taylor, John Lee, John McKay, E. Kenrick, M. Codling. Their race bikes have no hand brakes and look similar to what are called fixed gear or fixie bikes today. Check out this video to learn how to ride a fixie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThJbysa2TLY If you enjoyed this month’s bicycle-themed collection pictures, you can discover thousands of photos, artifacts and themes using the Museum’s online collection portal: https://woodstockmuseum.pastperfectonline.com

Bike Month may be coming to a close, but you can still hop on your bike and pedal with a pal this fall! If you’re looking for a new bike (maybe even a snazzy tandem model like this one) see if a Canadian company can help: https://cyclingmagazine.ca//bikes/canadian-bicycle-brands/

Here's the wonderful prize package you could win as part of our Bike Month scavenger hunt! Check out our page for the scavenger hunt locations and share your photos by September 29 with the hashtags #BikeMonth and #WdskMNHS. The winner will be announced September 30.

There are still a couple days left to take part in our Bike Month scavenger hunt! Share pics of your bike in each location using #WdskMNHS and #BikeMonth from now until September 29 to be entered to win a prize. You could win a 1 year membership to the museum, a $20 gift card to Pedal Power Bikes & Boards and more!

September 25 to October 25 is Ontario Culture Days! Explore arts and culture in your community, with in person and online events taking place across province. Check out the event listings, including self-guided activities from the Woodstock Museum, here: https://culturedays.ca/en/events?province=ON

A number of cycling advocates and groups in our region help keep bicycling a part of transportation planning and road design. The Oxford Cycling Advisory Committee and Ingersoll Safe Cycling Committee are two committees of council with hard working volunteers like Jeremy and Sam, who deserve a virtual pat on the back! Thanks to these groups we have some dedicated bike lanes and good places to ride. If you want to look up some bike-friendly streets in the City Of Woodstock, check out this great bicycle route map: https://www.cityofwoodstock.ca//Bicycle-Routes-Website-May #BikeMonth #WdskMNHS

As long as there have been bicycles, there have been folks modifying, tinkering and turning them into other things! Think of all the variations of e-bikes, frankenbikes, scooters and pedal powered machines out there. This historic photo from the Museum’s collection shows a locally modified bicycle by Sid Coppins. If you want to do some modifying yourself, Low Tech Magazine has plans for turning your bike into a power-generating machine along with a fascinating read about ped...al-powered machines from the 19th century: https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/build-your-own-pedal-powere Or FoodShare has resources to make a bike-powered blender! Yum: https://foodshare.net/program/blender/ Happy pedaling and tinkering!

We still have a few spots left for our walking tour on September 30. Join us next Wednesday at 10am for a chance to learn more about Woodstock's history and enjoy the fresh air! Click here to register online: https://cityofwoodstock.legendonlineservices.ca//prog/9392

We had a blast at our first adult felting workshop this week! Check out this adorable little black calling bird participants learned how to create. The next felting workshop is on October 20 and features the majestic swan. Visit our website for details and to register: https://www.cityofwoodstock.ca//live-a/adult-programs.aspx