Historic RittenhouseTown Educational Tours

One of the goals of Historic RittenhouseTown is to transform this site into an educational center based on life in an early American industrial village. This is accomplished through the interactive programs of Hand Papermaking and Colonial German Cooking. Through these two programs both the industrial and domestic aspects of an early American industrial village are brought to life. Please contact the Director of Education by phone at (215)843-2228 or email at education@rittenhousetown.org to receive more information, to check on the availability of a date, or to schedule a program.

Currently, Historic RittenhouseTown offers the following program options:

Historical Tour

Join us in the Visitors Center for a historic tour of RittenhouseTown. The tour opens with the acclaimed video, "The Fiber of History." Then visitors will be given the opportunity to explore the rest of the exhibits: a timeline of the History of RittenhouseTown, a working model of an eighteenth century paper mill, and an exhibit on food in an Early German American community. Visitors will then be taken on a guided tour of RittenhouseTown. This tour will include interpretation of the second mill site, the Rittenhouse Bakehouse, the Rittenhouse Homestead, and the Enoch Rittenhouse Home. Tours will be customized to the interests of the group.

$2.50 per person
Minimum 10 people
Approximately 1 1/2 hours

Tour and Papermaking Demonstration

This program begins with the historical tour described above. After the tour, visitors will witness a hand papermaking demonstration in our eighteenth century Barn Papermaking Studio. A papermaker will explain the process of papermaking at the Rittenhouse Mill and the papermaker will then use tools and materials similar to those used by William Rittenhouse to create a sheet of paper.

$3.50 per person
Minimum 10 people
Approximately 2 hours

Tour, Demonstration, and Hands-on Papermaking Experience *

Enjoy a historic tour of the site and a hand papermaking demonstration and then take the opportunity to make your own sheet of paper. All participants will use tools and techniques similar to those used in the Rittenhouse Mill to create their own sheet of paper. Appreciate how industry is elevated to an art form as you create your own masterpiece; then take your paper home!

$5.00 per person
Minimum 10 people
Approximately 2 hours

* THIS IS OUR MOST POPULAR PROGRAM

Historic Tour and Colonial German Cooking

Join us for an interpretive historical tour of RittenhouseTown and then enter the Bakehouse to participate in the Colonial German Cooking Program. This interactive program introduces participants to cooking on the open hearth. Participants work together to prepare ingredients using colonial tools and methods to create a colonial food item. The program includes discussion on the vital role that women played in the village, a comparison between German foods and that of their English neighbors, and a review of the materials used at the hearth, cooking processes and the use of utensils. Participants will have the opportunity to sample the finished product. The program takes place in the eighteenth century Rittenhouse Bakehouse, which features a sixteen-foot hearth and a colonial beehive oven.

$6.50 per person
Minimum 25 people
Approximately 2 hours

Tour, Hands-on Papermaking Experience, and Colonial German Cooking Program

This is our most comprehensive program option, allowing participants to experience the domestic, as well as, industrial aspects of RittenhouseTown. In this program your group will have an interpretive tour of the site, hands ­ on papermaking experience, as well as, full participation in our Colonial German Cooking Program.

$10.00 per person
Minimum 25 people
Approximately 3 hours

Program inquiries and arrangements should be directed to the Director of Education at (215)843-2228 (Barn Papermaking Studio) or (215)438-5711 (Visitor Center). Once a visitation date is agreed upon, we ask that a pre-paid deposit of 25% of the total amount due be sent with in the next ten business days in order to secure the desired date. The remaining balance will be due on the date of your group's arrival. A letter of confirmation should accompany all deposits by a representative of the participating organization. In the event of cancellation, provided it is at least three days in advance of the agreed upon date, the deposit can be fully refunded.