CT Humanities Sponsored:
Free Summer Walk-ins

Plan your visit to the museum!

Saturdays & Sundays

10am-3pm

The Eli Whitney Museum was recently awarded a grant from Connecticut Humanities to support our participation in the CT Summer at the Museum initiative. Admission to the Eli Whitney Museum is always free, so we are using the funds to provide educational projects for all visitors. No reservation necessary.

More Info on our Website

Summer Camp 2023
Only a Few Spots Remain!

The Queen of Hawaii: Messing About in Boats
Monday, July 24th - Friday, July 28th

Ages 9-12
Take a dream journey to Hawaii with us and discover the legends, history, and traditions of these magnificent islands. Carve the hulls for your very own Wa’a boat. Work with your friends to build a scaled model of the Hawaiian islands. Learn the music of Hawaii with a ukelele you will construct. The topography, plant life, language, art, and music of the majestic Hawaiian islands will lead you to knew places.

Register Here

What's Up at the Whitney Workshop?

Our Site: History & Architecture

A Collaboration with Preservation CT

Last Week, campers ages 9-12 took a deep dive into the history of Our Site. In collaboration with Preservation CT, our neighbors in the Whitney Armory Boarding House, circa 1827, we explored the rich history of our site.

With the leadership of Deputy Director, Christopher Wigren, campers inspected the Boarding House and learned how to read and design a floorplan. Mike Forino, Circuit Rider & Grants Manager, donned his toolbelt and built a scaled replica Barn with the kids. We dug deep into the ground (and past) with Archaeologist, Stefon Danczuk, unearthing the foundation of Eli Whitney’s Forge Building among many artifacts. A special thanks to Mara Tu for leading this exploration of Our Site!

Adirondack Chair

Have you spotted our super-sized Adirondack Chair? You can find it in our Water Learning Lab, just below the Lake Whitney Dam.

This past Spring, Mike Dunn, former Shop Manager, and long-time Eli Whitney Museum educator, guided our apprentices in rebuilding the chair. Thank you, Mike, for your guidance and mentorship!

Come by to check it out!

Are you interested in building an Adirondack Chair? Look for Adult Workshops starting this Fall.

Hamden Art League Exhibition @ The Barn

Over 60 local artists have registered to show approximately 100 pieces of art, which include oils, acrylics, graphics, watercolors, pastels, collage, printmaking (hand printed etching, monotype, lithography, etc), fabric art, and a limited number of sculpture / 3D art. Much of this artwork is available for purchase. 

The exhibition is a 4 day event:

Thursday, July 27, 10am-4pm

Friday, July 28, 12-6pm

Saturday, July 29, 12-6pm

Sunday, July 30, 12-4pm

The public Reception is:

Saturday, July 29th 3-5 pm

A.C. Gilbert Heritage Society Convention
July 20, 21, 22
Free and open to all ages
The convention show brings Gilbert toy collectors and enthusiasts “back to where it all began", spotlighting the extraordinary educational toys manufactured by The A. C. Gilbert Company of New Haven, CT, from 1909-1967.

The A.C. Gilbert Society will start its convention at the Eli Whitney Museum & Workshop with an informal tour on Thursday evening, July 20, and on Saturday, July 22, our very own Director, Ryan Paxton, will be the convention's featured speaker.

To learn more about the Convention, the A. C. Gilbert

Heritage Society, and related convention events, please visit www.acghs.org.