Wenham Museum Offers Free Admission

Wenham Museum is one of hundreds of museums across the country that will be offering free admission on Saturday, courtesy of a program called “Museum Day Live!” by Smithsonian Magazine. The free admission program also includes five other museums within 10 miles of Hamilton and Wenham.

On Saturday, Wenham Museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular admission is $7.50 for adults and $5.50 for children under 18. The museum focuses on childhood and domestic life in New England and includes an extensive doll collection and model train room.

Elsewhere in the region, in Salem the Salem Witch Museum and Phillips House are participating in the program along with the Beverly Historical Society’s Cabot House. Both Cogswell's Grant and Essex Shipbuilding Museum in Essex are taking part along with The Great House at Castle Hill in Ipswich.

The John Cabot House in Beverly is owned and operated by the Beverly Historic Society and was the first brick mansion built in Beverly. It served as the first home of Beverly Bank in 1802. Regular admission is $5 for adults and $4 for senior citizens and students. Hours on Saturday are 10 am. to 4 p.m.

In Salem, the Witch Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The regular admission charge is $9 for adults, $7.50 for senior citizens and $6 for children age 6-14.

Phillips House is owned and operated by Historic New England and sits in Salem’s Chestnut Street Historic District. It is the only home on the street open to the public. It is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday with tours every hour. Regular admission is $5 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and $2.50 for students. Salem residents are always free.

The Great House at Castle Hill has a typical charge of $8 per car on weekends for the grounds, which are open 8 a.m. to sunset.

At the Essex Shipbuilding Museum, you can learn about the history of small-town Essex, which claims to have "built more two-masted wooden fishing schooners than any other place in the world." Hours on Saturday are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The regular admission charge is $7 for adults, $6 for senior citizens and $5 for children age 6-18 or $5 for a self-guided tour.

Cogwell's Grant is the former summer home of collectors Bertram K. and Nina Fletcher Little overlooking the Essex River and includes "country arts" on display. It is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday with tours on the hour. Regular admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and $5 for students.

North of Boston, there are also about six other participating museums, including Andover Historical Society, Cape Ann Museum and Sleeper-McCann House in Gloucester, Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford, Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury and Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester. A complete list of participating museums is available on the "Museum Day Live!" website.

The program simply involves going on the Smithsonian Museum’s website and printing out a coupon that is good for free admission for two people.

You are required to submit your information and a coupon is sent to you via e-mail. Tickets are issued for a specific museum.