Open for tours
2025-09-18 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-09-19 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-09-20 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-09-21 13:00 - 16:00, 2025-09-25 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-09-26 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-09-27 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-09-28 13:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) and 8 more dates | MA
Explore our historic properties, view artwork by acclaimed Ipswich painters, and see unique pieces of Ipswich history and beyond.

A Conversation About the Climate
2025-10-06 12:00 - 13:00 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Join Sam Hamlin, educator, for a discussion about climate change. Sam will guide the discussion using the En-ROADS simulator. Developed by MIT, it allows users to explore the impact that dozens of policies have on factors like energy prices, temperature, air quality, and sea level rise.

Birds of Essex County: A Personal Journey
2025-10-15 19:30 - 21:00 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Join us for an enlightening presentation by Jim Berry, Ornithologist, as he unveils his updated edition of Charles Wendell Townsend’s The Birds of Essex County. This comprehensive two-volume set catalogs a wide variety of bird species that visit our yards, woodlands, marshes, and coastlines, reflecting their natural history up to 2022.
Jim enriches the work with his personal observations on taxonomy, songs, calls, and behaviors of these fascinating birds. A dedicated member of the Nest Record Program at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology since 1975, Jim has also been actively involved with various ornithological organizations. Don’t miss this opportunity to deepen your appreciation for the avian life in Essex County!
Members: Free | Non-members: $10

Grandma's Attic Holiday Sale
2025-12-06 10:00 - 15:00 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States

Objects of Interest
2026-01-05 12:00 - 13:00 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Join curator, Katherine Chaison as she selects items and objects from our vast collection to share with our members. It is always fun to see rare items that are not in public view.

The History of Ipswich Education
2026-01-21 19:30 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Scott Jewel, board member and teacher will talk about Ipswich’s rich history and at the heart of that story is education. From the earliest colonial days, learning has always been a cornerstone of this community. Today, we will explore how education in Ipswich has grown and transformed over the centuries, and we’ll take a look ahead at where it might be headed in the future. I invite you to join me on this journey through the evolution of education in Ipswich.

Ipswich Lace
2026-02-02 12:00 - 13:00 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Come hear Susan Landry, textile specialist as she talks about the history of Ipswich Lace and show objects from our collection used to make the lace. Included in this talk will be lace patterns, pricklings, and Ipswich lace samples made over the years. There will be some modern lace making tools on view as well as a short demonstration.

February Vacation Art Workshop Lunar New Year
2026-02-17 10:30 - 12:00 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Join us at the Ipswich Museum for a vacation-week exploration of the Lunar New Year. We’ll read a festive story, learn about the traditions of the Year of the Horse, and create themed art projects to celebrate.
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Time: 10:30-12:00 PM
Ages: 6-10
Cost: $25
Location: Whipple House Classroom

Ships and Shipwrecks of Ipswich Bay
2026-02-18 19:30 - 21:00 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Join town historian, Gordon Harris, who will talk about the long history of tragic shipwrecks due to dangerous storms and limited navigation. There were over 3,000 shipwrecks off the Massachusetts coast. In the early 20th century coal schooners sailed up the river to town wharf, and sand schooners became stranded on the beaches, but Ipswich was a favorite destination for Bostonians, who left their cars at the wharf for pleasure cruises to Little Neck, Grape Island, and Plum Island.

February Vacation Art Workshop “Who’s Who?” Exhibition
2026-02-19 10:30 - 12:00 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Come investigate our new portrait exhibition, “Who’s Who?” at the Ipswich Museum. We’ll learn about some of the past citizens of our town and look at some of the elements of portraiture. Then, we’ll sketch our own portraits.
Date: Thursday, February 19, 2026
Time: 10:30-12:00 PM
Ages: 6-10
Cost: $25
Location: Appleton Room, Heard House

The Archives of Arthur Wesley Dow: Sketchbook Tour
2026-02-28 10:00 - 14:00 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Join Ipswich Museum’s Dow Curator, Stephanie Gaskins, for an intimate look at the archives of artist Arthur Wesley Dow. Participants will have the rare opportunity to get close with Dow’s sketchbooks and drawings from the collection of the Ipswich Museum, as well as to explore and discuss his educational philosophy and methodology.
Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026
Time: 10:00 – 12:00 PM
Cost: $50 Members / $55 Non-members
Age: Adults
Group size: Maximum 6 people

The Early Voyages of Augustine Heard
2026-03-02 12:00 - 13:00 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Join Robert Gray, Heard descendant as he talks about his recent research on his family.
During the late 1830s Augustine Heard of Ipswich composed a list of his early voyages during 1805-1830, from ship “Eliza” to Leghorn from Eben Francis through barque “Lintin to Canton with Bennet Forbes. This talk provides an illustrated embellishment of Heard’s list and the ships, people, and places involved—including the most famous of the voyages popularized in books by Robert Bennet Forbes, Thomas Franklin Waters, and Samuel Eliot Morison. Several contradictions and inconsistencies among the stories are resolved and reconciled with historical documents.

Stop and Smell the Thyme at the Whipple House 17th Century Housewife's Garden
2026-03-18 19:30 - 21:00 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Joe Carlin, Food historian, will review the contributions of landscape architects Arthur and Sidney Shurcliff who designed in 1955 the original Whipple House Garden. In the 1960s Isadore Smith (pseudonym Ann Leighton), author of Early American Gardens, provided leadership to make the garden historically accurate with authentic medicinal and culinary herbs known to have been grown and used in the area. Joe will show how 17th Century women preserved their medicinal solutions for all types of ills in manuscript cookbooks.

“Who’s Who? An Ipswich History in Portraits”
2026-04-04 13:00 - 16:00 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Visit our Spring Exhibit “Who’s Who? An Ipswich History in Portraits.” Join the fun as we match the history behind each work of art with its corresponding portrait! This exhibit runs through April on Saturdays and Sundays 1-4PM.

Closed
2026-04-05 13:00 - 16:00 | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Our spring exhibition “Who’s Who? An Ipswich History in Portraits” is closed today.
Please join us other weekend days in Aprils as we match the history behind each work of art with its corresponding portrait! This exhibit runs through April on Saturdays and Sundays 1-4PM.
