Homeschool Day September 4 2026A full day of hands-on learning on the ground where the Continental Army held the line for liberty, as REAL TIME REVOLUTION® recreates the fight for independence 250 years later to the day

Ticonderoga, N.Y. — Fort Ticonderoga will host Homeschool Day on Friday, September 4, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., offering homeschool families a full day of programs built around the epic story of Ticonderoga inside America’s 250th anniversary. Students and parents will step into the compelling struggle for independence in 1776 through living history, historic trades, waterway exploration, and the six-acre Heroic Corn Maze — learning by doing, on the landscape where the events happened.

Homeschool Day arrives during one of the strongest seasons in Fort Ticonderoga’s 117-year history. Named the Best Living History in America for the nation’s 250th anniversary by USA Today 10Best, and recognized by The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Smithsonian Magazine, and Fodor’s, Fort Ticonderoga is welcoming record-breaking visitation this year. The site was also a primary filming location for the Netflix documentary series The American Experiment and appears in PBS’s The American Revolution by Ken Burns and PBS NOVA’s Revolutionary War Weapons.

“Homeschool families come to Fort Ticonderoga ready to dig in to our nation’s history, ask meaningful questions, and connect what they are studying to real ground and real objects,” said Beth L. Hill, President and CEO of Fort Ticonderoga. “That is exactly what Fort Ticonderoga offers. Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Continental Army held the line for liberty here, and our REAL TIME REVOLUTION® programming lets students meet that story as the people who lived it did — in their present, with the outcome still uncertain. September 4th is a day designed for those families, and for the kind of learning that inspires students and families long after the visit ends.”

Hands-On Programming for Homeschool Families

Homeschool Day programming is designed for multi-age families learning together, with activities that reward curiosity at every level.

  • Narrated Lake Champlain boat tour — Step aboard the Carillon for a 75-minute narrated cruise and gain an in-depth understanding of the waterway that made Ticonderoga a strategic stronghold in the fight for the continent.
  • Row a reproduction Revolutionary War bateau — Take the oars of the workhorse vessel of the northern campaigns and learn what moving an army by water actually required.
  • The Heroic Maze /Special 250th Design- Explore an entirely new 2026 Maze across six acres, built around six stories of heroism and epic journeys from the American Revolution, from covert scouting missions to Montreal to the Noble Train of Artillery to Boston. Answer clues drawn from famous figures in Fort Ticonderoga’s story as you find your way through!
  • Historic trades and living history — Work alongside interpreters practicing the trades that rebuilt the American Army in 1776 including shoemaking, tailoring, boat building and carpentry - and see the tools, materials, and skills up close while offering a helping hand.
  • Museum exhibitions and the fort — Explore the restored fortification and galleries drawing on the largest collection of 18th-century military objects in North America, including A Revolutionary Anthology, Fort Ticonderoga’s multi-year exhibition series running through 2028.
  • The wider historic landscape — Two thousand acres to explore, including the King’s Garden, the Carillon Battlefield hiking trail, the new Liberty Hill encampment, the Lake Champlain shoreline, and Mount Defiance.

REAL TIME REVOLUTION®: The Fight for Independence, Happening Now

Fort Ticonderoga’s landmark public history initiative REAL TIME REVOLUTION® recreates the specific events of the American Revolution on their exact dates, in the exact locations they unfolded, 250 years later to the day. The premise is a teaching one: people did not live in the past. They lived in their present, facing genuine uncertainty about what came next. Programming continues through 2027, with events on either side of Homeschool Day that families may wish to build a longer visit around:

  • August 29–30 — Fleet & Fortification: The Science of Defense. Watch American troops outfit armed vessels on Lake Champlain and entrench strategic locations.
  • September 19–20 — “Lodging as the Nature of the Campaign Will Admit.” Watch soldiers of the Northern Continental Army build huts atop Liberty Hill using boards, posts, and beams in the newly constructed Liberty Hill Encampment.
  • October 24–25 — Hold the Line for Liberty. A battle reenactment in which a determined Continental Army dares the British to attack at Ticonderoga, one of the Revolution’s most consequential and least-known outcomes.

A National Resource for Educators and Families

Fort Ticonderoga’s Affiliate School Program connects more than 3,000 K-12 schools and 328 colleges and universities across all fifty states to the collections, scholarship, and interpretive work of the museum. The Ticonderoga Institute, Fort Ticonderoga’s digital learning platform, extends that reach year-round, and the museum’s YouTube channel drew 5.3 million views over the past year. Homeschool educators are welcome to use these resources before and after a visit to build the day into a longer course of study.

Plan Your Visit

Homeschool Day takes place Friday, September 4, 2026, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at Fort Ticonderoga, 102 Fort Ti Road, Ticonderoga, New York. General admission tickets can be purchased the day-of, upon arrival to the Admissions Booth. All upsell opportunities including the bateau row and boat cruise have limited capacities and require additional tickets by visiting the registration tent located next to the Log House Welcome Center. 

Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Defiance are open Tuesday through Sunday through October 25, 2026, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the last ticket sold at 4:30 p.m.

About Fort Ticonderoga: Welcoming visitors since 1909, Fort Ticonderoga is a major cultural destination, museum, historic site, and center for learning. As a multi-day destination and the premier place to learn more about North America’s military heritage, Fort Ticonderoga engages more than 70,000 visitors each year with an economic impact of more than $16 million annually. Presenting vibrant programs, historic interpretation, boat cruises, tours, demonstrations, and exhibits, Fort Ticonderoga is open for daily visitation May through October and special programs during Winter Quarters, November through April. Fort Ticonderoga is owned by The Fort Ticonderoga Association, a 501c3 non-profit educational organization, and is supported in part through generous donations and with some general operating support made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts. To view Fort Ticonderoga’s electronic press kit, click here.

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