The Votes Are In: Check Out the Best Gingerbread House in Rochester

The community voted, and the winning school(s) receive their very own slip-and-slide day at the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm.

University Hills and Hugger elementary schools created the best gingerbread houses in Rochester, according to a contest held over winter break at the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm. The two gingerbread houses tied for first place, according to a tally of the 1,000 ballots cast.  Students, parents and teachers from nine Rochester elementary schools created the gingerbread houses on display over the holidays at the museum. Visitors to the museum are asked to vote for their favorite; the elementary school whose gingerbread house received the most votes was to win a slip-and-slide afternoon at the museum next summer for their entire school. According to museum workers, both schools will receive their own slip-and-slide day. For a …

• Photos (3)

Museum Asks: What's the Best Gingerbread House in Rochester?

Created by Rochester elementary schools, the winning creation will earn a slip-and-slide afternoon for the school.

Students, parents and teachers from nine Rochester elementary schools have created gingerbread houses on display over the holidays at the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm. Visitors to the museum are asked to vote for their favorite; the elementary school whose gingerbread house receives the most votes will win a slip-and-slide afternoon at the museum next summer for their entire school. Voting takes place during the museum's open hours: Fridays and Saturdays between 1 and 4 p.m. through Dec. 29. Admission is $3 for students and seniors and $5 for adults. The admission fee gets you access to the gingerbread house display as well as all of the regulars displays and features of the museum. Peruse this photo gallery for a sneak peek …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (10)

Rochester Girl Spends Allowance on Statue for Vandalized Museum Garden

Read how one fourth-grader and a pig named Wilbur turned a rare act of destruction into a simple act of giving.

Editor's note: This story was originally posted on Rochester Patch on Nov. 28; it has been chosen as Huffington Post's Greatest Person of the Day. See the story as it appears on The Huffington Post here. Rochester Hills, Mich. - It was Thanksgiving morning when 9-year-old Nicole Bernstein, out for a walk with her family, learned about the random crime that would spur her to action. The Bernsteins live near the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm; the night before Thanksgiving, vandals smashed several concrete animal statues and other pottery in the Children's Garden at the museum. Some light fixtures and a park bench were also destroyed.  That morning, while walking their dog, the Bernsteins ran into museum director Patrick McKay, …

•  15 Comments
• Photos (1)

Kristin Bull

8:49 am on Monday, December 10, 2012

Just learned Nicole will be honored for her good deed by the Rochester Hills City Council tonight!   more ›

The Museum Still Has Pumpkins — and the Food Pantry Has Families in Need

Here's how I helped two great Rochester organizations this week — and how you can, too.

When I was talking to Rochester Hills Musuem director Pat McKay about his great supply of leftover pumpkins after a very rainy Stonewall Pumpkin Festival the wheels in my head started turning.  (Read "What Would You Do with 1,000 Pumpkins?") I love the museum and festival but my family already had our four pumpkins and, honestly, we didn't need any more. I wondered what I could do to help out one of my favorite institutions. If we don't need pumpkins, who does? Somewhere in that wheel-turning came the memory of when we "adopted" a family for Easter. The mom of that family gave me a list of food she needed. At the end of our conversation she said, "I feel kind of silly asking but is there any way we could also get an extra dozen eggs. My …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (4)

Laura Cassar

4:31 pm on Friday, October 19, 2012

Well put, Sherry!   more ›

What Would You Do with 1,000 Pumpkins?

The rainy day left the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm with 1,000 leftover pumpkins. Here's how you can help.

It rained Saturday. It rained a lot.  And while that may have been an inconvenience to some, for the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm it really hurt. The Stonewall Pumpkin Festival is the museum's largest fundraiser of the year. Not only did the wet day keep some people away, it also left the museum with about 1,000 pumpkins sitting on their property. While the pumpkins make a lovely pastoral scene, those gourds have got to go. "This rain will dramatically affect our bottom line and any help from friends to purchase their pumpkins from the Museum this year will really help," museum director Pat McKay said. The museum is selling the large pumpkins for $5 and the little ones for $2. The museum staff is on site from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m…

•  14 Comments
• Photos (7)

David Gifford

7:44 pm on Thursday, October 18, 2012

Check the photos for some updates.   more ›

It Rained, and Yes, Sometimes It Poured, But Nothing Could Stop the Stonewall Pumpkin Festival

A soggy Saturday doesn't stop Rochester residents from carving pumpkins. (Share your wet photos here with Patch readers.)

This one might just go down in the history books as the wettest Stonewall Pumpkin Festival, but that didn't stop the fun. On Saturday at the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, over 1,000 people braved the rain to carve a pumpkin and place it on the stone wall that lines the museum property. Later on Saturday night, many of them returned to see their creation aglow despite the wet conditions. Were you one of the brave ones? Show off your creation in this photo gallery (click "add your photo and videos" above.)

•  10 Comments
• Photos (11)

Tiffany Dziurman Stozicki

9:36 am on Monday, October 15, 2012

My family came and made the best of it. It's a yearly tradition and a wonderful way to support the museum. In all the years the museum has put on this fabulous program, I remember one or two cold days. The rest have been sunny and warm. Sure it was damp and chilly, but it wasn't a pouring rain in the morning when we arrived and we dressed warmly. Having hot cider on hand at the concessions was a …   more ›

Woman Renowned for Medical Research Will Speak in Rochester

Mary Guinan was one of the earliest AIDS researchers; she will speak as part of the Rochester Hills Museum's leadership series.

A woman whose career path connects her with one of the icons of history in Rochester Hills will talk to a local audience about leadership. Mary Guinan, the past president of the American Medical Women’s Association, will speak on Women's Leadership in Medicine on Sept. 28. The 7 p.m. lecture at the Royal Park Hotel is free and open to the public. It is part of a leadership series presented by the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm and its Broomfield Center for Leadership. (Read more about the Broomfield Center in When Congressman's Papers Come to Museum's Calf Barn, Community Will Learn from His Leadership Story.) Guinan was the first woman to serve as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control…

• Photos (1)

A Patch of History

The 20-Year Dig: 150,000 Artifacts Paint Picture of Early Stoney Creek

New book chronicles findings of archaeological dig on grounds of Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm.

Years of work and countless hours clocked by local historians, history students and volunteers have culminated in the recent release of two major publications about local history. The first is a print publication detailing a 20-year archaeological excavation on the property of the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm. The second is a new website featuring an interactive map of local historic sites and resources. These two newly released publications are among the most significant contributions made to the preservation of local history, genealogy and anthropology in the past two decades. “Into the fertile valley of Stony Creek . . .:” An Archaeological Interpretation of the Van Hoosen Farm Site was written by Deborah J. Remer, a …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (6)

Kristin Bull

1:17 pm on Wednesday, October 26, 2011

You say Stoney, I say Stony .... thanks for clearing that up, Pat!   more ›

Louisa May Alcott Brought to Life at Rochester Hills Museum

It was a kickoff of Alcott series this fall.

Dozens of little women, and a handful of men, turned out for the "Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind the Little Women" presentation at the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm on Sunday.  The program was part of a series of events celebrating Alcott's life, in partnership with the Rochester Hills Public Library. Michele Dunham, museum education and program coordinator, kicked off the event with a presentation of what life was like when Alcott was alive. Dunham acknowledged many similarities between the life of Sarah Van Hoosen and Alcott, which the audience found intriguing. After Dunham wrapped up her presentation, Tim Twiss, a Highland musician, played his banjo in front of the crowd.  "I am going to play some music I am certain …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (16)

Tiffany Dziurman Stozicki

8:31 am on Monday, September 19, 2011

Delightful performances by Twiss and Donnelly and an entertaining way to bring history to life.   more ›