Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Hours of Operation

• 2021 Hours of Operation
  
  
  May 12 - October 31
  Wednesday - Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  
  
  Tours are by reservation only - please call (518) 434-0834 and speak with site staff to reserve. Click here to read more information on site tours.

  Please read through our Safety Policies

• Safety Policies
  If you do not feel well, please do not visit Schuyler Mansion. We are happy to reschedule you for another time.
  • Visitors over the age of 2 years old are required to wear a face covering over nose and mouth while in any interior spaces (Welcome Tent, mansion, Visitor Center, bathrooms).
  • For your convenience, hand sanitizer stations will be available
  • Visitors must wear protective plastic gloves to access the mansion second floor.
  • All family groups must maintain at least 6 feet of distance from other visitors and Schuyler Mansion staff.

• During your visit, Schuyler Mansion will require adherence to our site safety policies. These are subject to change and will be updated on our website and other virtual platforms as new information becomes available.

Fees & Rates

• Tours
• TOURS WILL BE AVAILABLE BY ADVANCE RESERVATION ONLY. Reservations are made by calling the site at (518) 434 – 0834 or (518) 434 – 0835 and speaking with site staff.

  General Tours
  $5.00 Adults
  $4.00 Senior / Student
  Children Free (12 and under)

• Groups

• School Groups (K - 12): $1.00 per child (Group leader and required chaperones comp) OR $ 20.00 minimum fee per group
  
  Other Groups: $4.00 per person (Group leader and bus driver comp) OR $20.00 minimum fee per group

  Please call - Governor directives or other factors related to COVID-19 may affect Groups.
  

• Outreach

• School groups (K - 12): $30.00 per class OR $1.00 per child (Teachers / Aides comp). For schools, one classroom equals one presentation.
  
  Other Groups: $30.00 per presentation. Outreach programs limited to 45-minute drive from Schuyler Mansion.

  Please call - Governor directives or other factors related to COVID-19 may affect Groups.

Adult Programs

Tours: $4.00 per person (complimentary admission for the group leader and bus driver). Guided tours of the mansion are available year round to groups of 10 to 30 people by advance reservation. Groups larger than 30 people will be offered an in-depth introduction and an Open House (self-guided) format. Questions? Please contact Schuyler Mansion staff.


Presentation Fee: $30.00 per presentation

Schuyler Mansion interpretive staff is available to speak at a meeting of your civic organization, historical society, or other group.

Currently, Powerpoint presentations include:

• Tour of Schuyler Mansion
• The Restoration of Schuyler Mansion
• Ladies of Schuyler Mansion

With adequate notice, we may also be able to design a talk, tailored to your special interest. Please contact Schuyler Mansion staff.

School Programs

Tours: $1.00 per child (complimentary admission for the group leader and required chaperones). Required chaperones: 2 chaperones per 10 children.

Guided tours highlight the lives and lifestyle of Philip and Catharine (Van Rensselaer) Schuyler, one of 18th century Albany's wealthiest and most influential families. Social status, education, entertainment, slavery, and the American Revolution are all part of the Schuyler Mansion story. Tours for grades 3 through 6 include quill pen writing and generally require 1 1/4 hours (additional time may be required for Gift Shop purchases).

Tours scheduled jointly with Crailo State Historic Site (Rensselaer) will provide a well-rounded educational program comparing 17th century Dutch colonial and 18th century English colonial / early American life.

Outreach Programs in the Classroom

Fee: $1.00 per child (minimum $30.00 per classroom/per presentation).

Programs currently available:

• Coping with Life's "Necessaries:" Cleanliness and Sanitation in the 18th Century
  Through object-based learning and a Power Point presentation and object- based learning, students learn how individuals in the 18th-century met some of their most basic needs. Duration: 1 hour
  
• Exploring Colonial Life
  Through DocumentsUsing samples from the Schuyler Papers, students discover what primary source documents tell us about colonial life. Duration: 1 hour
  
• Playing in the Past
  Using reproductions, this hands-on program explores toys and games enjoyed by 18th century children. Duration: 1 hour
  
• Sea Captain, Slave and Soldier: A Map of Albany's People
  Students working in teams use reproduction documents to reconstruct the lives of colonial Albany's people. Duration: 1 1/4 hour
  FEE: The school outreach program fee is $1.00 per student (minimum $30.00 per classroom/per presentation). Bookings are limited to 45-minute drive from Schuyler Mansion. Schuyler Mansion's school educational programs incorporate the NYS Learning Standards for the Social Studies Curriculum. We are approved by the Capital Region BOCES and Questar III Arts-in-Education Enrichment programs. Contact your school representative for funding opportunities.

Tours

Season 2021

GENERAL PUBLIC

• TOURS WILL BE AVAILABLE BY ADVANCE RESERVATION ONLY. Reservations are made by calling the site at (518) 434 – 0834 or (518) 434 – 0835 and speaking with site staff.
• All tours will be a directed Open House format and will be 45 minutes in duration.
• Tour schedule: Beginning at 11:00 a.m., tours are offered on the hour, with the last at 4:00 p.m.

To ensure the continued health and safety of visitors and staff, Schuyler Mansion will require adherence to our site safety policies. These are subject to change and will be updated on our website and other virtual platforms as new information becomes available.

Safety policies include:

• Visitors over the age of 2 years old need to wear a face covering over nose and mouth while in any interior spaces (mansion, Visitor Center, bathrooms).
• For your convenience, hand sanitizer stations will be available.
• While in interior spaces, all family groups must maintain at least 6 feet of distance from other visitors and Schuyler Mansion staff.

Reserving and purchasing a ticket constitutes acknowledgement and acceptance of these policies.

SCHOOL GROUPS (K - 12th Grade)

Guided tours highlight the lives and lifestyle of Philip and Catharine (Van Rensselaer) Schuyler, one of 18th century Albany's wealthiest and most influential families. Social status, education, entertainment, slavery, and the American Revolution are all part of the Schuyler Mansion story. Tours for grades 3 through 6 include quill pen writing and generally require 1 1/4 hours. Chaperones: 2 chaperones per 10 children required

Admission: $1.00 per child
No fee: Teacher / Group Leader / Required chaperones
$4.00: Extra adults (beyond required chaperone #)
Minimum fee per group: $20.00

Schuyler Mansion hopes to accept school groups in fall 2021

GROUPS (Any group other than K-12)
Youth Groups, College, Seniors, Other Organizations, etc.
Tours: Guided tours of Schuyler Mansion for groups of ten to approximately thirty-five people are available year-round by advance reservation. For groups larger than thirty-five people, Schuyler Mansion can offer an in-depth introduction and a self-guided open house format. During an open house, staff will always be available on both floors to answer questions and direct the group. Guided tours and open houses generally require 1 hour.
Admission: $4.00 per person (complimentary admission for tour leader and bus driver). Minimum fee per group: $20.00

 
Schuyler Mansion hopes to accept group tours in fall 2021.

Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 6:30 p.m.

We invite you to join us for Elliot and Schlemovitz's Phantasmagoria, a 18th century -inspired magic lantern show – an unearthly experience created from a form of projected imagery.

In the late 18th century the scientist and showman Étienne-Gaspard Robertson astonished Paris with his magic lantern show, the Fantasmagorie. His innovation of a rear projected image and a magic lantern he called a "fantascope" designed to be moved back and forth on track gave the illusion of diminutive ghosts and goblins growing larger and larger, as if stalking towards the show's frightened audience. Foreboding sound effects and music served to enhance the sense of dread.

Magic lantern performers Dawn Elliott and Joel Schlemowitz have built their own fantascope, with wooden track and rear projection screen, along with newly created hand-painted slides, to recreate the full experience of the Fantasmagorie. The phantasmagoria's eerie repertoire includes a visit to a haunted graveyard, an appearance of "The Bleeding Nun" (from the gothic novel, The Monk), the raising of the ghost of Samuel by the Witch of Endor, the head of Medusa (as horrifying as ever), and an invocation of the Devil at a Witches' Sabbath. The show concludes with a glimpse behind the curtain to reveal the workings of phantasmagoria's inventions and techniques. Elliott and Schlemowitz's Phantasmagoria has received the Dick Balzer Performance Award from the Magic Lantern Society UK.

Program will be held outdoors on the Schuyler Mansion grounds, so please dress accordingly, and bring your garden chair and/or blanket! Event is free, with a suggested donation of $3 per person. Registration is required and can be done by calling (518) 434-0834. (Event will not take place in rain or other inclement weather – please call to check!)

Policy: Unvaccinated people need to wear masks where a 6-foot social distance space cannot be maintained and in all interior spaces.