Plimoth Patuxet is more than a museum. It is a place where the ongoing American Experiment is preserved. It is a cultural resource where everyone holds an invitation to come together and talk, to learn from one another, and to explore the past in a deeply personal way. Plimoth Patuxet encourages being hands-on with history – and Museum Clean Up Day is a wonderful example of community coming together to do just that.

Museum Clean Up Day has become a beloved community tradition in Plymouth. Each spring, dozens of volunteers join the Museum leadership and staff in preparing the Museum and its vast grounds for Opening Day. This year, on Saturday, March 8, 100 volunteers graciously joined 50 Museum employees for a day filled with comradery, hard-work, and a joyful sense of community. Volunteers included members of the Museum’s Board of Trustees, a married couple who have been volunteering on Museum Clean Up Day since 2016, and a family that traveled all the way from New Hampshire to participate.

Projects this Museum Clean Up Day included cleaning the garden at the Historic Patuxet Homesite, setting up the houses in the 17^th-Century English Village, painting the Craft Center, and cleaning the movie theaters located in the Visitors Center. Participants were invited to a hot lunch in the Museum’s café as a small way to express ‘thank you’ for their invaluable work in preparing this national treasure for the tens of thousands of visitors who will join the Museum on site and in conversation this year.