The Garden Discovery Carts provide visitors with the ability to engage with the gardens and outdoor exhibits through interactions with knowledgeable staff and hands-on activities. Visitors will get the chance to learn information beyond the labels and participate in deeper learning throughout the outdoor areas with the Garden Discovery Carts, helping Heritage to explore, discover, and learn together.

Heritage’s Interpretive Mission: Heritage Museums & Gardens creates interpretive experiences that engage people with the wonder of nature and our evolving American culture. Experiences related to culture, work, leisure, and life in this place and region reveal the changing relationships between human and nature today, in the past and in the future.

Carts can be found in the gardens between the hours of 11:30am-3:30pm on select days during Horticulture Festivals and Family Event Days. . For specific activities and carts, please ask the staff member located in the Clarissa S. Nye Visitor Services Center upon your arrival. Please be aware, The Garden Discovery Carts are not available every day but are usually staffed during peak visitation days.

There are four carts that will be available during the 2025 Main Season:

The Wampanoag Heritage Cart: Join Heritage’s Indigenous Interpreter(s) at the Wampanoag Stories exhibit to learn about the lifeways, culture, and traditions of the Wampanoag people, both historically and today. Visitors will get a chance to engage with reproduction objects, made by the Wampanoag, used for hunting, fishing, and family life.

Rhododendron Discovery Cart: Join our education staff during the Rhododendron Festival from May 15-25 to learn about Charles O. Dexter and his work with rhododendrons right here on Heritage grounds. Learn about the unique hybrids Mr. Dexter created, known for their big showy blooms, cold hardiness, and delightful fragrances, and then explore the grounds to find and enjoy his work. In addition, pick up useful tips on pruning and care for your own home gardens.

Hydrangea Discovery Cart: Join our education staff during the Hydrangea Festival from July 10-19 in the North American Hydrangea Test Garden to learn about the six major species of hydrangea. Visitors will learn how to identify each species, from bloom shape to leaf form, as well as learn tips on pruning and care for their own home gardens.

Pollinators in our Ecosystem Discovery Cart: The pollinator cart will teach visitors how to identify the four main types of pollinators, learn about pollinator adaptations and how this support plant life, and provide inspiration on how to attract these useful creatures to their home gardens. Visitors will then be encouraged to hunt for pollinators in our gardens, including the larger-than-life ones in David Rodger’s Big Bugs, to learn more about their role in Cape Cod’s ecosystem.

• Wampanoag Territory Map
• Indigenous Territory Map US
• Who are the Wampanoag?
• A Brief Timeline of Wampanoag History
• Three Sisters Garden
• Dress
• Growing Food
• Diet
• Building a Home
• Tisquantum’s and the Pilgrims
• Landing of the Pilgrims

Bibliography:

1. Battiste, Jaime, and Siobhan Senier. “Wampanoag.” Essay. In Dawnland Voices: An Anthology of Indigenous Writing from New England, 429–90. Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 2014.
2. Bial, Raymond. The Wampanoag. New York: Benchmark Books, 2004.
3. “Building a Home.” Plimoth Patuxet Museums. Accessed February 22, 2022.
4. Eldredge, Nacy. “Who Are the Wampanoag?” Plimoth Patuxet Museums. Accessed February 22, 2022.
5. “Growing Food.” Plimoth Patuxet Museums. Accessed February 22, 2022.
6. “How to Grow a Three Sisters Garden.” Native, May 27, 2016.
7. Mann, Charles C. “Native Intelligence.” Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution, December 1, 2005.
8. “National Atlas. Indian Tribes, Cultures & Languages : [United States].” The Library of Congress. Accessed February 22, 2022.
9. National Geographic Society. “Wampanoag Territory.” National Geographic Society, April 18, 2013.
10. Sargent, Henry. “Landing of the Pilgrims.” Collections & Exhibitions, 2012. Pilgrim Hall Museum. Plymouth, MA.
11. “Timeline.” Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. Accessed February 22, 2022.
12. “What to Wear?” Plimoth Patuxet Museums. Accessed February 22, 2022.
13. “What’s for Dinner?” Plimoth Patuxet Museums. Accessed February 22, 2022.

• Check back soon for details!