Hours & Admission
Public Hours
WINTER HOURS: November through April |
We’re open weekdays (Monday through Friday) from 10am – 4pm. With our newly installed heating system, the museum will be comfortable year-round! |
SUMMER HOURS: May through October |
We’re open seven days a week from 10am – 5pm! (Weekends and Holidays Included) |
General Admission
Members | FREE |
Adults | $10.00 |
Seniors (65 and over) | $8.00 |
Students | $5.00 |
Children under 6 | FREE |
Family | $20.00 |
Accessibility
Exhibits, museum shop, and rest rooms are wheelchair accessible, and a wheelchair is available for our visitors to use. If you have special needs, please call ahead to let us know how we can best accommodate you. Handicapped parking is available in the front of the building.
Group Visits
Are you part of a group of 10 or more? Please call us 2 business days in advance so we can prepare to give you a great tour! Phone: 802.674.5781
Motorcoach & Adult Groups: $6.00 per person
10 people required for group rate. Group leaders and motorcoach drivers receive complimentary admission.
School Groups: $4.00 per student, teachers & adult chaperones receive complimentary admission.
Field trips through the museum can focus on a variety of topics, including American History, invention and innovation, manufacturing, energy transfer, measurement, interchangeable parts, just to name a few. In general, each of our field trips begins with a tour through the museum gallery, often focused around one or two core themes. We then run several hands-on activities in our learning lab that build on the tour’s core idea. From coding spheros to building catapults, we offer a wide range of possibilities. Older groups can also request a look behind the scenes at our collections, which will feature objects that aren’t on display in our main gallery and a include look at how museums like ours operate.
Please reach out at least two weeks in advance, and we can help you design a program that fits your vision!
Behind the Scenes
Join us for a Behind-the-Scenes Tour at the American Precision Museum! Take a peek upstairs and explore staff-only areas on the second floor, where you’ll discover extraordinary pieces from our collection that are not currently on display. Get an inside look at the ongoing work to enhance the museum and preserve history. Please note that 48-hour advance registration is required for this tour. The cost is $20 per person or $10 with museum admission. The tour lasts 1 to 2 hours and offers a unique opportunity to see many tools and machines and gain insight into how a museum is run. Be aware that access to the second floor is only available via a steep New England staircase, and the area is not currently climate-controlled. We look forward to sharing this special experience with you!
Terms and Conditions:
You can book a tour by calling 802 674 5781, emailing apm@americanprecision.org, or following the button above to our booking page.
We ask for at least 48 hours notice so we can have adequate staff available for your tour.
Each tour will take approximately one to two hours.
Be advised that there is no heat or air conditioning in the space.
Be advised: the behind-the-scenes tour is on the second floor, with a steep staircase to access.
Cost is $20/person, or $10/person with museum admission.
Museum staff reserves the right to end the tour due to an unruly guest.
Location & Directions
196 Main Street
PO Box 679
Windsor, VT 05089
Windsor is located on Route 5, between exits 8 and 9 off Interstate 91. The American Precision Museum is located on Route 5 (Main St.), at the south end of Windsor Village, just south of the stoplight at the intersection of Main and Union/Bridge streets.
Area Attractions
There are many fine attractions in our area—and two are located within walking distance of the American Precision Museum.
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The Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge, originally built in 1866 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places is the longest historic wooden covered bridge in the United States and the longest two-span covered bridge in the world.
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The Old Constitution House, located on Main Street in the center of Windsor, is the birthplace of Vermont. On July 8, 1777, the first Constitution of the “Free and Independent State of Vermont” was adopted in what was then Elijah West’s tavern. The noteworthy constitution was the first in America to prohibit slavery and the first to establish universal suffrage for men without the requirements of property ownership or specific income for voting rights. The Vermont Constitution was also the first to establish a system of public schools.
Be sure to check out other nearby attractions:
- Artisans Park
- Billings Farm and Museum
- Harpoon Brewery
- Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College
- Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College
- King Arthur Flour
- Marsh-Billings Rockefeller National Historical Park
- Montshire Museum of Science
- Northern Stage
- Path of Life Sculpture Garden
- Quechee Gorge
- Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site
- Simon Pearce
- Sugarbush Farm
- Vermont Institute of Natural Science
- Windsor Public Library
Need help planning your trip?
Visit From Home
We’ve recently added a variety of tools to help you experience the museum from wherever you are.
* Vermont Art Online is a digital portal to Vermont’s museums and galleries, curated by Sarah Briggs and Sarah Laursen of the Middlebury College Museum of Art. It is presented in partnership with the Vermont Curators Group with generous support from the Vermont Arts Council and Vermont Humanities Council. A visitor took a 360 “photosphere” of our museum a few years ago, so you can even travel back in time to see the museum, some highlighted machines, and more. (If you are looking at the map, the museum is on the eastern border of the state toward the middle.)
* Google Maps Street View – we’ve also added several of our present day galleries to our Google Maps listing. This works from a phone or a computer: Click here to see our Google Street View photospheres!
* We try to post something new and interesting to Facebook every day and a few times a week on Instagram, and sometimes on Twitter.
* Lastly, our exhibits page of this website will continue to develop ‘digital exhibits.’
Thank you for visiting!
Reviews:
Here’s what other visitors had to say about a visit to APM:
Read Dan S.‘s review of American Precision Museum on Yelp
Frequently Asked Questions About the Museum
A. The museum is not actively soliciting new materials, but if you have an item that’s directly related to our story, we’d love to hear about it! Send us an email and a picture with your contact information. We want to be sure that we not only take good care of any acquisitions, but that we have adequate room to store or display your donation.
A. Most visitors spend around 1 hour going through the museum gallery. Some visitors have spent several hours reading the entire exhibit or listening to every audio guide stop!
A. Our museum is for people of all ages, whether or not they have background in the manufacturing industry. Some of our events and programs are more kid-focused, but adults are welcome to attend if they like hands-on building. Similarly, some of our exhibits and events are designed for adults due to the technical or historical content, but families are welcome if they are interested. We try to provide cultural context and simple explanations of the machines.
A. An appreciation of history, vintage machinery, or modern technology is all you need!
A note about visitors under 10: While the museum is for all ages and abilities, we’re not able to offer hands-on activities at this time (due to COVID-19). We do have some building & creativity materials available such as Lego, K’nex, cardboard, duct tape, and Sphero Robots. These materials are either sanitized between used or taken home with you. There is lots to look at, though!