Getting ready forLancasterHistory and President James Buchanan's Wheatland.
The history museum and President Buchanan's 1828 mansion share one campus on North President Avenue in Lancaster. LancasterHistory tells visitors where it gets loud and where it stays low: the museum is generally low-volume with soft background music, the main lobby echoes, the restroom toilets and hand dryers are loud and sudden, and Wheatland is usually quiet except during big group tours. Yuletide at Wheatland tours run Nov 21 to Dec 30 2026.
Sensory supports. LancasterHistory doesn't list sensory hours or a quiet room, but it does tell visitors exactly where it gets loud and where it stays low. Here's what it says.
Hours
Museum: Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm; closed Sundays and major holidays. Wheatland tours: Monday to Saturday on the half hour, first tour 10:30 am, last tour 3:30 pm. Exhibitions-only tickets: Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm. Research Center: Wednesday to Friday and the first Saturday of each month, 10 am to 2:30 pm. Wheatland is closed for tours through Fri Nov 20 2026 while staff get ready for Yuletide at Wheatland; the museum's pages differ on whether that closure starts Sun Nov 15 or Mon Nov 16 2026 (LancasterHistory is closed Sundays anyway); the museum keeps regular hours that week. Yuletide at Wheatland tours run Sat Nov 21 to Wed Dec 30 2026, Monday to Saturday, 10:30 am to 3:30 pm, with no tours on Sundays. All of LancasterHistory is closed Thanksgiving (Thu Nov 26 2026), Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (Dec 24 and 25 2026), and from Thu Dec 31 2026 through Mon Jan 18 2027, so it is closed New Year's Eve and New Year's Day; it reopens Tue Jan 19 2027. The Research Center is also closed Fri Nov 27 2026. Weather closings are posted on the website and phone line. The Tanger Arboretum grounds are open every day, dawn to dusk, with no admission charge.
LancasterHistory Museum & Research Center, 230 North President Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17603 (use the North President Avenue entrance; the Wheatland driveway at 1120 Marietta Avenue is closed to cars)
“The museum is generally a low-volume place, with slight background, ambient music. However, volume levels can increase suddenly should there be many visitors in spaces at the same time.”
“Please note that the automatic flushing toilets and air-dryers are loud and can activate suddenly, which may be loud and overstimulating.”
“Wheatland is typically a low-volume space where the primary speakers are the tour guides leading a tour.”
“On a tour of Wheatland, visitors can expect to be standing for upwards of an hour. Non-historic chairs are available in rooms that guests can sit upon. Please notify your Tour Guide should you wish to rest.”
For accessibility questions, LancasterHistory asks you to reach out at 717-392-4633 or info@lancasterhistory.org. If you have questions about whether the museum or Wheatland is open on a specific day, call 717-392-4633, ext. 100, to speak with a Visitor Services Associate.
The second floor of Wheatland is stairs only. If your family would rather not climb, LancasterHistory offers a short written guidebook or a pre-recorded video tour of the second floor; tell a Visitor Services Associate when you arrive or tell your tour guide. For Yuletide at Wheatland, which also has stairs and up to an hour of standing, the museum asks you to tell Visitor Services ahead of time at 717-392-4633, ext. 100, or when you arrive.
The All-Gender Restroom on the lower level is a large, lockable, single-stall room with a chair and a baby changing table; there are also changing tables in the first-floor Women's and Men's Restrooms. Staff or the Visitor Guide and Map can help you find it.
LancasterHistory names its own loud and quiet spots: the museum is generally low-volume with soft background music, Ware Commons (the main lobby) is very resonant, the restroom toilets and hand dryers are loud and can go off suddenly, and Wheatland is usually low-volume except during bus or group tours.
Everyone checks in at the museum, then walks over to Wheatland. There are no public restrooms in Wheatland, the tour means standing for up to an hour with stairs to the second floor, and once you leave the mansion you can't go back in. Chairs are in the rooms, and your guide can bring one.
Yuletide at Wheatland tours run Nov 21 to Dec 30 2026, Monday to Saturday (not Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day), and advance tickets are strongly recommended because tours sell out. LancasterHistory is then closed Dec 31 2026 to Jan 18 2027.
For a full-size copy your child can use, open this page at squaredsteps.com, tap Make it yours, then print.
Ask before you go
whether there is a quiet room or sensory kits to borrow
whether you can leave the museum building and come back in the same day
whether an aide or caregiver gets in free
Call 717-392-4633More about LancasterHistory and President James Buchanan's Wheatland
Louder, in LancasterHistory's words
The restrooms (the automatic flushing toilets and air-dryers are loud and can activate suddenly)not stated
Ware Commons, the main lobby (high ceilings make it a very resonant space, and volume can rise suddenly when many visitors are in a space at once)not stated
Wheatland during a bus or group tour (many tour groups in the house can raise the volume, with many speakers talking at once in different rooms)not stated
Quieter, in LancasterHistory's words
The museum exhibitionsquiet zone
Wheatland on a regular tourquiet zone
General Admission (a guided Wheatland tour plus the museum exhibitions): adults 18 and up $20 ($18 if you buy online), seniors 65 and up $18, students 11 to 17 or with a college ID $10, children 10 and under free with a paying adult or senior; members free. Yuletide at Wheatland General Admission: adults $20, seniors $18, students $10, children 10 and under free with a paying adult; the $2 online discount is for adult General Admission tickets only. Museum exhibitions only: adults $10, seniors $8, students $6, children free; a Family Pass for the exhibitions (two adult or senior tickets and two student tickets) is $26 by phone or at the door. Tickets are timed; pre-buying is highly encouraged, since tickets at the door are not guaranteed.
Ways to save: Museums for All gives $3 adult admission and free admission for children 17 and under, for up to four people per SNAP EBT or WIC card (cards from other states are accepted), with the card and a valid ID at check-in, one person 18 or older; it can't be combined with other discounts and isn't for other special ticketed events. The Museums for All page lists Yuletide at Wheatland General Admission as covered, while one FAQ answer says it isn't valid for Yuletide, so call 717-392-4633, ext. 100, to confirm. Lancaster County Family Museum Passes from the public libraries cover General Admission for up to four people, one an adult, walk-in only, and can be used for a 2026 Yuletide tour at the door. Lancaster County students in grades 5 to 12 get free General Admission with a student ID; active-duty military and veterans pay $10 with a military ID (guests pay regular price) and get free exhibitions-only admission; Lancaster County educators pay $10 with a school ID; AAA members call 717-392-4633. Enrolled students at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology get free admission with a student ID. Members of a museum in the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) program get free General Admission (and the Member rate for Yuletide at Wheatland): order by phone at 717-392-4633 or at Visitor Services, and show a membership card with the NARM logo at check-in. These discounts are in person or by phone, not online.
Refunds: give 24 hours' notice to cancel or reschedule. Without 24 hours' notice, you still owe for the tickets and LancasterHistory won't refund or reschedule them. For Yuletide at Wheatland, if you're not feeling well, the museum asks you to stay home and reach out to reschedule or refund.
Bags and coats: there's an unsupervised coat check and small free lockers for valuables (at your own risk). Large bags and luggage must stay in your car. Small bags and purses are fine in the galleries and in Wheatland; no bags in the Research Center. The Visitor Guide asks visitors to store backpacks, large bags or purses and umbrellas in the lockers in Ware Commons, where strollers may also be stored, so the guide and the FAQ differ on small bags in the galleries.
Strollers: small or standard strollers are fine in the museum exhibitions; double or jogging strollers aren't allowed. Strollers can't go into Wheatland; you can push one down to the house, but it must be left on the porch, which is unsupervised.
Food and photos: the Visitor Guide asks you to eat and drink only in Ware Commons or on the grounds, and to keep an arm's length from artifacts and not touch them. Still photos for personal use are welcome; no flash, video recording, tripods, monopods or selfie sticks.
Getting there: free parking in the on-site lot, with accessible spaces near the museum entrance on North President Avenue. Map apps may send you to the closed Wheatland driveway on Marietta Avenue; use North President Avenue. The walk to Wheatland is on paved paths with a small 4 to 5 step stone staircase with a railing, or a paved accessible path and ramp. Manual wheelchairs are free at Visitor Services in Ware Commons, first come, first served. Service animals are welcome, including in Wheatland (miniature horses aren't permitted in Wheatland).
Campus of History Cheer, Saturday Dec 5 2026: Candy Canes & Cocoa for kids 10 to 11 am ($5 per person, at least one adult per household, best for ages 3 to 12, advance registration encouraged), self-guided "Go At Your Own Pace" Yuletide tours of Wheatland with entry every 15 minutes from 11 am, last entry 4 pm (tickets required, advance tickets encouraged), a holiday greens and bake sale 11 am to 2 pm, and ukulele music in Ware Commons, the echoing main lobby, 11:30 am to 1 pm. The music and sale need no ticket.
Call
717-392-4633LancasterHistory: tickets, accessibility questions and Family Passes717-392-4633, ext. 100Visitor Services: whether a site is open on a given day, and Yuletide accommodations ahead of time
