Create history. Share your creativity. Help build the Woodman Museum’s first community Holiday Train Village!

 

Welcome to the First Annual Woodman Museum Holiday Train Show!

 

The Woodman Museum invites hobbyists, families, local organizations, and community members to help create a spectacular holiday village display. Participants will design and build a model or diorama that will become part of a festive village surrounding the museum’s holiday train exhibit.

This year’s theme is “Moments in American History.” Participants are encouraged to create a model depicting a significant building, place, or outdoor event from the past 250 years of American history. All entries should incorporate holiday decorations or winter-themed elements to help bring our holiday display to life.
Event details follow, with Participant Registration being found at the bottom of this page.

Event Details

The Holiday Train Show is a community art competition open to children, teens, adults, families, and organizations. Participants will create a model mounted on a rigid one-foot square base that will become part of the museum’s holiday train village display. Models are to be delivered to the Woodman Museum no later than Sunday, November 22nd. The show will open December 4th, from 5pm-8pm, with a free viewing, judging for each category, and the awarding of prizes. The show will then run through December 20th, viewable during museum operating hours (Sat & Sun 10-4). Models can be retrieved either during museum operating hours or by appointment starting January 3rd, 2027.

Competition Categories

  • Child (Ages 3-12)
  • Teen (Ages 13-17)
  • Adult (18+)
  • Family
  • Organization

2026 Theme: Moments in American History

Participants should create a model depicting an important building, location, landmark, or outdoor event from the 250 years of American history. Displays should include holiday decorations, winter scenery, or seasonal elements.

Models are not to depict blood, gore, or mass tragedy events. If the Woodman Museum determines a model is unfit for family audiences it will be disqualified and will not be displayed.

Model Ideas

The following are examples of models that fit the prompt seen above. Use these as either direct ideas for your model, or as a jumping off point into your own idea!

Buildings
  • Taverns
  • Frontier Cabins
  • Lighthouses
  • Historic Homes
  • Churches
Community History
  • The Woodman Museum
  • Dover City Hall
  • Downtown Mills
  • Historic Main Street Buildings
Military History
  • Revolutionary War Redoubt
  • Civil War Fort
  • Stone Forts
Transportation
  • Covered Bridges
  • Stagecoach Stops
  • Train Stations
  • Early Automobile Garages

Materials

All models must be attached to a rigid one-foot square base such as plywood, acrylic, or posterboard. Models that bend when handled may be disqualified.

Use of prohibited materials will result in disqualification.

Prohibited Materials

Use of prohibited materials will result in disqualification. The following are prohibited materials:

  • Edible Materials
  • Real Dirt or Soil
  • Sand
  • Loose Glitter
  • Organic Vegetation
  • Taxidermy
  • Open Flames
  • Batteries
  • Electrical Wiring
  • Motors
  • Heating Elements
  • Smoke Effects
  • Stone
  • Plaster
  • Concrete
  • Bricks

Encouraged Materials

The following are some encouraged materials:

  • Foam Board
  • Cardboard
  • Balsa Wood
  • Craft Sticks
  • Cork
  • Paper/Cardstock
  • Mat Board
  • Modeling Clay
  • Fabric
  • Model Railway Scenery Products
  • LEGO

Participants may use materials not listed so long as they are not prohibited by the list above.

Register Your Entry

Complete the registration form below to participate in the First Annual Woodman Museum Holiday Train Show. Registration is limited to 80 entries and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants may register no later than November 1st.

Got Questions?

Contact us at:
co*********@***********um.org
603-742-1038

© Copyright 2025 l Woodman Museum, Dover, NH l Website Design by Tap House Media

Hale House Continued...

Born in nearby Rochester NH, John Parker Hale is best known as the first avowed Abolitionist Senator in the United States. It is an odd irony that, in the two decades Hale was in the Senate, Dover profited from the manufacture of cotton products that were produced by Southern slave labor. Living in William’s own house, Hale took a solid stand against slavery - a position that earned him enmity from Southern leaders, even a death threat on the Senate floor from a colleague. It also earned Hale a statue in 1892 on the lawn of the state capitol in Concord, NH, where his figure now stands with Daniel Webster, President Franklin Pierce and John Stark.

Today, the collections throughout two of the three floors of the Hale House are arranged into galleries displaying Hale Family artifacts, local and regional history, New England period furniture, fine and decorative arts and more.

Woodman House Continued...

The younger Charles Woodman inherited the estate from his mother. A successful financier and manager of the Strafford Savings Bank, he resided here throughout his life. He married twice: his first wife, Hannah (Coffin) Woodman, died in 1854 and in 1856 he married Annie (Allen) Woodman. When she died in January 1915, Annie Woodman left the sum of $100,000 “for the establishment …of an institution for the promotion of education in science and art and the increase and dissemination of general and especially historical knowledge.” The trustees of the estate acquired the Woodman house and the adjoining Hale House, which by chance came on the market that same year. The renovation of the interior was directed by local architect J. Edward Richardson, and the Institute opened in July, 1916.

Today, the collections throughout the three floors of the Woodman House are arranged into galleries displaying natural science (mounted specimens, rocks and minerals, fossils, seashells), Native American culture, military history, “childhood” history (schools, Scouting, toys, games and dolls), seasonal themed exhibits and more.

Damm Garrison House Continued...

In 1915, Col. Daniel Hall (the founding Head Trustee of the Woodman Museum) had an interview with Mrs. Rounds and broached the matter of having the garrison and its contents removed to the grounds of the Woodman Museum. The proposition proved to be acceptable to her; in due time she made a formal gift of the Damm garrison to the Museum. Daniel Chesley was entrusted with the task of removing the house to its new home; it took him one week, using wooden rollers and a horse, to move the garrison to the grounds. Local architect J. Edward Richardson directed the construction of the protective outer “colonnade” building that surronds and protects the garrison currently.

Today, the collections throughout the two floors of the William Damm Garrison House are arranged into galleries displaying local Colonial and Early American history.

Keefe House & Carriage Barn Continued...

Today, the first floor of the Keefe House (the Thom Hindle Gallery) features rotating artist and artisan exhibitions throughout the year. The second floor of the Keefe House (the Robert Whitehouse Library) serves as administrative offices and a climate controlled archive. The attached two story Carriage Barn houses local and regional transportation, trades, farm, and household collections.

Keefe House & Carriage Barn Continued...

Today, the first floor of the Keefe House (the Thom Hindle Gallery) features rotating artist and artisan exhibitions throughout the year. The second floor of the Keefe House (the Robert Whitehouse Library) serves as administrative offices and a climate controlled archive. The attached two story Carriage Barn houses local and regional transportation, trades, farm, and household collections.