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Workshops

FOR REGISTRATIONS TO WORKSHOPS - CALL 850-245-6406 or 850-245-6484 after reviewing details below

Mission San Luis offers a wide range of educational programming for adults and children. Our workshops provide the opportunity to learn about 17th-century Spanish and Native American crafts and lifestyles while expressing your creativity. Participants will gain the skills needed to craft materials or cook foods similar to those made by 17th-century residents of Mission San Luis.

In-Person Workshops Currently Offered 

Blacksmithing

Beginner Blacksmithing

Members: $45 / Non-members: $60 / (Deposit $15)
9:30 am - 3:00 pm

Most First and Third Saturdays:

• Saturday, March 18, 2023 (FULL)
• Saturday, April 1, 2023 (FULL)
• Saturday, April 15, 2023 (Registration deadline April 8) 
• Saturday, May 6, 2023 (Registration deadline April 29) 
• Saturday, May 20, 2023 (Registration deadline May 13)
• Saturday, June 3, 2023 (Registration deadline May 27)
• Saturday, June 17, 2023 (Registration deadline June 10)

Ages: 13 and up (Youth under 16 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian)
Class size: 2 participants

Join us at the Mission San Luis forge for an introduction to blacksmithing. Start the day learning to build and maintain a fire in a traditional Spanish-style forge. Using basic techniques of fire and hammer, create your own masterpiece and leave inspired.

Participants must wear long pants and closed-toe shoes. Clothing must be made of natural fibers. Contact lenses should not be worn.

Intermediate Blacksmithing

Members: $45 / Non-members: $60 / (Deposit $15)
9:30 am - 3:00 pm

• TBA

Ages: 13 and up  (Youth under 16 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian)
Class size: 2 participants

Continue to hone your blacksmithing skills at the MSL forge. This workshop adapts to the student’s needs, and can be taken more than once to build skills.

Participants must bring a lunch, wear long pants and closed-toe shoes. Clothing must be made of natural fibers. Contact lenses should not be worn.

Pine Needle Basket Making

Members: $10 / Non-members: $15 (Deposit $5)
10:00 am - Noon

Most Second and Fourth Saturdays:

• Saturday, March 11, 2023  (Registration deadline March 4)
• Saturday, March 25, 2023  (Registration deadline March 18)
• Saturday, April 8, 2023  (Registration deadline April 1)
• No workshop on Saturday, April 22, 2023
• Saturday, May 13, 2023  (Registration deadline May 6)
• Saturday, May 27, 2023  (Registration deadline May 20)
• Saturday, June 10, 2023  (Registration deadline June 3)
• Saturday, June 24, 2023  (Registration deadline June 17)

Ages: 13 and up  (Youth under 16 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian)
Class size: Minimum 2 / Maximum 6 participants

Pine needle basketry is one of the oldest-known coiled basketry techniques, and one which many cultures have practiced. In this workshop participants will learn the basic techniques of making coils from pine needles and stitching them together with natural fibers to make a simple basket. Enjoy the scent of a pine forest and the meditative act of coiling with us!

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In-Person Workshops to be Offered in the Future

Candle Making

Members: $15 / Non-members: $20 / (Deposit $10)
10:00 am - Noon

• Third Saturdays of the Month TBA

Ages: 13 and up  (Youth under 16 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian)
Class size: Minimum 2 / Maximum 5 participants

Join us at our outdoor Spanish kitchen to "cook up" something essential to colonial life. Learn how to make hand-dipped candles and go away with the perfect gift – or a conversation piece for your own home!

Cannon & Range Safety Training

Members: $10 / Non-members: $15 (Deposit $5) / MSL Volunteers with over 50 hours of service: Free
Two-day program

• Date TBA

Ages: 16 and up 
Class size: Minimum 2 / Maximum 4 participants

Note: If participant is under 18, the training participant and his/her parent or guardian must attend a pre-training conference with MSL staff and sign an agreement form.

The Cannon School at Mission San Luis is designed as a program to recruit and train interested individuals as living history volunteers. Participants will learn to safely load and fire an 18th-century cannon using a modified form of the Spanish Field Artillery Drill. The program also includes hands-on safety training and background information about 18th-century armies. For additional details, click here (pdf).

Charcoal Making

Members: $15 / Non-members: $20 / (Deposit $10)
10:00 am - Noon

• Date TBA

Ages: 13 and up  (Youth under 16 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian)

Class size: 3 participants

Join us at the collier pit to experience the charcoal burning process. Learn all the necessary steps to make charcoal—an important ingredient for blacksmithing. Of course you could learn to make charcoal for use in your grill too! Previous attendees of the blacksmithing workshop will be given one complimentary space in this workshop.

Participants must wear long pants and closed-toe shoes. Clothing must be made of natural fibers. Contact lenses should not be worn.

Flintlock & Range Safety Training

Members: $10 / Non-members: $15 (Deposit $5) / MSL Volunteers with over 50 hours of service: Free
9:30 am - 6:00 pm

• Date TBA

Ages: 16 and up
Class size: Minimum 2 / Maximum 4 participants

Note: If participant is under 18, the training participant and his/her parent or guardian must attend a pre-training conference with MSL staff and sign an agreement form.

The Flintlock School at Mission San Luis is designed as a program to recruit and train interested individuals as living history volunteers. Participants will learn to safely load and fire an 18th-century flintlock using a modified form of the 1728 Spanish Infantry Drill. The program also includes hands-on safety training and background information about daily military life in the Mission San Luis village. For additional details, click here (pdf).

Historic Cooking

Members: $15 / Non-members: $20 / (Deposit $10)
10:00 am - 1:00 pm

• First Saturdays of the Month TBA

Ages: 13 and up  (Youth under 16 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian)
Class size: Minimum 2 / Maximum 3 participants

Gather around the fire and gossip with the cooks while preparing colonial meals. Learn about the Spanish and Apalachee foodways traditions and the influences they had on each other.

Participants must wear long pants and closed-toe shoes. Clothing must be made of natural fibers. Contact lenses should not be worn.

Historic Gardening

Members: $10 / Non-members: $15 (Deposit $5)
10:00 am - Noon

• Date TBA

Ages: 13 and up  (Youth under 16 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian)
Class size: Minimum 2 / Maximum 5 participants

This workshop will cover 17th- and 18th-century Apalachee and Spanish gardening techniques and tools. Our Master Gardener will teach general gardening practices and how to ID plants and weeds. A tour of the Mission San Luis gardens may be included.

Please bring gloves and a hat and wear gardening clothes. Don't forget sunscreen and bug spray if needed.

Matchlock & Range Safety Training

Members: $10 / Non-members: $15 (Deposit $5) / MSL Volunteers with over 50 hours of service: Free
9:00 am - 6:00 pm

• Date TBA

Ages: 16 and up
Class size: Minimum 2 / Maximum 3 participants

Note: If participant is under 18, the training participant and his/her parent or guardian must attend a pre-training conference with MSL staff and sign an agreement form.

The Matchlock School at Mission San Luis is designed as a program to recruit and train interested individuals as living history volunteers. Participants will learn to safely load and fire a 17th-century matchlock. The program also includes hands-on safety training and background information about daily military life in the Mission San Luis village. For additional details, click here (pdf).

Plein-Air Watercolor Painting

Members: $15 / Non-members: $20
10:00 am - 1:00 pm

• Fifth Saturdays of the Month TBA

Ages: 13 and up  (Youth under 16 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian)
Class size: Minimum 2 / Maximum 5 participants

Learn to use watercolors to achieve beautiful results in plein-air (outdoor) painting!

Prior to going outside to enjoy painting on the historic site, participants will be shown basic techniques in watercolor. Instructor Fiona Borger is our historic gardener as well as an artist and she will be assisting workshop attendees with their paintings. There will be a short demo on natural pigments/dyes that can be extracted from sources grown on site.

Paints, palette, brushes, and paper will be provided for use during the class, but if you already have supplies you favor, please bring them -- along with a cushion or outdoor portable chair. Please dress appropriately for outdoors and remember your sunscreen and hat!

Pottery Making

Members: $15 / Non-members: $20
10:00 am - 1:00 pm

• Date TBA

Ages: 13 and up  (Youth under 16 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian)
Class size: Minimum 2 / Maximum 5 participants

Learn the basics of clay pottery hand-building using coil and pinch techniques. Participants will also learn about pottery’s place in history and how archaeologists use pot sherds to assess where and when pottery was used.

Rope/Cord Making

• Date TBA

Ages: 13 and up  (Youth under 16 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian)

This workshop will introduce participants to making three types of rope from the following materials: Spanish moss, yucca leaves, and mulberry bark found onsite. The simple reverse twist, two-ply cordage will be taught using techniques the Apalachee used which have been around for thousands of years.

If less than the minimum number of participants register for a workshop, the class will be cancelled and participants will be refunded or rescheduled for a different day. Invite your friends to help fill up the class.

Space is very limited. Pre-registration is required.

Call 850.245.6406 to REGISTER at least ONE WEEK PRIOR to most workshops and TWO WEEKS PRIOR to Cannon Training.

Workshops at Mission San Luis are sponsored by the Friends of Mission San Luis, Inc. Become a member and receive discounts on workshops by visiting the membership page or contacting Rebecca Woofter at 850.245.6484 or [email protected]. Program duration and cost vary and are state separately for each workshop or seminar. If you have any questions, contact the museum.

A non-refundable deposit, based on the workshop fee, is required to secure a space in Mission San Luis workshops. The remainder of the fee must be paid before the start of the workshop. Please make checks payable to the Friends of Florida History, Inc. - Mission San Luis. These programs are sponsored by the Friends of Florida History, Inc., a private, non-profit organization under the terms of Internal Revenue Service regulations (501-c3).