Sing Sing Prison Museum Celebrates Season Opening on April 11 & 12

The Sing Sing Prison Museum (SSPM) will kick off its 2026 season with a two-day Season Opening on Saturday, April 11 and Sunday, April 12. The weekend will feature free walking tours, a Tea & Talk, and the launch of an expanded and updated museum store. The Season Opening also marks an important milestone in SSPM’s multi-year commemoration of the bicentennial of Sing Sing Prison.

On Saturday and Sunday, visitors will have the opportunity to join a 30-minute “hard hat” walking tour inside the Olive Opera House, running at 10 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, 2 PM and 3 PM. These unique tours will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the building’s restoration and transformation as the future home of the SSPM visitor center and exhibition galleries. “It is one thing to have the idea to start a museum; it is quite another to turn that idea into a reality,” says Assistant Director Amy Hufnagel. “SSPM has such a dynamic group of board members, donors, elected officials, economic development groups, staff and community members who are working overtime to support the work of architects, general contractors, designers, and historic preservation specialists. It takes a village to raise a museum!”Rendering of the Olive Opera House, Photo credit Nexus ArchitectsSSPM will also offer its popular Sink or Sing Walking Tours at 10 AM, 12 PM and 2 PM. These tours along the Hudson River and the perimeter of Sing Sing Correctional Facility explore the prison’s history, building the original 1825 cell block, quarrying Sing Sing marble, and the origin of US penal philosophy and design. Complimentary tours will be offered during the Season Opening weekend only. Tours will resume operating on a ticketed basis at the end of April, and will continue on the last weekend of each month (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday) through November.
The weekend’s events will conclude on Sunday with a Tea & Talk at Hudson Valley Books for Humanity at 4 PM, inviting deeper reflection on the themes at the heart of the museum’s work. Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson, Auburn Theological Seminary (ATS) President, will be in conversation with Dr. Brent D. Glass, the Executive Director of SSPM and Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Rev. Dr. Jordan-Simpson is advancing a long-term view of social change at ATS, preparing Auburn to seed a thriving future with a new intergenerational focus on the formation of leaders the world needs. She and Dr. Glass will discuss religion and communities impacted by incarceration, systemic injustices that are solved by incarceration, and how to build a more just society.Sink or Sing Walking Tour, Photo credit Sing Sing Prison MuseumThis season, SSPM will also debut its updated and expanded museum store section inside Hudson Valley Books for Humanity, SSPM’s neighbor in the Olive Opera House. The store will feature new merchandise and a curated selection of books aligned with SSPM’s mission.
The 2026 Season Opening represents the next step in SSPM’s mission. “Every year, the Sing Sing Prison Museum creates new opportunities to fulfill our ambitious mission to share stories of incarceration and reform, past and present, and bring people together to imagine and create a more just society,” says Executive Director Brent D. Glass. “I am delighted that we are offering unique programs and continuing the multi-year commemoration of Sing Sing Prison’s bicentennial.” Later in the season, on May 14, SSPM will have a special commemoration of this historic milestone.Season Opening Event ScheduleAll events are free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged; spots are limited. 
“Hard Hat” Walking Tours inside the Olive Opera House April 11 & 12: 10 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, 2 PM, 3 PM
Sink or Sing Walking Tours along the Hudson RiverApril 11 & 12: 10 AM, 12 PM, 2 PMTicketed tours will continue the last weekend of every month starting April 26.
Tea & Talk with Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson and Dr. Brent D. GlassApril 12: 4 PMREGISTER FOR EVENTSAbout the Sing Sing Prison MuseumThe Sing Sing Prison Museum (SSPM) shares stories of incarceration and reform, past and present, and brings people together to imagine and create a more just society. SSPM preserves the history of Sing Sing Prison while fostering public understanding of incarceration and its lasting impact on individuals, communities, and society. Through oral histories, walking tours, exhibitions, and public programs, SSPM focuses on lived experience and historical context to deepen conversations about justice and reform in the United States.
The Sing Sing Prison Museum Celebrates Season Opening on April 11 & 12Ossining, NY – March 17, 2026 – The Sing Sing Prison Museum (SSPM) will kick off its 2026 season with a two-day Season Opening on Saturday, April 11 and Sunday, April 12. The weekend will feature free walking tours, a Tea & Talk, and the launch of an expanded and updated museum store. The Season Opening also marks an important milestone in SSPM’s multi-year commemoration of the bicentennial of Sing Sing Prison.

On Saturday and Sunday, visitors will have the opportunity to join a 30-minute “hard hat” walking tour inside the Olive Opera House, running at 10 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, 2 PM and 3 PM. These unique tours will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the building’s restoration and transformation as the future home of the SSPM visitor center and exhibition galleries. “It is one thing to have the idea to start a museum; it is quite another to turn that idea into a reality,” says Assistant Director Amy Hufnagel. “SSPM has such a dynamic group of board members, donors, elected officials, economic development groups, staff and community members who are working overtime to support the work of architects, general contractors, designers, and historic preservation specialists. It takes a village to raise a museum!”Rendering of the Olive Opera House, Photo credit Nexus ArchitectsSSPM will also offer its popular Sink or Sing Walking Tours at 10 AM, 12 PM and 2 PM. These tours along the Hudson River and the perimeter of Sing Sing Correctional Facility explore the prison’s history, building the original 1825 cell block, quarrying Sing Sing marble, and the origin of US penal philosophy and design. Complimentary tours will be offered during the Season Opening weekend only. Tours will resume operating on a ticketed basis at the end of April, and will continue on the last weekend of each month (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday) through November.
The weekend’s events will conclude on Sunday with a Tea & Talk at Hudson Valley Books for Humanity at 4 PM, inviting deeper reflection on the themes at the heart of the museum’s work. Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson, Auburn Theological Seminary (ATS) President, will be in conversation with Dr. Brent D. Glass, the Executive Director of SSPM and Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Rev. Dr. Jordan-Simpson is advancing a long-term view of social change at ATS, preparing Auburn to seed a thriving future with a new intergenerational focus on the formation of leaders the world needs. She and Dr. Glass will discuss religion and communities impacted by incarceration, systemic injustices that are solved by incarceration, and how to build a more just society.Sink or Sing Walking Tour, Photo credit Sing Sing Prison MuseumThis season, SSPM will also debut its updated and expanded museum store section inside Hudson Valley Books for Humanity, SSPM’s neighbor in the Olive Opera House. The store will feature new merchandise and a curated selection of books aligned with SSPM’s mission.
The 2026 Season Opening represents the next step in SSPM’s mission. “Every year, the Sing Sing Prison Museum creates new opportunities to fulfill our ambitious mission to share stories of incarceration and reform, past and present, and bring people together to imagine and create a more just society,” says Executive Director Brent D. Glass. “I am delighted that we are offering unique programs and continuing the multi-year commemoration of Sing Sing Prison’s bicentennial.” Later in the season, on May 14, SSPM will have a special commemoration of this historic milestone.Season Opening Event ScheduleAll events are free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged; spots are limited. 
“Hard Hat” Walking Tours inside the Olive Opera House April 11 & 12: 10 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, 2 PM, 3 PM
Sink or Sing Walking Tours along the Hudson RiverApril 11 & 12: 10 AM, 12 PM, 2 PMTicketed tours will continue the last weekend of every month starting April 26.
Tea & Talk with Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson and Dr. Brent D. GlassApril 12: 4 PMREGISTER FOR EVENTSAbout the Sing Sing Prison MuseumThe Sing Sing Prison Museum (SSPM) shares stories of incarceration and reform, past and present, and brings people together to imagine and create a more just society. SSPM preserves the history of Sing Sing Prison while fostering public understanding of incarceration and its lasting impact on individuals, communities, and society. Through oral histories, walking tours, exhibitions, and public programs, SSPM focuses on lived experience and historical context to deepen conversations about justice and reform in the United States.

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