Halloween Weekend at the Museum

This Halloween weekend, Oct. 29-30, join us at the Museum and online for Revolutionary family-friendly frights and fun, including turnip-carving demonstrations, Revolutionary stencils for your jack-o-lantern, and more. Plus, children ages 12 and under who wear a costume on their visit get $2 off admission!

Turnip-Carving Demonstrations
Onsite | Saturday & Sunday, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Learn from a Museum educator how early Americans in the Revolutionary era carved turnips — not pumpkins — to ward away evil spirits and watch a demonstration on how they were carved.

Pumpkin-Carving Stencils
Online | Anytime
With All Hallows' Eve quickly approaching, we know that choosing the perfect jack-o-lantern pattern can add some unneeded stress. We've created eight pumpkin carving stencils to make your Halloween truly Revolutionary so that you can focus on planning the perfect trick-or-treating route.

Revolution Place
Onsite | Saturday & Sunday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Explore the Museum’s family-friendly discovery center, Revolution Place, which brings to life the Museum’s lively, diverse Old City neighborhood during the 1700s and invites visitors to learn through hands-on exploration. Design your own tin-punch lantern pattern to illuminate your path on a spooky night or shine in your window as you welcome Halloween visitors! In colonial times, the holes in tin lanterns needed to be plentiful enough to allow light to shine through, but small enough to shield flames from the wind.

In-Gallery Talks: The Legend of the Headless Horseman
Onsite | Daily, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
It is believed that The Legend of Sleepy Hallow, Washington Irving’s gothic tale about the ghostly Headless Horseman, was based on a Hessian soldier who was decapitated by cannonball fire. Visit the Hessian tableau to learn about the surprisingly historic origins of this classic scary story.