Labor Day Weekend 2024 at the Museum

Over Labor Day weekend, join the Museum to explore our Witness to Revolution special exhibit, participate in family-friendly activities and crafts, and more as we wrap up A Revolutionary Summer. Children 12 years old and younger will receive free Museum admission throughout the holiday weekend (available for in-Museum purchase only).

Witness to Revolution: The Unlikely Travels of Washington's Tent
Onsite (Patriots Gallery) | Daily, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Our current special exhibition greatly expands the story told in the Museum’s award-winning Washington's War Tent film and brings to life the stories of individuals from all walks of life who saved George Washington’s tent from being lost over the generations and who ultimately fashioned this relic into a symbol of the fragile American republic. At a 10-minute, in-gallery talk, learn about the artisans, including upholsterer Plunket Fleeson, who made George Washington's headquarters tent and camp equipment.

Revolution Place
Onsite (lower level) | Daily, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
The Museum’s family-friendly discovery center, Revolution Place, will be open daily to explore the Museum’s lively, diverse Old City neighborhood during the 1700s through hands-on exploration in four key recreated historical environments, including a military encampment, a tavern, a home, and an 18th-century meeting house.

Online Premiere: "Meet Elder James Forten" Performance
Online | Aug. 30 release
Watch the online premiere of the 20-minute first-person theatrical performance "Meet Elder James Forten," starring Steve Crum and written by playwright Marissa Kennedy, ahead of Forten's birthday on Sept. 2. Set in 1838, meet 72-year-old Forten as he speaks with his friend Daniel Brewton about the nearby ruins of Pennsylvania Hall. The building, which he helped to finance as a meeting space for social reformers and abolitionists, was looted and set on fire by a mob of white men who did not view the work of abolitionists favorably. That same year, Forten, who witnessed a reading of the Declaration of Independence and served two tours as a privateer, lost the right vote when Pennsylvania disenfranchised all Black men.

In-Gallery Talk: The Promise of Equality
Onsite | Daily
Join a Museum educator in the Declaration of Independence gallery to discuss the promises of the Declaration and how different people, like Elizabeth Freeman and William Findley, seized the opportunity to advocate for equal rights in 1776 and afterwards. Plus, learn more about the connections between these Revolutionary-era events and figures to later movements advocating for equal rights in America. 

Craft: Make-Your-Own Rhode Island Regiment Cap
Onsite | Daily
Design a cap like those worn by the Black and Native American troops of the Rhode Island Regiment who marched through Philadelphia on their way to Yorktown on Sept. 2, 1781.

Discovery Cart: Artisans & Makers
Onsite | Daily
Join a Museum educator at a hands-on discovery cart with replica objects to learn more about the artisans and makers of the Revolutionary era who helped supply the Continental Army and made everyday supplies for the homefront.

First-Person Performance: Meet Joseph Plumb Martin
Onsite (Alan B. Miller Theater) | Sept. 1 & Sept. 2, 1:15 p.m. & 3:15 p.m.
Experience the Museum’s first-person theatrical performance portraying Continental Army soldier Joseph Plumb Martin, performed by Chris Roche and written by Ryan Schwartz. Martin was one of the thousands of teenaged soldiers in General George Washington's army. He wanted to prove he was "as warm a patriot as the best of them." In June 1776, he left Milford, Conn. and joined the Continental Army in New York City. Martin went on to write Memoir of a Revolutionary Soldier, which was published in 1830 and is one of the best-known Revolutionary War memoirs depicting the life of an ordinary soldier.

Unpack a Sea Chest
Onsite (Core Galleries) | Daily
All hands on deck on the Museum’s replica sloop! Join a Museum educator for stories about what life was like at sea during the Revolutionary War for the Continental Navy, privateers, and prisoners of war, and learn about the different roles needed to operate a Revolutionary-era ships.