Kids Get in Free During Labor Day Weekend

Back-to-School Celebration Includes Story Time, Giveaways and Family-Friendly Activities

PHILADELPHIA, AUGUST 8, 2017 — Clean out those summer cobwebs by exploring the inspiring – and often surprising – story of our nation’s founding at the Museum of the American Revolution over Labor Day weekend, Saturday, Sept. 2 through Monday, Sept. 4. Kids 12 and under will receive free admission to the Museum throughout the weekend.

Every child also will receive a free back-to-school packet, including colored pencils, an eraser, a mini history-themed coloring book, and a pocket-sized Declaration of Independence. Extended summertime hours of 9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. continue through Labor Day weekend (after Labor Day, hours of operation return to 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.). 

From 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., special activities and storytelling that explores the role of children in the Revolution, including James Forten, a free 14-year-old African American who joined a privateer ship and Joseph Plumb Martin, who was only 15 years old when he joined the Revolutionary cause, will take place in the Museum’s first-floor Patriots Gallery. Activity sheets will examine what schooling was like in the 18th century.

Also from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., kids of all ages can try on Revolutionary-inspired clothing, design a flag, decode secret messages, make a sash like General George Washington’s to take home, and practice drilling like a Revolutionary soldier.

On the outdoor plaza, kids can decide if they would enlist as a summer soldier or sailor. From 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. at a mobile Discovery Cart, visitors are personally invited to choose a branch of service and sign their name to a takeaway card that features a privateer ship letter of marque or soldier’s enlistment notice. Visitors can also hold replica objects representing the two most common choices for military service in the Revolutionary War. Kids can then learn more about their newly assigned role at the Battlefield Theater and privateer ship inside the Museum.

In the Museum’s exhibits, kids can explore the exciting story of the American Revolution through original artifacts, dynamic theater experiences, recreated historical moments, and immersive environments, like the privateer ship visitors can board to learn about the war at sea and a nearly two-story replica of America’s first Liberty Tree where kids can touch a real piece of a Liberty Tree from Annapolis, Maryland. Kids can engage every sense by touching reproduction weapons or an 18th-century cannon, smelling tea like that from the Boston Tea Party or a tar-pitched rope from a ship, and lifting a twelve-pound cannon ball.

Interactive experiences invite kids to participate in the story with hands-on elements, including mixing and matching pieces of a soldier’s uniform, sitting in a replica of George Washington’s “Rising Sun” chair, and a stitching at an interactive sampler station that explores educating children as citizens. Digital touchscreens allow kids to discover the stories of the people that made the Revolution happen.

About the Museum of the American Revolution

The Museum of the American Revolution explores the dynamic story of the American Revolution using its rich collection of Revolutionary-era weapons, personal items, letters, diaries, and works of art. Immersive galleries, theater experiences, and recreated historical environments bring to life the events, people, and ideals of our nation’s founding and engage people in the history and continuing relevance of the American Revolution. Located just steps away from Independence Hall, Carpenters’ Hall, and Franklin Court, the Museum serves as a portal to the region’s many Revolutionary sites, sparking interest, providing context, and encouraging exploration. The Museum is a private, non-profit, and non-partisan organization. For more information, visit www.AmRevMuseum.org or call 877.740.1776