Museum of The American Revolution Hosts FREE Virtual Spring Break

Staying at home is important right now, but it can be a challenging. Take a break and treat yourself to a socially distant spring break! The Museum of the American Revolution is hosting a Virtual Spring Break from Monday, April 6th through Friday, April 17th, 2020, with a line-up of choose-your-own virtual adventures including make-at-home craft activities using household items, virtual story time, living history demonstrations for all ages, and more.

Learn about the efforts of Revolutionary-era Philadelphians who prepared the Continental Army's supplies each spring during the Revolutionary War. And celebrate the Museum’s Third Birthday on Sunday, April 19, the anniversary of the “Shot Heard Round the World” that ignited the Revolutionary War in 1775. Be sure to follow the Museum on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily content and updates.

Schedule of Virtual Spring Break programs:

* Every weekday during Spring Break from April 6 – 17, check out the Museum’s Facebook for a Daily Craft or Coloring Activity. Learn the art of paper cutting, “scherenschnitte,” brought to America by German immigrants, and create paper decorations inspired by artifacts in the Museum’s collection; color a wampum belt like those used by Native American communities; or make your own whirligig – a popular colonial toy – with string and cardboard.

* On Mondays and Fridays during Spring Break, tune into Facebook and Instagram for Artisan Field Trips featuring video interviews with living history artisans and makers as they demonstrate their Revolutionary-era crafts, including a shoemaker, seamstress, carpenter, and bookbinder.

* On Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11 a.m., join us for Virtual Storytime on Facebook as we read children’s books about the American Revolution and its ongoing impact, including What Can Citizens Do? by Dave Eggers and Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta.

* On Wednesdays at Noon, we’ll host Live Q+A’s with our curators and historians on Instagram. Join in and ask your most pressing historical question!

* On Thursdays, tune into the Museum’s Instagram account for Colonial Cooking demonstrations, including how to make hard bread like that eaten by Revolutionary War soldiers and how to make cooked pumpkin, inspired by the memoir of Continental Army soldier Joseph Plumb Martin.

On Sunday, April 19th, join us as we celebrate the Museum’s Third Birthday! Visit their Facebook page to sign a digital birthday card and share your favorite Museum memory for a chance to win four tickets to visit the Museum when it reopens. We’ll be sharing 18th-century cake and cocktail recipes for you to make at home. Also, join us as we commemorate the anniversary of the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” that ignited the Revolutionary War on April 19th, 1775.

The Museum’s other virtual resources include:

* Virtual Field Trip: Go behind-the-scenes at the Museum with Scholastic’s “Beyond the Battlefield” Virtual Field Trip with host Lauren Tarshis, author of the I Survived series of children’s historical fiction novels.

* Virtual Museum Tour: Experience the Museum’s award-winning, immersive galleries with 360-degree views in our Virtual Museum Tour.

* Digital Collection: Explore selected treasures from the Museum’s impressive collection of Revolutionary-era objects, works of art, manuscripts, and printed works.

The Museum also offers free comprehensive lesson plans full of primary sources, images, and provocative questions, a “Color the Collection” coloring book based on treasures from the Museum’s collection, and a rich archive of Read the Revolution book excerpts.