For all of you who took advantage of the amazing BOGO Heritage Museum Pass deal at Christmas, this is an opportunity to mark your calendars. Listed below are some upcoming events that you can attend for *FREE with your new pass! Make sure you mark this page as we will continue to update it with great ways to use your pass as events are listed. If you are still confused at where you can use this pass, scroll to the bottom of this post for a complete list. Enjoy!
*Some special events on the Pennsylvania Trails of History may require a special fee.
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Presents: Reading on the Rails
WHAT: You’re right on track for amazing stories from very special guests throughout the day at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Kids: Pick up your very own cardboard suitcase and use it to travel from story to story! Collect a sticker after each story and create your own suitcase design with stickers, crayons, sparkles and other trimmings. You’ll receive a little gift to put inside your suitcase (while supplies last)!
WHEN: March 9 from 9:30am – 4pm
WHERE: Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
The State Museum – Homeschool Day
WHAT: Join the Museum Staff for HomeSchool Day! Explore hands-on objects, crafts and learn from curators, archivists and educators. Presentation topics to include:
– Pennsylvania’s Ratification of the 19th Amendment
– Charter Chats
– South Central Pennsylvania Scholastic Arts Exhibition
– Dressed for Service: Pennsylvanians in the Great War and What it took to win World War I
– Pennsylvania’s Ice Age
– The Re-Making of the Mammal Hall Dioramas
– Nature Lab: Snow and Crystals
WHEN: March 13 from 10am – 2pm
WHERE: The State Museum
Brandywine Battlefields Presents: 18th Century Days
WHAT: Come and learn about Joseph Gilpin Jr. and the important trade of Blacksmith in our working blacksmith shop with this engaging and informative program. Joseph Gilpin Jr. inherited a portion of his father’s land in 1729 where he built the first section of the existing Gilpin home in 1745. Situated adjacent to one of the busiest thoroughfares in 18th century Chester County, Joseph Gilpin Jr. was in advantageous location to conduct business as a blacksmith. Making farming tools and other items in addition to being associated with the role of “ferrier,” Joseph made a decent lifestyle for himself and family.
WHEN: April 13 from 12pm – 4pm
WHERE: Brandywine Battlefield
Brandywine Battlefields Presents: Kids Day
WHAT: Kids, do you think you have what it takes to be a soldier in Washington’s Continental army? Come find out with our “Life of a Soldier” Program where you will learn all about a soldier’s life, uniforms, muskets, and even learn to march and drill like a soldier. When you are done, you can write about your experience in our “Read a Letter, Write a Letter” program where you can put yourself back in time to the Battle of Brandywine and write a friend or loved one at home about your experience with quill and ink.
WHEN: April 14 from 12pm – 4pm
WHERE: Brandywine Battlefield
Ephrata Cloister Presents: Community Days
WHAT: Community Days offers an “open house” that brings the museum to life with various learning stations offering an excellent way for self-directed learning, multiple age groups, and home schools. View brochure.
WHEN: April 26 & May 17 from 9:30am to 1:00pm
WHERE: Ephrata Cloister, 632 West Main St. Ephrata
Daniel Boone Homestead Presents: Sheep & Fiber Day
WHAT: Come learn all about sheep, shearing, and the many uses of wool!
WHEN: April 27 from 10am – 4pm
WHERE: Daniel Boone Homestead
Landis Valley Farms Presents: Civil War Days
WHAT: With camps, technology, costumes, musket fire, and interactive demonstrations, you’ll travel back to the year 1863 as re-enactors transform Landis Valley into a Civil War-era crossroads village. Witness cavalry and musket drills, tour the camp, take wagon rides, and talk to civilian and military re-enactors. Kids: participate in hands-on activities and play some historic games. Food will be available for purchase.
WHEN: July 20 & 21 from 10am – 4pm
WHERE: Landis Valley Farms
Washington Crossing Historic Park: Guided Tours
WHAT: Guided tours of the Historic Village
WHEN: Open Now! Saturday’s & Sunday’s 10:30am – 3:30pm
WHERE: 1112 River Road, Washington Crossing, PA
Graeme Park: Keith House Tours
WHAT: For the history enthusiast, there is an intriguing and colorful past associated with the Keith House and its occupants. The story beings in 1721 and is filled with fascinating people and their lives from our nation’s earliest days through the 20th century. The house itself is a National Historic Landmark and has remained virtually intact since the late 18th century with original woodwork and paint finishes in some of the rooms.
WHEN: Friday’s – Sunday’s
WHERE: Graeme Park, 859 County Line Road, Horsham, PA
WHERE CAN I USE MY PA HERITAGE MUSEUM PASS???
Still not sure what this pass can do for you? Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation members and the PA Heritage Museum pass members receive FREE admission to all of the historic sites and museums on PHMC’s Pennsylvania Trails of History which are listed by special interest topic below.
Military History Trail
Connecting sites of military significance, this trail maps a comprehensive tour of forts, battlefields and training grounds.
- Erie Maritime Museum and U.S. Brig Niagara
- Fort Pitt Museum
- Bushy Run Battlefield
- Pennsylvania Military Museum
- Brandywine Battlefield Park
- Washington Crossing Historic Park
Historic Homes Trail
From modest stone houses to sprawling estates, this trail opens the door to Pennsylvania’s past.
- Joseph Priestley House
- Conrad Weiser Homestead
- Daniel Boone Homestead
- Graeme Park
- Hope Lodge
- Pennsbury Manor
Industrial Heritage Trail
The labor of iron, coal, oil and lumber workers built businesses and communities that left legacies on this trail and beyond.
Industrial Heritage Trail Sites:
- Drake Well Museum
- Pennsylvania Lumber Museum
- Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum
- Scranton Iron Furnaces
- Eckley Miners’ Village
- Cornwall Iron Furnace
- Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Rural Farm and Village History Trail
Rooted in Pennsylvania’s rural beginnings, this trail leads to pastoral landscapes from Colonial to recent history.
Rural Farm and Village History Trail Sites:
History Hubs
All trails intersect at PHMC’s headquarters in Harrisburg.
Want to learn more about the PA Heritage Pass?
Interested in learning more about what the PA Heritage Pass is? Here’s a post we wrote about the PA Heritage Pass, where it can be used and how to get it for half price every December!!!
