June 16, 2024

Museum of the American Revolution to celebrate Fourth of July with 6 days of events

The history museum will offer crafts, tours and theatrical performances from June 29 through July 4.

By Franki Rudnesky
PhillyVoice Staff

Provided Image/Museum of the American Revolution

Visitors can make flag-inspired crafts during the Museum of the American Revolution's Fourth of July week celebrations from June 29 through July 4.

The Museum of the American Revolution is kicking off the Fourth of July festivities early with days of family-friendly events leading up to the holiday.

Fourth of July Week 2024 at the Museum runs from Saturday, June 29, through Thursday, July 4. The events include crafts, tours, theatrical performances and extended museum hours.

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Throughout the week, visitors can explore the museum through a guided gallery tour or traverse Old City on a neighborhood walking tour. In the museum's Revolution Place discovery center, there will be a create-your-own flag craft inspired by Revolutionary-era symbols, shapes and colors.

Each day, there will be in-gallery talk on "The Promise of Equality" in the Declaration of Independence gallery, during which museum educators will explain how historic figures advocated for equal rights in 1776 and beyond. Another daily presentation will be on the "Season of Independence," with a museum educator explaining how support for American independence spread through the colonies in the months leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

There will also be theatrical performances on select days in which actors portray Joseph Plumb Martin, who was a teenaged soldier in the Continental Army, and Elizabeth Freeman, a Massachusetts woman who sued for her freedom from enslavement and won.

On Tuesday, July 2, the museum will team up with other museums, historic sites and businesses in Old City to celebrate the first Red, White, & Blue To-Do event. There will be a parade, concerts, games, restaurant specials and extended hours at attractions — including the Museum of the American Revolution which will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and host activities on the outdoor plaza.

Also during Fourth of July week, visitors can check out two new artifacts on display in the museum's core galleries: a rare broadside printing of the Declaration of Independence from 1776 and a window shutter that was pierced by a British musket ball in 1775. Visitors can also see the museum's handsewn, replica "suit of colours," based on the huge flags flown by 18th-century ships at sea during the Revolutionary War.