March 19, 2025
Provided image/Museum of the American Revolution
The discovery center at the Museum of the American Revolution includes an 18th century military encampment and marketplace, rendered above.
Upgrades are underway on the first floor of the Museum of the American Revolution, which soon will house a new video wall, speakers and the Revolution Place discovery center.
The Old City museum is moving Revolution Place, a collection of four recreated scenes from 18th century Philadelphia, from its current home on the lower level to the ground floor. It is taking over 1,300 square feet previously occupied by the gift shop, which has shrunk to half its former size to accommodate the learning center. Revolution Place, which has been closed since Feb. 18, reopens Saturday, April 5.
But it won't be its old self. The museum is cutting one of the center's environments, a 1700s church that visitors spent "the shortest amount of time in," family programs manager Rebecca Franco said in an email. Revolution Place is retaining its other three staples — a military encampment, home parlor and tavern — as well as a marketplace, designed to educate families on the impact of wartime boycotts on food supplies.
The museum has spruced up its military encampment, adding a digital touchscreen displaying the tent where General George Washington slept, ate and discussed strategy. The revised space also features a new fake grass carpet and stools "to encourage our smaller visitors to sit and play longer," Franco said. The parlor is getting a bookcase to display the museum's collection of thematic picture books, plus expanded seating. At Three Tun Tavern, a recreation of a real bar that once stood on Chestnut Street, kids can learn what kind of menus were available in 18th century Philadelphia.
Provided image/Museum of the American RevolutionThe revamped Revolution Place discovery center will feature, from left to right, a recreation of the former Chestnut Street bar Three Tun Tavern, a parlor and a military encampment with a marketplace across from it.
Revolution Place is drastically extending its hours. The space previously was open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m on Saturdays and Sundays, but after it reopens, visitors can access it during the museum's regular hours — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week.
The museum's upgrades extend to other areas. They include a 4K video wall in the Lenfest Myer Theater, which plays orientation movies for visitors, and new speakers in the rotunda and court area.
It's unclear what will become of the vacated lower level, but Franco said it is not going to remain a public space. The museum is hoping to engage more families, particularly as it prepares to "welcome an influx of visitors" for the semiquincentennial, president and CEO R. Scott Stephenson said in a statement.
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