On President’s Day, I decided to go on a reconnaissance mission for a possible field trip for our fourth-grade and eighth-grade classes.  I jumped in my car and drove to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.  I’d been to Philly before to visit Independence Hall, do a walking tour with my students, and visit the Constitution Center; however, I’d never been to the Museum of the American Revolution.  It was impressive.  

Parking:

In order to park at the museum, you can search for street parking, but the streets around the museum only allow for 3-hour parking, so I suggest coughing up the money to park in one of the many garages around the museum.  If you download an app like Spot Hero you can pre-pay for parking at a discounted rate.  I parked in the Ritz garage around the corner (on 2nd Street) and paid $24 for 6 hours.  Of course, if you’re going with students by bus there are different parking rules.

Admission:

Museum admission is $25 per person for an “anytime ticket.”  Anytime tickets allow the purchaser to go to the museum on any day at any time.  For $21 per adult, $13 for kids ages 6-17, and $18 for students, teachers, seniors, and active military, you can purchase a timed ticket.  With this ticket, you must choose the date you go and the time you enter.  I purchased my tickets from a ticket agent at the door.  I didn’t want to spend the extra money on an anytime ticket, but I am also coming from New Jersey so I couldn’t commit to a timed ticket.  It worked out just fine.  With your entry fee, you have access to everything in the museum provided there isn’t any additional programming.

Highlights:

1. The museum is appropriate for several age groups.  The basement floor has a discovery center where kids can have a bit of experience with what they learn in the museum.  They can try on revolutionary clothing, “sleep” in a military tent (mess), “cook” like a camp follower, see a toilet from the 1700s, enter a family’s tavern, and see what a Christian place of worship in Philadelphia looked like.  One of my favorite activities was “Smells of the 18th Century.”  The museum replicated smells and gave the history of each in context of the Revolution.  I thought this was a great way to include one of our strongest senses in learning!  The museum also did temporary tattoos and had many “please touch” exhibits to invite even its youngest visitors into the main areas of the museum.  The fact that there was so much interaction with the exhibits sold it to me for our fourth grade learners.
   

   The Museum of the American Revolution has kids use their olfactory senses to experience the 18th century.

   

   Some of the scents the museum decided to include were coffee, beeswax, and fish!

   

   A “Mess” at a Revolutionary camp site

   

   The 18th century toilet on display in the discovery center.
   2.  The Alexander Hamilton exhibit was informative.  If you know me at all, you know I’m a Jefferson girl.  That being said, I can appreciate a good exhibit when I see one, and the Alexander Hamilton exhibit at the Museum of the American Revolution was wonderfully done.  Again, this was geared toward many different types of learners and to learners of several ages.  There were several museum staff available to help visitors understand what they were reading and doing in the Hamilton exhibit. There was a replica cannon visitors could “load,” several articles of clothing to try on in many sizes so visitors could understand how one would dress when visiting the Washingtons, a smuggling board game, and a “create a coin” felt board station.  Beyond the activities for the younger set, the exhibit itself was had a lot of detailed information.  Furthermore, the museum asked for visitors to digest the information they consumed and on the way out determine (and write!) what Hamilton’s most important role was in American history.  This exhibit was done really well from a pedagogical standpoint.

I LOVED this Venn Diagram for my classroom and used it to make an anchor chart for my students.

Alexander Hamilton designed America’s first minted coin. Using early American symbols, visitors can design one, too.

This is a dice game in which one team is the smuggler and the other team Alexander Hamilton’s revenue marine trying to stop them from getting into Philadelphia.

3. The way the second floor of the museum was set up was chronological and it walks the visitor through the Revolution. The exhibits throughout this part of the museum are extraordinary and you need to see them in order to understand.  The museum has lifelike scenes of different events and people of the American Revolution.  The statues of the people in these scenes are incredibly lifelike: it feels like you are there.  There were also several interactive screens with primary sources for the visitor to tap on to understand in further detail– or in many cases with our students, to understand at all.  The Museum of the American Revolution immerses you.  This is a museum that the visitor experiences, which really seals the learning.  There are several reproductions in the museum along with many artifacts from the era.  Those objects work together to enhance the visitor’s learning.  Additionally, there are movies throughout the exhibit, as well.  The Museum of the Revolution works for a variety of learning types because of the way they convey their information.

Interactive primary sources help visitors understand what they’re seeing.

Reproductions can be touched to enhance the experience. I never knew the crates of tea were this small!

The scenes (this one is of soldiers fighting with Washington breaking it up) are very lifelike.

4. The Museum of the American Revolution did not neglect the “other” people involved in the Revolution.  Woven throughout the exhibit were the experiences of Native Americans, African Americans, women, and laborers.  They very naturally included the people who are often forgotten in the “glory” of the war.  The Museum of the American Revolution did excellent work in making sure that no one that is usually treated as an afterthought in history was treated that way by their museum.  These groups were mentioned with reverence, importance, and more than once.  I would like to have seen LGBTQ history included in the museum, as Baron von Steuben was openly gay.  I may, however, be writing in error, as I could have missed this part of the museum.  I will make a correction if I find out otherwise.

5. The presentation of George Washington’s tent is not to be missed.  The viewing of the tent is scheduled at intervals throughout the day and is in a special auditorium.  You cannot take pictures of it, nor can you record the movie that explains its history.  You’re going to have to trust me, the presentation is moving and the tent is breathtaking.  Don’t miss it.

I am working to include this museum in our regular cycle of field trips with our students.  It is a great experience and your worldview of history museums will be turned upside down (see what I did there?).  The Museum of the American Revolution obviously had many different types of clientele in mind when they designed their exhibits.  There is something for the Revolutionary War expert and novice, for the young and the young at heart.  I highly recommend spending your day in this very special place.