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Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites Announces 2024 Summer Camp Sessions
April 28th, 2024 | In The News
“Design Your Own Marvelous Miniature Camp” features a hands-on exploration of architecture, interior design, color, toys, furniture, and more.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (March 28, 2024)—Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS) announced that its summer camp, “Design Your Own Marvelous Miniature Camp,” is accepting applications for the 2024 season. The camp, tailored for children ages 7 to 12, has two five-day sessions and runs Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with drop-off beginning at 8:30 a.m., at the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts. Session one begins on June 24 and ends on June 28; session two begins on July 8 and ends on July 12.
Each day features a hands-on exploration of architecture, interior design, color, toys, furniture, and more. At the end of the session, all campers take home a finished structure that they customized and furnished, and parents are welcome for a show-and-tell on the last day.
“We are excited to help curb the dreaded summer slide and keep kids’ minds and hands engaged with this camp,” stated Lindsey Jancay, director of collections & engagement at HBMS. “Campers don’t realize they are learning design, math, architecture, and functionality while with us. The camp fuels their creativity and introduces them to new topics they may not learn in school.”
The summer camp is being held at the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, Pennsylvania’s only museum dedicated to decorative arts and one of only 15 museums in the country for the topic. The museum speaks to the changes in style and design over three centuries and reflects the passionate expression of its founder, local collector Annie S. Kemerer, and her love of beautiful objects. Born in 1865 just south of Bethlehem, Annie enjoyed surrounding herself with stunning furniture, paintings and decorative art.
While at the Kemerer, campers will get up close and personal with the Elizabeth Johnston Prime dollhouse collection, one of the largest in the United States, and apply what they learn about architecture, design, and functionality to their structure.
The session costs $250 for HBMS members and $300 for non-members. Interested parties can register for the summer camp through HBMS’s website, www.historicbethlehem.org/shop/product/design-your-own-dollhouse-camp. For additional assistance, please contact HBMS’s Manager of Programs and Volunteers Charlotte Filiciotto at cfiliciotto@historicbethlehem.org.
The Design Your Own Marvelous Miniature Camp is made possible thanks to support from the Elizabeth Johnston Prime Fund and the Jones Children Fund.
ABOUT HISTORIC BETHLEHEM MUSEUMS & SITES
Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites is a not-for-profit institution that brings to life three centuries of American history. Historic Bethlehem tells the story of a small town of great influence, home to some of our nation’s earliest settlers, America’s first municipal water pumping system, and one of the world’s greatest industrial companies. Historic Bethlehem is located in eastern Pennsylvania, only a 1-hour drive from Philadelphia to the North and 2 hours west of New York City. Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites is an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and part of Historic Moravian Bethlehem, which is a National Historic Landmark District and candidate for possible nomination to the World Heritage List. For more information, visit historicbethlehem.org
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