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Free Sundays at the Museum

If you're looking for a place you can spend quality time with the family, look no further!

We are proud to open the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts to the public, free of charge. Enjoy a range of engaging programs and activities like Career Corner, the Family Room, and Museum Storytime which caters to many ages and promotes creativity and exploration. Discover our permanent collection on display with guided museum tours and see our seasonal exhibit.

Free Sundays at the Museum takes place at the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, 427 North New Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018 and run from 1PM -4PM , every Sunday now through the end of October.

2018 Free Sunday Family Programs

Family Room Activities: 1-4PM

Get crafty in the Family Room with these fun rotating activities: 

  • Make your own family tree, family album, or time capsule box
  • Practice your Colonial penmanship by learning calligraphy and see examples of calligraphy written by Bethlehem school children in the 1800s
  • Learn the art of crossed letter writing, a Victorian process that helped save paper and postage costs
  • Make a knitted bookmark or a crazy quilt bandana and view historic examples on display
  • Fill out, then color your very own Fraktur - a Pennsylvania Dutch form of artistic record keeping
  • Design and create your own Hex signs
  • and much more!

View the schedule below to see what activities are coming up.

Museum Storytime: 1:30PM

Learn about the amazing historical pieces in our collection through readings and artifact show-and-tells during our Museum Storytime. Volunteers read from books inspired by the artifacts in our collection.

The reading is followed by a show and tell of interesting pieces from the collection that inspired the book choice for the week.

View the schedule below to see this month's book selection!

Once Upon a Treehouse Interactive Play Room

Provide by local company, Once Upon A Treehouse, this ‘kids only’ interactive room provides a place for kids to use their imagination, play dress up, and enjoy hands-on creative play, with beautiful handmade dollhouses!

Career Corner

Taking place throughout the year, this program brings professionals into the museum to present a children’s activity that demonstrates how they use design in their current job.

Check back for future Career Corner speaker dates!

Free Sundays Activities Schedule

Sunday, September 23

1:30PM: Museum Story Time: Fall Harvest

  • "Pick a Circle, Gather a Square" by Felicia Sanzari Chemesky 

1 - 4PM: Kid's Activities & Artifact Show & Tell

  • Create your own artwork with the beautiful colors of fall
  • Painting: Design a journal
  • Artifact Display - View autumnal related artifacts from the collection. 

1 - 4PM: Self-Guided Exploration of Exhibition: Time Capsule Bethlehem (First Floor)

  • Tool Identification - test your knowledge as you guess the name and use of assorted historical tools
  • Letter Writing Station - write a letter to your future self and emboss with the seal of the Mayor of Bethlehem

1 - 4PM: Guided Scavenger Hunt Museum Tour (leaves on the hour from the Museum Gift Shop)

  • Take a guided tour of the Kemerer Museum and learn about the permanent collection on display.
  • Kid-friendly scavenger hunt makes finding hidden artifacts a fun way to explore history!

Sunday, September 30

1:30PM: Museum Story Time: Clockwork

  • "The Clock Struck One: A Time-Telling Tale" by Trudy Harris 

1 - 4PM: Kid's Activities & Artifact Show & Tell

  • Create a paper clock
  • Make your own Time Capsule- Decorate your own time capsule box to keep your most precious belongings! Be sure to include a letter to your future self, embossed with the seal of the Mayor of Bethlehem.  
  • Artifact Display - To be determined!

1 - 4PM: Self-Guided Exploration of Exhibition: Time Capsule Bethlehem (First Floor)

  • Tool Identification - test your knowledge as you guess the name and use of assorted historical tools
  • Letter Writing Station - write a letter to your future self and emboss with the seal of the Mayor of Bethlehem

1 - 4PM: Guided Scavenger Hunt Museum Tour (leaves on the hour from the Museum Gift Shop)

  • Take a guided tour of the Kemerer Museum and learn about the permanent collection on display.
  • Kid-friendly scavenger hunt makes finding hidden artifacts a fun way to explore history!

Sunday, October 7

1:30PM: Museum Story Time: Art!

  • "Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo Da Vinci" by Gene Barretta

1 - 4PM: Kid's Activities & Artifact Show & Tell

  • Create and decorate your own sketchbook
  • Artifact Display - Historical pieces of art from our collection!

1 - 4PM: Guided Scavenger Hunt Museum Tour (leaves on the hour from the Museum Gift Shop)

  • Take a guided tour of the Kemerer Museum and learn about the permanent collection on display.
  • Kid-friendly scavenger hunt makes finding hidden artifacts a fun way to explore history!

Sunday, October 14

1:30PM: Museum Story Time

  • "The Art Lesson" by Tomie De Paola

1 - 4PM: Kid's Activities & Artifact Show & Tell

  • Paint your portrait
  • Create an artistic coaster
  • Artifact Display - Historic paintings from our collection

1 - 4PM: Guided Scavenger Hunt Museum Tour (leaves on the hour from the Museum Gift Shop)

  • Take a guided tour of the Kemerer Museum and learn about the permanent collection on display.
  • Kid-friendly scavenger hunt makes finding hidden artifacts a fun way to explore history!

Sunday, October 21

1:30PM: Museum Story Time

  • "I Spay Colors In Art" by Lucy Micklewait

1 - 4PM: Kid's Activities & Artifact Show & Tell

  • Design a colorful collage
  • Artifact Display - View a range of colorful glass in our collection

1 - 4PM: Guided Scavenger Hunt Museum Tour (leaves on the hour from the Museum Gift Shop)

  • Take a guided tour of the Kemerer Museum and learn about the permanent collection on display.
  • Kid-friendly scavenger hunt makes finding hidden artifacts a fun way to explore history!

Sunday, October 28 - FINAL FREE SUNDAY

1:30PM: Museum Story Time: Glass

  • "Art and Max" by David Wiesner

1 - 4PM: Kid's Activities & Artifact Show & Tell

  • Createa piece of artwork!
  • Artifact Display - Art related artifacts on display

1 - 4PM: Guided Scavenger Hunt Museum Tour (leaves on the hour from the Museum Gift Shop)

  • Take a guided tour of the Kemerer Museum and learn about the permanent collection on display.
  • Kid-friendly scavenger hunt makes finding hidden artifacts a fun way to explore history!

Free Sundays at the Museum programs are funded with support from the Jones Children Fund.

Thank you to our Free Sundays Sponsors

HBMS Free Sunday Sponsor Fig Bethlehem

HBMS Free Sundays Sponsor The Morning Call

HBMS Free Sunday Sponsor Altitude Marketing

In the News

Learn more about Free Sundays at the Museum in the news.

"Family fun that’s free — if that sounds good to you, you’ll want to head to Bethlehem’s Kemerer Museum of the Decorative Arts on Sunday afternoons...You’ll find a range of programs and activities that caters to many ages and promotes creativity and exploration." - Article by The Morning Call

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Kemerer Museum Site Rentals

For a special occasion amidst priceless works that celebrate the decorative arts, the Kemerer is a one-of-a-kind destination sure to fascinate your discerning guests!

Able to accommodate up to 100 people, the Kemerer Museum provides a unique venue for your special event. This location is perfect for cocktail parties, family reunions, corporate dinners, birthday parties, baby showers, and so much more.

Read More About Site Rentals for: The Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts

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74 West Broad Street, Suite 310, Bethlehem, PA 18018 | Phone: 610-882-0450 | FAX: 610-882-0460 | info@historicbethlehem.org

Historic Bethlehem Partnership, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Registration and financial information about Historic Bethlehem Partnership, Inc. may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999, or on the web at www.dos.state.pa.us. Registration does not imply endorsement.