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Free Sundays at the Museum

Looking for a place to spend a Sunday afternoon that both the kids and the adults will enjoy? Have trouble convincing your kids to join you in a museum visit?

We are proud to open the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts for free! Enjoy a range of exciting activities like Career Corner, the Family Room, and Museum Storytime, which are kid-friendly, but also intriguing for adults alike. Take a tour of our permeant museum collection filled with local history and decorative arts from the past, or check out our seasonal changing exhibit on special topics!

Free Sundays at the Museum take place at the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, 427 North New Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018 and run from 1PM-4PM every Sunday, January 13 through the end of October.

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

Free Sunday Family Programs

1-4PM: Family Room Activities

Get crafty in the Family Room with fun rotating activities relating to our current exhibit. Kids can learn about history though these hands-on crafts and activities themed after artifacts in the exhibit. Many of our activities draw inspiration from those that were practiced by Moravian children in the colonial days - some of which are still practiced today!

1-4PM: Guided Museum Tour & Scavenger Hunt

Leaves on the hour from the Museum Shop

Our tour guide will lead you through the various restored rooms and galleries of the museum, giving you stories of the past surrounding each artifact.

Learn about the museum founder, Annie Kemerer, and her personal collection that started it all.

Kid-friendly artifact scavenger hunts are available for use during tours!

1:30PM: Museum Storytime

The Museum Storytime program allows kids to spend time in the museum learning about history in a unique and engaging way. Kids can come listen to a story that is inspired by an artifact in the collection. Each week features a different story and artifact!

Once Upon a Treehouse Interactive Playroom

Children will love this kids-only special interactive room where they can be hands-on, play dress up, use their imagination, and interact with beautiful handmade dollhouses themed after Kemerer’s very own historic dollhouse collection!

1-4PM: Self-guided Exploration of Seasonal Exhibition (first floor of museum)

Artifacts Reimagined: A 5x5 Artist Exhibit opens March 28

See over 50 new works by the 5x5 Artists inspired by pieces from our collection!

Enjoy programs and workshops featuring various art mediums, skills, and crafts.

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, July 21 - CLOSED FOR BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL

The Kemerer Museum is closed for Blueberry Festival.

Please join us for a fun-filled weekend at Burnside Plantation!

Sunday, July 28

1 - 4PM: Kid's Crafts

Express your artistic side with painted rocks! Pick your favorite colors and patterns and make a magnificent rock you can take home and display.

1:30PM: Story Time in the Morning Call Reading Room

Join us in the Morning Call Reading Room to listen to 'A Rock Can Be..." by Laura Purdie Salas
Rocks may seem like boring, static objects―until you discover that a rock can spark a fire, glow in the dark, and provide shelters of all shapes and sizes. Laura Purdie Salas's lyrical rhyming text and Violeta Dabija's glowing illustrations show how rocks decorate and strengthen the world around them.

2:30PM: Artifact Show & Tell

Delight in stone sculptures from our collection!

Sunday, August 4

1 - 4PM: Kid's Crafts

Make a paper plate tambourine.

1:30PM: Story Time in the Morning Call Reading Room

Join us in the Morning Call Reading Room to listen to "Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay" by Susan Hood
From award-winning author Susan Hood and illustrator Sally Wern Comport comes the extraordinary true tale of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, an orchestra made up of children playing instruments built from recycled trash.

2:30PM: Artifact Show & Tell

Discover an antique accordion from our collection!

Sunday, August 11

1 - 4PM: Kid's Crafts

Make a cardboard drum.

1:30PM: Story Time in the Morning Call Reading Room

Join us in the Morning Call Reading Room to listen to "Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin" by Lloyd Moss
When this book begins, the trombone is playing all by itself. But soon a trumpet makes a duet, a french horn a trio, and so on until the entire orchestra is assembled on stage. Written in elegant and rhythmic verse and illustrated with playful and flowing artwork, this unique counting book is the perfect introduction to musical groups. Readers of all ages are sure to shout “Encore!” when they reach the final page of this joyous celebration of classical music.

2:30PM: Artifact Show & Tell

See and learn about an antique piano from our collection!

Sunday, August 18

1 - 4PM: Kid's Crafts

Create your own rag doll.

1:30PM: Story Time in the Morning Call Reading Room

Join us in the Morning Call Reading Room to listen to "This is My Dollhouse" by Giselle Potter
A little girl proudly walks the reader through her handmade dollhouse, pointing out the bricks she painted on the outside, the wallpaper she drew on the inside, the fancy clothes she made for her dolls, and the little elevator she made out of a paper cup. She’s proud of her house and has lots of fun using her imagination to play with it—until she discovers her friend Sophie’s “perfect” storebought house. Sophie thinks her house, with everything matching and even a toilet seat that goes up and down, is pretty perfect too, until both girls discover that the narrator’s handmade dollhouse is really a lot more fun.

2:30PM: Artifact Show & Tell

View the amazing dolls from the Elizabeth Johnston Prime toy and doll collection!

Sunday, August 25

1 - 4PM: Kid's Crafts

Make your own lava lamp.

1:30PM: Story Time in the Morning Call Reading Room

Join us in the Morning Call Reading Room to listen to "Louise Loves Art" by Kelly Light

For fans of Olivia and Eloise, this stunning debut from Kelly Light is an irresistible story about the importance of creativity in all its forms. Meet Louise. Louise loves art more than anything. It's her imagination on the outside. She is determined to create a masterpiece—her pièce de résistance! Louise also loves Art, her little brother. This is their story. Louise Loves Art is a celebration of the brilliant artist who resides in all of us.

2:30PM: Artifact Show & Tell

See and learn about an antique lamp from our collection!

Thank you to our Free Sundays Sponsors

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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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.