Families Can Join In A Season Of Celebrations

The Division of Education at the Philadelphia Museum of Art invites families to participate in an exciting array of Family and Children's Programs this winter and spring. Presenting a series of cultural celebrations that includes hands-on workshops, performances, and kid-friendly gallery tours, this season's events build upon the nationally recognized excellence of the Museum's educational offerings.

All Family and Children's Programs are free after Museum admission, and pay-what-you-wish Sundays help make these festive occasions for learning about different cultures of the world accessible to a wide variety of community members.

In addition to these special family events, the Something Every Sunday program presents a regular schedule of family-oriented tours and activities that can be enjoyed throughout the year, including Drawing Together, which takes family members into the galleries where they create their own works, assisted by a professional artist; Early Bird Read and Look, which invites preschoolers and family to storytelling, followed by a related craft; and Tours for Tots, a gallery tour designed for preschoolers that features movement, play, and hands-on activities.

This special family event offers visitors the opportunity to meet artisans as they create lace and embroidery, see a knight in all his armor, discover what children wore in colonial America, and enjoy a kimono dressing demonstration. A performance by Kit's Kaboodle will bring the history, customs, and clothes of the Renaissance to life, while a mask-making session led by members of the Kehillah of Center City will teach families about Purim, a Jewish holiday celebrated with costumes and storytelling. J.T. Waldman, creator of the graphic novel Megillat Esther, will also lead a special Purim-related workshop in which children ages 7 and up will create their very own mini comic book.

This event is cosponsored by the Kehillah of Center City, a project of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. -- www.philamuseum.org