Upgrades are underway on the first floor of the Museum of the American Revolution, which soon will house a new video wall, speakers and the Revolution Place discovery center.
The Old City museum is moving Revolution Place, a collection of four recreated scenes from 18th century Philadelphia, from its current home on the lower level to the ground floor. It is taking over 1,300 square feet previously occupied by the gift shop, which has shrunk to half its former size to accommodate the learning center. Revolution Place, which has been closed since Feb. 18, reopens Saturday, April 5.
But it won’t be its old self. The museum is cutting one of the center’s environments, a 1700s church that visitors spent “the shortest amount of time in,” family programs manager Rebecca Franco said in an email. Revolution Place is retaining its other three staples — a military encampment, home parlor and tavern — as well as a marketplace, designed to educate families on the impact of wartime boycotts on food supplies.
The museum has spruced up its military encampment, adding a digital touchscreen displaying the tent where General George Washington slept, ate and discussed strategy. The revised space also features a new fake grass carpet and stools “to encourage our smaller visitors to sit and play longer,” Franco said. The parlor is getting a bookcase to display the museum’s collection of thematic picture books, plus expanded seating. At Three Tun Tavern, a recreation of a real bar that once stood on Chestnut Street, kids can learn what kind of menus were available in 18th century Philadelphia.
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