March 2018 Calendar of Events at the Penn Museum

For updates and more information about Penn Museum events, visit the Museum's website calendar at www.penn.museum/calendar.

Tuesday, March 6, 10:30 am
Museum Playdate
Explore Africa Young guests aged 3 to 5 and their chaperones are invited to explore Africa during this Museum Playdate, which features a story about Anansi the Spider and classroom time to create a craft to take home. Each one-hour Playdate has a different theme connecting to one of the galleries, with activities designed for young learners: story-time and dramatic play in a gallery; art-making in a classroom; and a small snack. The series schedule and themes are online: penn.museum/playdates. Admission: $10 (one child and one adult); $5 for Members (one child and one adult). Additional children $2 each.

Wednesdays, March 7 and 14, 6:30-8:00 pm
PM @ Penn Museum Event
Sekere Workshop
Come, learn, and play with Philly’s own master percussionist Omomola Iyabunmi, surrounded by ancient artifacts in the Penn Museum’s galleries. Classes are all ages/all levels; attend one or both! BYOS (bring your own sekere) recommended, but a limited number of sekeres will be provided. Admission (at the door): $15; $10 Museum members, students with ID, and children 5 to 17.

Saturday, March 10, 9:00 to 10:00 am
New Program for Guests with Special Needs
Achaeology in the A.M.
For individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities and their families, the Museum opens early for exploration before the public opening at 10 am. Guests are invited to take part in a craft activity and introductory hieroglyph lesson, don the fashions of the ancients at a dress up station, and participate in an interactive story time. For the event, touchable replica artifacts are accessible in many galleries, with educators to answer every curiosity. A designated quiet space is accessible throughout the event. Guests can extend the morning of fun by staying for the March Second Saturday program, beginning at 11:00 a.m.! Pre-registration is not required but RSVPs to meganbe@upenn.edu are strongly encouraged. For more information call 215.573.5309. Free with Museum admission.

Saturday, March 10, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Second Saturday
Animals, Animals
Animals have been honored, respected, and loved by humans in every culture around the world. Make an animal mask, go on a tour of the museum, and pick up a scavenger hunt that will challenge you to take a closer look at objects inspired by animals on display in the galleries.Free with Museum admission.

Saturday, March 10, 4:00 to 7:00 pm
Evening Event
Family Game Night
You’ve never experienced Family Game Night until you’ve experienced it at the Penn Museum. Bring Mom, Dad, grandpa, the kids, and Aunt Becky for a game night extraordinaire, geared to families with children ages 6 and above. Guests are invited to choose their own adventures, engage in mental and physical challenges, and explore the Museum’s international galleries like never before! The competitions abound at a series of six activity-filled Adventure Stations—with chances to win tickets for our prize auction. Guests can try their hand at a selection of ancient board games, too, match wits at a What in the World? artifact guessing game, stop by for light bites and beverages on sale at a snack bar, and create a family memento of the night at a selfie booth. Admission: $50 for a family of 4; $15 per person. Advance registration recommended!

Sunday, March 11, 2:00 pm
Second Sunday Culture Film Series: Time Travel
Have you seen the Arana?
Farmers as time travelers, seeding the future. A farmer steeped in religious farming traditions in South India keeps biodiversity alive for future generations in this 2012 documentary directed by Sunanda Bhatt (1 hour, 13 minutes). Dilip da Cunha, Harvard University, and Anuradha Mathur, Penn Design, University of Pennsylvania, lead a discussion. After the screening, everyone is invited to a South Indian small-plates tasting party and a mini-demonstration by Seema Vaidyanathan of Addicted to Spice. This program, the last in the series, is presented in association with the Wolf Humanities Center's 2017-18 Forum on Afterlives. Penn Design, the South Asia Center, and Penn Cinema Studies are sponsors. Free with Museum admission.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Homeschool Day
Archaeological Adventures: Rome around the World!
When at the Penn Museum, do as the Romans do! Learn about life in Ancient Rome and the Mediterranean through guided tours and story time sessions in the Etruscan Italy, Greece, and Rome galleries. Guests practice archaeological thinking through interactive workshops that simulate a real excavation, as well as the art of mosaic making. Guests can get creative and make artwork inspired by the artifacts on display in the Mediterranean collections. Homeschool Days help groups and families use the international collection to spark their students’ learning. Guests are encouraged to use the flexible format of hands-on workshops, guided tours, and more to shape a customized experience around their homeschool or cyber school curricula. Homeschool Day admission and program costs: $12 per child/adult. One adult per family is free and children 3 and under are free. Advance reservations are required; reserve tickets on our website or call 215.7466774 for more information. Part of the Ciao Philadelphia Italian Cultural Heritage Celebrations.

Wednesdays, March 14 through May 9, 6:30 to 8:00 pm
PM @ Penn Museum Program
Drum Circle Workshop
Come and drum with Philly's own master world-percussionist Joseph Tayoun on Wednesday evenings, March 14 through May 9. All sessions are held in a gallery space, surrounded by ancient artifacts. This class is for all ages and for all levels of drumming! Dancers welcome! A limited number of drums will be provided. BYOD (bring your own drum) recommended! Admission (at the door) $15; $10 Museum members, students with ID, and children 5 to 17.

Wednesdays, March 14, 28, April 18, 25, May 9, 6:00 to 8:00 pm
Bearing Witness Discussion Group
Join Dr. Deborah Thomas, co-curator, Bearing Witness: Four Days in West Kingston, on a journey of discovery, exploring the history and culture of Jamaica, in this six-part open discussion group. Come to one program or all. Experience and discuss a rich variety of histories, novels, and poetry—as well as film. The full syllabus is available online: www.penn.museum/readinggroup. Free.

(February 28: Novel, Children of Sisyphus, Orlando Patterson (1964))
March 14: Film, The Harder They Come, Directed by Perry Henzell (1973)
March 28: Oral Histories, Lionheart Gal: Life Stories of Jamaican Women, Sistren Theatre Collective (1986)
April 18: The True History of Paradise: A Novel, Margaret Cezair-Thompson (1999)
April 25: History and Poetry, A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James (2014); This Strange Land, Shara McCallum (2011)
May 9: Novel, Augustown, Kei Miller (2016)

Sunday, March 18, 1:00 to 4:00 pm
Family Event
How Do We Know? An Afternoon of Learning and Fun in the Penn Museum
Knowledge and understanding come in many forms, and the Museum invites guests to explore how we know what we know with gallery talks and tactile activities for all ages at this kick-off event for the open Penn Faculty Senate Teach-In on the Use, Production, and Dissemination of Knowledge. Visitors can try out stone tools, textiles, and ceramics in an experimental archaeology station to understand more about their use and craftsmanship, practice archaeological science skills with microscopes and test samples, and study replica artifacts up close and personal with hands-on activities. Museum experts share about their research, archaeological digs, and studies, inviting guests to see how that research gets translated into Museum exhibitions. Guests can challenge newfound knowledge in a mobile, museum-wide scavenger hunt of discovery – with prizes! Details on the March 18 through 22 Teach-In is online: www.upenn.edu/teachin. Free.

Thursday, March 22 and Wednesday, May 9, 6:00 pm
PM @ Penn Museum
Mummies and Martinis
Enjoy happy hour with friends—and a martini special, if you like—in the Egypt (Mummies) Gallery. Admission: $9 per person includes one free drink for guests 21 and over.

Saturday, March 24, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
World Culture Day
Egyptomania
It's a celebration of all things Egyptian at this World Culture Day. The galleries come to life with a medley of activities to help visitors discover ancient Egypt, one of the world's oldest civilizations. Penn Museum’s beloved Sphinx—the largest in the Western Hemisphere, and subject of the book The Sphinx that Traveled to Philadelphia—is guest of honor, as the Egypt (Sphinx) Gallery closes to the public July 8 for major gallery renovations. Come out and enjoy a Mummy Makers workshop, interactive belly-dancing, art-making, games, Egyptian hieroglyph lessons, and talks on Egyptian history and archaeology. Free with Museum admission.

Saturday, March 24, 3:30 pm
Afternoon Lecture
Every Tomb Tells a Story
Dr. Melinda Hartwig, Curator of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University, and President of the American Research Center in Egypt, speaks at this program, sponsored by the American Research Center in Egypt – Pennsylvania Chapter. Admission: $10 for the general public; $7 for Penn Museum members, Penn faculty and staff; $5 for students with ID; and FREE for ARCE-PA members and children under 12.

Regularly Scheduled Programs

Tuesdays through Fridays, 11:00 - 11:30 am and 1:30 - 2:00 pm
Weekends, 12:00 - 12:30 and 3:00 - 3:30 pm
The Artifact Lab: Conservation in Action
Go behind the scenes! Lab conservators answer questions about their conservation projects—anything from studying, documenting, cleaning, or mending an elegant Middle Eastern pot to restoring an ancient Egyptian coffin lid and other artifacts from the Museum's collections. Free with Museum admission.

Saturdays and Sundays, 1:30 pm
Gallery Tours
Join docents for hour-long guided tours of the signature galleries or special exhibitions. Tours depart from Pepper Hall. Topics vary. Free with Museum admission. Check the Museum’s web calendar for current schedule: www.penn.museum/calendar

About the Penn Museum

The Penn Museum (the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) is dedicated to the study and understanding of human history and diversity. Founded in 1887, the Museum has sent more than 300 archaeological and anthropological expeditions to all the inhabited continents of the world. With an active exhibition schedule and educational programming for children and adults, the Museum offers the public an opportunity to share in the ongoing discovery of humankind's collective heritage.

The Penn Museum is located at 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (on Penn's campus, across from Franklin Field). Public transportation to the Museum is available via SEPTA's Regional Rail Line at University City Station; the Market-Frankford Subway Line at 34th Street Station; trolley routes 11, 13, 34, and 36; and bus routes 21, 30, 40, and 42. Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and first Wednesdays of each month until 8:00 pm, with P.M. @ PENN MUSEUM evening programs offered. Closed Mondays and holidays. Admission donation is $15 for adults; $13 for senior citizens (65 and above); free for U.S. Military; $10 for children and full-time students with ID; free to Members, PennCard holders, and children 5 and younger.

Hot and cold meals and light refreshments are offered to visitors with or without Museum admission in The Pepper Mill Café; the Museum Shop offers a wide selection of gifts, books, games, clothing and jewelry. Penn Museum can be found on the web at www.penn.museum. For general information call 215.898.4000. For group tour information call 215.746.8183.