Romantic to Risqué to Family Friendly, Penn Museum Celebrates Love with Valentine-Themed Events

PHILADELPHIA, PA 2016—This February, the Penn Museum, recognized as a WeddingWire Couples’ Choice winner for the third year in a row, invites friends and fiancées to celebrate Valentine’s Day through music, Museum Quickies (5-7 minute lectures), a special exhibition SEX: A History in 30 Objects, and more. For families, there’s a hieroglyphic Valentine’s Day make and take workshop.

For the most updated information on programs offered at the Penn Museum, and for online pre-registration (optional or required for some programs) visit the Museum’s website: www.penn.museum/calendar

For Families

Sunday, February 14, 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Second Sunday Family Workshop
Destination Egypt: Hieroglyphic Valentines

Happy Valentine’s Day! Guests are invited to show their love to mummy, daddy, a sibling, or a friend. Work with mixed media to create a valentine, complete with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Free with Museum admission.

FOR ROMANTICS

Friday, February 12, 12:00 pm
Pop Up Concert in the Galleries
Penn Flutes: Romance in the Air

Penn Flutes, an all-flute ensemble directed by Michele Kelly, “pops up” for a special lunchtime Valentine’s themed concert that reverberates in the galleries. Founded in 2000, this ensemble of Penn students and other members of Philadelphia’s music community presents widely throughout the Philadelphia region, often featuring new works for flute ensembles. Free with Museum admission.

FOR FRIENDS

Wednesday, February 17, 6:00 pm
P.M. @ Penn Museum Evening Event
What’s Love Got to Do With It?

The Greeks did it, the gods did it, even birds and bees do it. Visitors can explore the history of sex and sexuality through Ancient Lust gallery tours and the special exhibition, SEX: A History in 30 Objects. Visitors are invited to meet Dr. Lauren Ristvet, Associate Curator of the Near East Section and curator of SEX: A History in 30 Objects. The evening includes Museum Quickies (5-7 minute lectures), a burlesque show by Philadelphia Burlesque Festival and a make and take chocoalate treat station. P.M. @ Penn Museum, supported by the Young Friends of the Penn Museum, is a great way to network with other young professionals and get a jumpstart on the weekend. Admission: $20; $15, Penn Museum members and PennCard holders (includes one free drink for guests 21 and older).

SPECIAL EXHIBITION

Now through July 31, 2016
SEX: A History in 30 Objects

Explore some of the diverse ways that human beings have understood sex and sexuality, gender and gender diversity in this small but broad new exhibition, presented in conjunction with the 2015-2016 Penn Humanities Forum on Sex. Thirty objects from the Museum’s vast international collections are presented in this survey; like the Native American pipe bag decorated with the Lakota two spirit, or third gender, the phallus-shaped ancient Roman bronze pendant, and the “love stick” from Micronesia, each object has a story of its own.

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. For the special exhibition The Golden Age of King Midas opening February 13, there is an additional $5/person charge (excludes Penn Museum Members, PennCard holders and children under 6).

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.

Image captions (top to bottom): A couple tours the Penn Museum’s Greece gallery (Photo: Penn Museum). Pipe bag, circa 1880, Great Plans, United States. This pipe bag is decorated with an image of the Double Woman, a powerful, ambivalent figure in Lakota mythology and religion who, through dreams, has the power to lead women to promiscuity and transform men into winkte, members of the Lakota two-spirit, or third gender. The pipe bag is one of 30 artifacts in SEX: A HISTORY IN 30 OBJECTS, on view at the Penn Museum October 17, 2015 through July 31, 2016 (Photo: Penn Museum). Statue of Venus, circa 150-100 BCE; Benghazi, Libya. The goddess of sexuality, beauty, and love is shown wringing out her long hair as she is born from the white foam of the sea. The Benghazi Venus is one of 30 artifacts in SEX: A HISTORY IN 30 OBJECTS, on view at the Penn Museum October 17, 2015 through July 31, 2016 (Photo: Penn Museum)