Harrisburg –
Join
the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) in celebrating the
commonwealth’s 336th birthday on Charter Day, Sunday, March 12, with
free admission to many of the historic sites and museums along the Pennsylvania
Trails of History.
Pennsylvania
was created when England’s King Charles II granted a charter to William Penn in
1681. Once each year the Pennsylvania State Archives exhibits the original
document, for a limited time, at the State Museum of Pennsylvania. For the
remainder of the year the Charter is safeguarded in a special vault within the
Archives.
In
addition to the Charter, the Archives will also display the original Great Law,
passed between December 4 and 7, 1682, during the General Assembly’s very first
session.
The
Great Law is a series of statutes that provided a stable groundwork for
Pennsylvania’s representative government. Among other things, it addressed
elections and taxation, and it guaranteed a greater degree of religious freedom
than any other legal code of its day. Like the Charter, the Great Law is
fragile and rarely displayed. It is on view this year in honor of the 335th
anniversary of the General Assembly.
Admission
to The State Museum is free on Charter Day, Sunday, March 12, only, and
includes visits to the Planetarium, the Curiosity Connection, and galleries.
Free tickets are required for the Planetarium and the Curiosity Connection.
Additionally,
State Museum Archaeologists will be talking about petroglyphs from 12:00 noon
to 4:00 PM in Nature Lab. Petroglyphs are images carved into rock surfaces. These
consist of lines, dots, human, animal, supernatural and symbolic designs and
are a rare glimpse into the minds of ancient Native Americans.
The
Pennsylvania Charter and Great Law will remain on display until 1:00 PM, Friday,
March 17 at the Museum when the documents will be returned to the vault for
another year.
In
addition to programing at The State Museum, many historic sites and museums
along the Pennsylvania Trails of History will offer free admission on Sunday,
March 12.
Participating
historic sites and museums include:
• Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum, Scranton
• Brandywine Battlefield Park, Chadds Ford
• Conrad Weiser Homestead, Womelsdorf
• Cornwall Iron Furnace, Cornwall
• Daniel Boone Homestead, Birdsboro
• Drake Well Museum, Titusville
• Eckley Miners’ Village, Weatherly
• Ephrata Cloister, Ephrata
• Erie Maritime Museum & Flagship
Niagara, Erie
• Fort Pitt Museum, Pittsburgh
• Graeme Park, Horsham
• Hope Lodge, Ft. Washington
• Joseph Priestley House, Northumberland
• Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum,
Lancaster
•
Pennsbury Manor, Morrisville
• Pennsylvania
Lumber Museum, Ulysses
• Pennsylvania Military Museum, Boalsburg
• Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Strasburg
• Somerset Historical Center, Somerset
For
more information on Charter Day 2017, visit www.statemuseumpa.org
MEDIA
CONTACT:
Howard Pollman, 717-705-8639