From staff reports
HARRISBURG – Join the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in celebrating the commonwealth’s 335th birthday on Charter Day, March 13, 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. For the remainder of the year, the Charter is safeguarded in a special vault within the Archives.
In addition to the Charter, The State Archives will present “Mushy Manuscripts and Disappearing Ink” at 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. in the State Museum’s Nature Lab. The program highlights how paper is made, how ink in the 19th century was produced and issues involving conservation.
Admission to The State Museum is free on Charter Day only and includes visits to the Planetarium, the Curiosity Connection and galleries. Free tickets are required for the Planetarium and the Curiosity Connection.
The Pennsylvania Charter will remain on display through March 17 at the museum.
In addition to programing at The State Museum, many historic sites and museums along the Pennsylvania Trails of History will offer free admission on March 13.
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
• Pennsylvania Lumber Museum, Ulysses
• Pennsbury Manor, Morrisville
• Pennsylvania Military Museum, Boalsburg
• Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Strasburg
• Somerset Historical Center, Somerset
For more information on Charter Day 2016, visit www.statemuseumpa.org.