Upcoming Programs At N'tl. Jewish Museum, Philly

The National Museum of American Jewish History is pleased to announce an engaging variety of winter programs for visitors of all ages.

Jewish Comedy: A History, in Five Jokes – SOLD OUT!

Sunday, January 31 at 4 pm

FREE, advance registration encouraged.

Is there a definition of Jewish humor? When it did start? Where is it heading? Jeremy Dauber, director of Columbia's Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies and author of a recent biography on Sholem Aleichem will answer these and many other questions in a talk on Jewish comedy's long and wide reach over two millennia—and will tell the greatest Jewish joke in history into the bargain. (At least in one man's opinion.)
_{In partnership with the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.}

Telling It the Way It Was with Arlene Alda

Wednesday, February 3 at 7 pm 

$15/Free for Members

Gain firsthand insights from Fulbright Scholar, author, and professional clarinetist Arlene Alda as she takes visitors on a journey to the Bronx through oral histories that span six decades, from Carl Reiner to Neil DeGrasse Tyson, weaving together one film-like portrait of this beloved borough. 

Just Kids From the Bronx: Telling It the Way It Was will be available for sale and signing.

In partnership with the Jewish Book Council.

Second Sunday Family Activities

Sunday, February 14 from 10 am to 3 pm

Free with Museum admission. Children 12 and under are free.

In the spirit of the Free Library’s One Book, One Philadelphia program, which promotes reading and literacy for all ages, families are invited to grab a book and relax on a couch or comfy chair, or to find a cozy spot in the galleries to read together. Families can also get creative by making bookmarks to take home and use when reading some of their own books!

Presidents Day at NMAJH

Monday, February 15 from 10 am to 5 pm

Free

Visitors are invited to celebrate Presidents Day at the Museum and explore how American leaders impacted history, American society, and the American Jewish community. Visitors to the Museum can meet George Washington* and examine his original 1790 letter to the Jewish community of Newport, Rhode Island, which declares the importance of religious freedom. Kids of any age will have the opportunity to write their own letters with a quill pen, have fun with interactive storytelling, and take part in other arts and crafts projects including designing wearable masks that look like Washington or Lincoln, paper puppets, and campaign buttons. 

From 12 pm to 2 pm there will be a free sensory-friendly event, accessible to children, teens, and adults with special needs. Visitors are welcome to enter a quiet space in the Museum where they will enjoy activities to mark Presidents Day and Jewish Disabilities Awareness Month (JDAM). Participants will hear a story about freedom during a special guided tour, and explore the Museum with a tailored exhibition fact-finding sheet, all in a comfortable and accepting environment. WCI and JCHAI volunteers will be on hand to support participants in the program.

In partnership with Whole Community Inclusion and JCHAI 

 *A George Washington impersonator

Young Friends Curated Cocktails

Thursday, February 18 from 6 pm to 8 pm

$12/Free for Young Friends Members

Young adults are invited to view the Museum's newest installation, American Roots: The Andrews Family, with Chief Registrar and Associate Curator Claire Pingel and stay for cocktails afterwards. American Roots tells the story of one of the few American families that can trace its ancestry back to the nation’s founding—the Andrews family.

The Andrews family traces its history in America back over 300 years and eleven generations, and their family tree includes one of the most well-known Jewish participants in the American Revolution, Haym Salomon (1740-1785).

Young Friends events are especially tailored for our constituents’ ages 21 - 40 years old.