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ToyTime Folk toys have been a part of our heritage for centuries.Take a journey back to a time when play was just plain FUN! ToyTime, the first traveling exhibit to open in the Mercer Museum's new state-of-the-art exhibition gallery, will showcase life-size versions of some of the most popular action folk toys from around the world. Crafted entirely of wood, the sixteen interactive toy stations let visitors explore the fun and mechanics behind the Amazing Acrobat, Bouncing Bird, Jacob's Ladder, Pecking Chickens, Tightrope Walker, Twirling Tops, Tumbling Toys, Walking Wonder, Whimmy Diddle and more. The exhibit is provided by Museum Productions LLC. ToyTime is generously sponsored by: Bucks County Conference & Visitors Bureau Special ToyTime Programs and Activities: Boredom Buster: Toys & Games, Tuesday, January 24, Morning session: 9-11 a.m.; Afternoon session: 1-3 p.m. Kids' Night Out at the Museum, Friday, February 17, 6-10 p.m. Family Retro Board Game Night, Friday, March 2, 6:30-9 p.m. Plus hands-on activities and demonstrations in the gallery on selected Saturdays and Sundays through April 1. Go to our Calendar of Events for more information, including program pricing and registration details.
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Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow: Living with the Atomic Bomb, 1945-1965 The dropping of atomic bombs on Japan in 1945 served as the closing chapter of World War II. For most Americans, the immediate reaction to the atomic bomb was relief: it had ended the war. But as the United States celebrated, it also braced itself for the uncertain future of the Atomic Age. For the next two decades, the looming threat of Atomic war dominated American society and culture. Through period artifacts, graphics, and audio and video recordings, "Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow" explores the ways in which Americans experienced the Atomic Age and atomic threat as part of their daily lives. A Program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Bold Patterns, Bright Colors: Graphic Pennsylvania Quilts Exhibit features more than twenty stunning quilts from the collection of Paul and Rita Flack. Selected for their vivid colors, and dramatic graphical elements, the quilts are particularly expressive of Pennsylvania-German textile traditions, especially those of the Mennonites. Textiles are supplemented by quilt-related artifacts from the Mercer collections. |
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The Hunt for Treasure What is treasure? Who hunts for treasure and how do they find it? This family-friendly exhibit immerses visitors in the science, history and thrill of treasure and treasure hunting through artifacts, video presentations and interactive elements. Themes include sunken treasure, buried treasure, metal detecting and the "modern treasure hunt." Visitors hunt for treasure using a metal detector, hoist pirate flags, dig for treasure on a virtual island, and more. Exhibit is augmented by mining and excavation tools, and artifacts from underground and underwater archaeological sites from the Mercer and other area collections. Organized by NRG! Exhibits. |
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Stitches in Time: Needlework from the Mercer Collection Exhibit draws on the Museum’s large collection of samplers and related forms of decorative needlework from the Delaware Valley and beyond. This first major showing of the Museum’s sampler collection in decades also features the 20th-century visionary needlework of Marie Davis of Doylestown and Ridgway, Pennsylvania. |
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The Apron Chronicles: A Patchwork of American Recollections Aprons don’t hold us back, they take us back. This nostalgic, thought-provoking traveling exhibit combines 155 vintage aprons, 46 powerful photographic portraits, and a series of poignant and emotional personal narratives about aprons and those who wear them. The diverse storytellers include a 111-year-old mother and her only child, a Holocaust survivor, a biology professor from Mali, Africa, and a preteen and her grandmother. Curator EllynAnne Geisel and award-winning photographer Kristina Loggia have used the apron as a symbol, recognized by everyone, to create an exhibit more about life than about fabric. Organized by Grassroots Royalty, LLC. |
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Under the Tree: A Century of Holiday Toys An annual museum tradition that captures the excitement of Christmas from a child’s point of view. Amidst trees decorated to the tastes of earlier eras, from the 1860s to the 1960s, visitors discover an array of toys and games like those that once delighted children on Christmas mornings. Exhibit features decorations and toys from the Mercer Museum and major private collections, with new objects on view each year. |
