April Vacation at PEM 2024

PEM has a great lineup for kids and families during April Vacation 2024

Looking for things to do during your April Vacation on the North Shore? Peabody Essex Museum has a fabulous line-up of fun activities, performances, and tours for kids and families. Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the cultural exchange project that brought Yin Yu Tang to Peabody Essex Museum !

For this school vacation week, travel across the world without leaving Salem by learning traditional Chinese paper cutting with local guest artist Zhonghe (Elena) Li on Monday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons. Join us for film screenings in Morse Auditorium on Friday, and challenge yourself all three days with a museum-wide dragon scavenger hunt!

Daily Activities

Monday, April 15, 2024

Dragon Quest
10 am–5 pm

Available all-day. Learn about dragons in art and tradition around the world in a scavenger hunt that takes you across the museum. See if you can find all nine dragons — if you find them, a prize awaits you! Stop by the Information desk to pick up your dragon activity booklet.

Traditional Chinese Paper Cutting with Zhonghe (Elena) Li
1 pm and 2 pm | Create Space Studios
Same-day tickets are required for this timed workshop; capacity is limited. Tickets are available at the Information desk.
Spring has arrived! Frogs and ducks are appearing in neighborhood ponds. Chipmunks and rabbits are peeking out of their burrows and birds are building nests. Join artist Zhonghe (Elena) Li for a spring-themed lesson in Chinese paper cutting. She will show you basic skills using scissors, and you will create along with her and tell your own stories!

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Dragon Quest
10 am–5 pm

Available all day
Learn about dragons in art and tradition around the world in a scavenger hunt that takes you across the museum. See if you can find all nine dragons — if you find them, a prize awaits you! Stop by the Information desk to pick up your dragon activity booklet.

Traditional Chinese Paper Cutting with Zhonghe (Elena) Li
1 pm and 2 pm | Create Space Studios
Same-day tickets are required for this timed workshop; capacity is limited. Tickets are available at the Information desk.
Spring has arrived! Frogs and ducks are appearing in neighborhood ponds. Chipmunks and rabbits are peeking out of their burrows and birds are building nests. Join artist Zhonghe (Elena) Li for a spring-themed lesson in Chinese paper cutting. She will show you basic skills using scissors, and you will create along with her and tell your own stories!

Friday, April 19, 2024

Dragon Quest
10 am–5 pm

Learn about dragons in art and tradition around the world in a scavenger hunt that takes you across the museum. See if you can find all nine dragons — if you find them, a prize awaits you! Stop by the Information desk to pick up your dragon activity booklet.

Yin Yu Tang Film Screenings
12–4 pm | Morse Auditorium
Learn about the Yin Yu Tang home as well as daily life and celebrations in rural China through this series of documentary shorts.

  • “One Day in Ping Wei”
    Follow a little girl as she goes about her day in a town in Anhui Province, the home region of Yin Yu Tang, and learn about life in rural China through her eyes. (Pearl River Productions. Mandarin and English, with subtitles. Runtime: 30 mins.)
  • “Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home”
    Experience the journey of this 200-year old Chinese house as it is dismantled in its village, shipped to America and re-erected at the Peabody Essex Museum. The significance of homes and the families they shelter in Chinese culture is presented through vivid images of construction techniques and ceremonies and through interviews with Huang family members and participants in the Yin Yu Tang project. (Runtime: about 17 minutes.)
  • “Guo Nian: Passage into a New Year”
    Lunar New Year festivities in China often last two weeks and entail days of preparation. This film documents contemporary celebrations in the Huizhou region (the original home of Yin Yu Tang) and records reminiscences of New Years past. (Runtime: about 17 minutes.)
  • “Guomen: A Village Wedding”
    A young woman and her family prepare for her wedding in a village near Huang Cun, the original home of Yin Yu Tang. In the groom's household, they are readying the new couple's bedroom and a grand wedding feast. The bride, her father, and others describe the traditional rituals and emotional stress, while elders – some of them former residents of Yin Yu Tang – recall their own weddings. (Runtime: about 17 minutes.)

Traditional Chinese Paper Cutting with Zhonghe (Elena) Li
1 pm and 2 pm | Create Space Studios
Same-day tickets are required for this timed workshop; capacity is limited. Tickets are available at the Information desk.

Spring has arrived! Frogs and ducks are appearing in neighborhood ponds. Chipmunks and rabbits are peeking out of their burrows and birds are building nests. Join artist Zhonghe (Elena) Li for a spring-themed lesson in Chinese paper cutting. She will show you basic skills using scissors, and you will create along with her and tell your own stories!

When: 
Monday, April 15, 2024 - Friday, April 19, 2024 10am - 4pm
Prices: 
Included with Museum Admission
Phone: 
978-745-9500
Summerquest Camp for kids aed 5-14 at the Crane Estate in Ipswich Massachusetts

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Read to Keeva at HW Library

Read to Keeva a certified therapy dog at the Hamilton Wenham Public Library in Massachusetts
The Therapy Dog is In! Drop by starting at 3:30pm to get 10-minutes of one-on-one reading time with Keeva and her trainer, Ms. Fleming. Keeva provides a calm, welcoming space for emerging readers to practice their read-aloud skills.
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Tuesday, April 15

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Music Together - Tuesday in Marblehead

Marblehead, Beverly Farms, Hamilton, Salem, Peabody Music Together
Music Together® is a research-based music & movement program for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and the grown-ups who love them. Music Together® of Salem classes make it easy for parents/primary caregivers to play a crucial role in activating their child's music development. Classes are 45...
10:00 am to 10:45 am

Barnyard Story Hour at Appleton Farms

Kids can meet the barnyard animals and hear a story at Appleton Farms in Ipswich Massachusetts.
Barnyard stories really come alive when you get to see the main characters in real life! Bring the kids down to Appleton Farms for our farm-fresh version of story time. Explore the farmstead, visit our learning garden, see our cows and rabbits, and find a spot to play under a shady tree in our...
10:30 am to 11:30 am

Chess Club at Salem Public Library

Salem Public Library hosts a weekly chess club for all ages on Tuesday evenings.
Salem Public Library the library is hosting weekly chess nights where players of all ages can play and learn from each other.  Whether you're new to the game or a veteran player, all skill levels welcome, and basic instruction
6:30 pm to 7:30 pm

Wednesday, April 16

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Music Together - Wednesday

Marblehead, Beverly Farms, Hamilton, Salem, Peabody Music Together
Music Together® is a research-based music & movement program for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and the grown-ups who love them. Music Together® classes make it easy for parents/primary caregivers to play a crucial role in activating their child's music development. Classes are 45 minutes...
9:30 am to 11:15 am

Thursday, April 17

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Tower School Open House and Curriculum Showcase

Tower School Marblehead MA hosts an open house for families on the North Shore.
A Tower Open House is an exciting opportunity to visit campus, engage with students and faculty, and tour the school with parent and student admissions ambassadors. Open House events begin with a welcome from members of the academic leadership team followed by campus tours.
8:30 am to 10:00 am

Friday, April 18

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Music Together - Friday

Marblehead, Beverly Farms, Hamilton, Salem, Peabody Music Together
Music Together® is a research-based music & movement program for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and the grown-ups who love them. Music Together® classes make it easy for parents/primary caregivers to play a crucial role in activating their child's music development. Classes are 45 minutes...
10:30 am to 11:15 am