PEM February School Vacation Week

February School Vacation Week programs at Peabody Essex Museum in Salem Massachusetts

Peabody Essex Museum invites kids and families for days of fun and engaging events and activities during February vacation week!  Come to the Museum Come join us for a week of exploration into our relationship with nature and discover new ways to become a steward of the earth.  There will be drop in art activities, collaborative art projects, multisensory tours, artist demonstrations and more! The museum hosts a weeklong celebration (10am - 4pm daily) of Black History Month and the exhibition 'Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle' through family-friendly art making, music and storytelling. All programs are included with admission.

Monday, February 17 | Holiday Monday |

  • DROP-IN FAMILY STORYTIME | 10:30am - 11:30am | Main Atrium
    • PEM Pals: Parker Looks Up
      • Four-year-old Parker Curry was transformed by her encounter with Amy Sherald’s portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama at the National Portrait Gallery. This extraordinary museum moment has been captured in a delightful book written by Parker and her mom, Jessica Curry, with illustrations by Brittany Jackson. Designed for toddlers and their caregivers, PEM Pals is a storytime program that includes movement, singing, and art making.
  • DROP-IN ART MAKING | 1pm - 2pm | Main Atrium
    • Story Trails: Jake Makes a World
      • Jake has just moved to New York City, where he’s greeted by new people, new sights and new sounds in his new neighborhood of Harlem. To make sense of it all, he turns to art. Inspired by the childhood of artist Jacob Lawrence, Jake Makes a World will help you find inspiration in everyday things! After a reading of the story, create a paper collage portrait mask just like young Jake does in the book.

Tuesday, February 18

  • DROP-IN ART MAKING | 11am - noon | Main Atrium
    • Story Trails: Jake Makes a World
    • See Monday description.
  • GALLERY POP-UP
    • Freestyle Cipher with Wreck Shop, featuring Big Brotha Sadi
      • Make your voice heard with local artist collective Wreck Shop Movement. Wreck Shop aims to empower people by creating community through hip hop and spoken word. Witness the performance of local artist Big Brotha Sadi. Then, move into the exhibition to experience a freestyle “cipher,” a performance circle of improvised rhyming, responding to stories of struggle in the work of Jacob Lawrence. Let the power of words inspire you to stand with the artists and participate in the cipher!
    • Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle | 1pm-2:30pm

Wednesday, February 19

  • DROP-IN FAMILY STORYTIME | 10:30am - 11:30am | Main Atrium
    • PEM Pals: Black is a Rainbow Color
      • Angela Joy’s Black is a Rainbow Color is a rhythmic celebration of Black culture and Black History, accompanied by colorful illustrations by Ekua Holmes, an award-winning artist from Roxbury, MA. Designed for toddlers and their caregivers, PEM Pals is a storytime program that includes movement, singing, and art making.
  • DROP-IN WORKSHOP | 1pm-2pm | Main Atrium
    • Castle of Our Skins: A Little History
      • Castle of Our Skins is a concert and educational series dedicated to celebrating Black artistry, history and heritage through music. In this workshop, artistic director and violist Ashleigh Gordon weaves music, poetry, storytelling and audience interaction into a fun-filled exploration of both unsung and celebrated figures of past and present.
  • DROP-IN WORKSHOP | 2pm-3pm | Create Space
    • Wee Wear the Crowns: Celebrate Black Identity & Creativity
      • Join Boston-based social justice project Wee the People for a two-part workshop celebrating black identity, creativity, and cultural expression. Explore the lives and contemporary art of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Nina Chanel Abney, two artists whose revolutionary work champions Black lives, celebrates resistance, and radicalizes mainstream art spaces. Then, dive into their own art-making activity with Identity Collages, creating collages that reflect and celebrate Black culture, circles of community, and kids’ hopes for change in the world.
  • DROP-IN BOOKMAKING | 11am-3pm | Create Space
    • Publish Your Voice with 826 Boston
      • 826 Boston is building communities of young writers by empowering students to share their stories through bookmaking and literacy workshops. In collaboration with middle school students from Roxbury, write your own ending to a story inspired by Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle. Illustrate and bind your book in this workshop, then take a copy home with you!

Thursday, February 20

  • DROP-IN BOOKMAKING | 11am-3pm | Create Space
    • Publish Your Voice with 826 Boston
      • See Wednesday description.
  • DROP-IN ART MAKING | 11am - noon | Main Atrium
    • Story Trails: Jake Makes a World
      • See Monday description.
  • GALLERY POP-UP
    • Freestyle Ciphers with Wreck Shop, featuring Shalom the Poet
      • Make your voice heard with local artist collective Wreck Shop Movement. Wreck Shop aims to empower people by creating community through hip hop and spoken word. Witness the performance of local artist Big Brotha Sadi. Then, move into the exhibition to experience a freestyle “cipher,” a performance circle of improvised rhyming, responding to stories of struggle in the work of Jacob Lawrence. Let the power of words inspire you to stand with the artists and participate in the cipher!
    • 1pm-2:30pm | Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle

Friday, February 21

  • DROP-IN BOOKMAKING
    • Publish Your Voice with 826 Boston | 11am-3pm | Create Space
      • See Wednesday description.
  • WORKSHOPS
    • Castle of Our Skins: A Little History | 1pm-2pm | Main Atrium
      • See Wednesday description.
    • Syncopated Ladies | 2:30pm-3:45pm | East India Marine Hall (TBD)
      • Join internet tap dance sensations Syncopated Ladies for a fresh new perspective on working together while expressing your individuality with movement and musicality. Attendees will build from the basic steps up to improvisational “conversations” with each other, then learn a simple routine under the master guidance of Syncopated Ladies Anissa Lee and Assata Madison. No experience or tap shoes required; sneakers or hard sole shoes recommended.
When: 
Daily, February 17-21, 2020 10am - 4pm
Prices: 
Included with Museum Admission
Phone: 
978.745.9500
Camp Whirlygig for kids ages 4-10 at the Wenham Museum in 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

Maudslay in Bloom Self-Guided Walk

 Maudslay in Bloom self guided walk at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport Massachusetts.
Maudslay State Park in Newburyport, Massachusetts, offers a delightful self-guided walk that is perfect for families with children. The park's 480-acre expanse, once the Moseley Estate, is rich with historical charm and natural beauty. Families can embark on a self-guided tour through lush...
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Swan Boat Rides in Boston Public Garden

Swan Boat Boston North Shore Parent, North Shore Parents Summer Activities Guide
The Public Garden may be one of the most ideal picnicking locations in Boston. Well-groomed and overflowing with tulips, cherry-trees, with willows cascading over the duck pond, the Boston Public Garden is a great place to relax during Boston's most beautiful season.
10:00 am to 4:00 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

Cow Connection at Appleton Farms

Join The Trustees of Reservations at Appleton Farms for Cow Connection in Ipswich Massachusetts
Immerse your family in the heartwarming experience of being up close and personal with one of our favorite farm animals – cows! Cuddle, brush, and sit with our hand-raised cows at Appleton Farms. Visit our scenic and historic farm and enjoy Family Cow Connection session with our two Jersey Dairy...
4:15 pm to 5:00 pm

Saturday, May 31

Maudslay in Bloom Self-Guided Walk

 Maudslay in Bloom self guided walk at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport Massachusetts.
Maudslay State Park in Newburyport, Massachusetts, offers a delightful self-guided walk that is perfect for families with children. The park's 480-acre expanse, once the Moseley Estate, is rich with historical charm and natural beauty. Families can embark on a self-guided tour through lush...
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

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

Marblehead Farmers' Market

Find fresh local produce and other foods at the Marblehead Farmer's Market!
The Marblehead Farmer's Market boasts 15+ local farms, and booths with an educational spin nutrition, vendors and farms selling homemade prepared goods and craft vendors that are switched up in a rotation basis week to week. Additionally there are entertainers and exhibits by environmentally...
9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Crane Outdoors: Kayak Adventure on the Castle Neck River

Take a guided kayak paddle adventure on the Castle Neck River with the Trustees of Reservations!
One of the best was to enjoy the natural beauty of the Massachusetts North Shore is kayaking the placid waters of the Great Marsh—the largest continuous stretch of salt marsh in New England, extending from Cape Ann to New Hampshire. The Castle Neck peninsula on the Crane Estate is a vast barrier...
9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Music Together - Saturday

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...
9:15 am to 11:15 am

Swan Boat Rides in Boston Public Garden

Swan Boat Boston North Shore Parent, North Shore Parents Summer Activities Guide
The Public Garden may be one of the most ideal picnicking locations in Boston. Well-groomed and overflowing with tulips, cherry-trees, with willows cascading over the duck pond, the Boston Public Garden is a great place to relax during Boston's most beautiful season.
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Guided Tour | When Granite Was King!

Find out the story behind the history of granite quarrying at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, Massachusetts!
Halibut Point State Park is also a granite quarry with a history that goes back billions of years! Over one hundred years ago, the Rockport Granite Company quarried granite stone here.
11:00 am to 12:30 pm

Long Hill Garden Tours

Tour the Gardens at the Trustees of Reservations Long Hill Gardens in Beverly, Massachusetts!
The Trustees of Reservations invite you to join our expert guides for a tour around Long Hill’s stunning Sedgwick Gardens and learn more about the special plants. Visit Long Hill’s breathtaking gardens and stately historic house for a guided tour. Enjoy the rich history of this grand country estate...
11:00 am to 12:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: Choate Island Kayak and Hiking Adventure

Take a guided kayak paddle and hike to Choate Island with the Trustees of Reservations!
Join The Trustees of Reservations for a paddle and a hike – what better way to spend an afternoon? Kayaking the pristine, sheltered waters of the Essex River Basin offers one of the top on-the-water experiences to be had in Northeast. Add to that a hike on the area’s largest island and you have the...
1:00 pm to 4:30 pm

Sunday, June 1

Todd Farm Market

Come to Todd Farm on Sunday - A classic New England Fleas Market in Rowley Massachusetts!
From early Spring to late Fall, Todd Farm is a great Sunday destination for families!  Head to the farm and explore the outdoor award-winning Market featuring up to 240 vendors from all over New England and New York!
5:00 am to 3:00 pm