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
Smileland Pediatric Dental Care Waltham Malden Massachusetts

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

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Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
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

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Music Together - Wednesday

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Thursday, June 12

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

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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

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

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Free Ranger guided tours of the Saugus Iron Works House in Massachusetts
Join National Park staff at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site for a 30-minute tour of The Iron Works House.
11:00 am

Saugus Iron Works Tours

Free Ranger guided tours at Saugus Iron Works Colonial Industrial Site in Massachusetts
Join the National Park staff at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site for a tour of the colonial industrial site. On select days, you may be able to stick around and witness pop-up molten iron pour, blacksmithing, waterwheel demonstrations, and take part in hands-on river stewardship activities.
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Friday, June 13

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
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