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
Appleton Farms offers great farm-based Vacation Week Programs for kids ages 5-11

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

Ukrainian Egg Workshop at NTL

Ukrainian Egg Workshop at the Newbury Town Library in Massachusetts
Back by popular demand! Kati Bourque will present a brief history on Ukrainian Easter Eggs and teach you how to create your own egg.  All materials will be provided and you will go home with an egg that you made! This program is geared towards teens and adults, as you will be handling a raw egg, a...
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Friday, April 4

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

Saturday, April 5

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

Yukan Fool's Run | Half Marathon & 5k

Yukan hosts the Fool's Dual Half Marathon and Half Marathon in Gloucester Massahcusetts
Yukan hosts the Fool's Dual Half Marathon and Half Marathon in Gloucester Massahcusetts! Jump into spring with beautiful ocean views as you run along the scenic coastline on Cape Ann. Kids 5K only $10.00! (12 & under, Open to ages 6 and up)
9:00 am

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

Vernal Pools | Family Nature Series

Vernal Pools - Family Nature Series with Essex County Greenbelt and North Shore Nature Programs
Greenbelt and North Shore Nature Programs team up for this event for all ages! What sound do frogs make? Turns out, they make a lot of different sounds! Come meet the residents of the vernal pools to learn who says ribbit, quack, chirp, peep and more!​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We recommend...
10:00 am to 11:30 am

Girls in STEM Session at Acera School

Acera Schools Girls in STEM Hands-On Science Event for K-8 Kids in grade K-8
Do you know a girl who is curious about science? Join Acera School on Saturday, April 5th from 10AM to 12PM for an exciting – and FREE – morning of interactive STEM! The event will be held at Acera School, located at 5 Lowell Ave in Winchester. Free on site parking is available.
10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Sunday, April 6

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

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

CoastalExplorer: Sand Dune Safari

Come hike the dunes of Crane Beach at the Crane Estate in Ipswich Massachusetts
The sand dunes at Crane Beach are like a desert. Water is hard to come by; the sand is hot and the dunes are always moving & shifting with the strong ocean winds. Despite these stressors, a variety of life thrives here. Come explore the dunes of Crane Beach, and learn how animals and plants...
10:00 am to 12:00 pm