Images and editorial supplied by Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
American Revolution Museum at Yorktown Tells A New the Story of the Nation’s Founding
The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown tells the story of the nation’s founding, from the twilight of the colonial period to the dawn of the Constitution and beyond. Stories of citizens and soldiers unfold through immersive indoor exhibits and outdoor living-history experiences that capture the transformational nature and epic scale of the Revolution and its relevance today. It’s a perfect place to visit in time for the Virginia American Revolution 250 commemoration.
The 22,000-square-foot permanent exhibition galleries engage visitors in the tumult, drama and promise of the Revolution through nearly 500 period artifacts and immersive environments, interactive exhibits and short films, including an experiential theater that transports visitors to the Siege of Yorktown. A vibrant outdoor living-history experience complements and enhances the storyline with a re-created Continental Army encampment and Revolution-era farm where costumed historical interpreters engage visitors in an array of activities, from military drills to cloth making.
Don’t Just Visit the Past, Get into it with Immersive Films and Gallery Exhibits
In the 170-seat museum theater, the award-winning film “Liberty Fever” introduces visitors to the world of Revolutionary America. “The Siege of Yorktown” film transports visitors into the action of America’s 1781 victory shown on a 180-degree screen with dramatic special effects, including wind, smoke and the thunder of cannon fire.
From innovative computer-based interactives to intriguing touchable objects, “test your knowledge” question panels to fiber-optic displays, exhibit galleries offer an array of hands-on experiences that allow visitors to make personal connection with the Revolutionary period.
Immersive gallery exhibits display rare artifacts, notably a July 1776 broadside of the Declaration of Independence; a June 1776 Philadelphia printing of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, one of the inspirations for the U.S. Declaration of Independence; a coronation portrait of King George III from the studio of Allan Ramsay; an extremely rare early southern American long rifle, and a portrait – one of the two earliest known – done from life of an African who had been enslaved in the 13 British colonies.
Take an Active Role in History with Historical Interpreters in Outdoor Settings
Vibrant outdoor living-history experiences come alive in a re-created Continental Army encampment and Revolution-era farm. Witness camp musket and artillery demonstrations, as historical interpreters describe and depict the daily life of American soldiers, from living quarters and food to military enlistment and medicine.
At the farm, based on a real-life 18th-century family, visitors can help with cooking, tend crops, process plant fiber for cloth and play period games. Learn about the workings on the farm of the period, exploring rooms in the farmhouse, separate kitchen and garden, quarters for enslaved people and a tobacco barn, surrounded by a fruit tree orchard and crop fields for growing wheat, corn, tobacco, flax and cotton. The museum, operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is located about a mile from the Yorktown Battlefield and 20 minutes from Williamsburg.
A value-priced combination ticket is available with Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia. Call (757) 253-4838 or visit jyfmuseums.org.
