Ryerss Museum & Library

Thank you to Corey McQuade and family for making Ryerss and the grounds look amazing! Corey would like to thank all those that helped with him completing his Eagle Scout project. Thanks to Boy Scout Cheltenham Troop #22 members, alumni, family and friends and to everyone that donated to Corey's Go Fund Me page Thanks! I will post pics of all the wonderful projects Corey and crew worked on in future posts.

Some of the members of Friends of Ryerss met on the porch to discuss future events. Thank you Cheryl, Sheen, Corey, Leona, Kathi, Sharon, and Cathy for your dedication to Ryerss.

Our phones are temporarily down. In the meantime, please message us through Facebook if you need to contact the museum. Just a reminder , the Ryerss Museum and Library is still closed to the public. We look forward to seeing all of our visitors again. Thank you.

Help Corey get to his goal! Please read about all the upgrades Corey is planning to do around the grounds of the Ryerss Museum.

This week's children's book is a celebration of being yourself - "Julian is a Mermaid" by Jessica Love. When Julian sees women dressed as mermaids on the subway, he is entranced. At home, he does his best to make his own mermaid costume. But how will his abuela react? "Julian is a Mermaid" is a beautifully illustrated book for these hot days when we would all like to imagine ourselves under the ocean. It also provides a lovely story about supporting children as they figure... out who they want to be. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Gu7rPOI7n8

Please help Corey get to his goal! Please read about all the wonderful improvements Corey is planning to do around the Ryerss Museum and Library!

Did you know the Ryerss were staunch Abolitionists? There is a story that the Ryerss mansion was a stop on the Underground Railroad. They would have agreed with civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer, who said "Nobody is free until everybody is free." Today is Juneteenth, the day that celebrates the day that eslaved people in Texas finally found out that they were free. Although the Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in the Confederacy on January 1, 1863, eslaved... people in Texas didn't find out until June 19, 1865. A great book to teach children about Juneteenth is "All Different Now : Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom" by Angela Johnson. It tells the story of the first Juneteenth through the eyes of a young girl, showing the reactions of people learning the joyous new that they are finally free. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVTiF8MO_NM

My plan for this week had been to share some children's book resources that can be found online. Given the events of the past week, it seems like the most appropriate online book I can recommend are "Something Happened in Our Town : a Child's Story About Racial Injustice" by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins and Ann Hazzard. "Something Happened in Our Town" follow two families - one black and one white - as they discuss a recent police shooting of a black man in their communi...ty, trying to explain it to their children. It provides child-appropriate answers to questions about these traumatic events and helps children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives. I personally found it very helpful for providing a foundation for explaining current events to my eight-year-old. Unfortunately, it's virtually impossible to find a physical copy online, but an animated reading of it is available on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcOhOFGcWm8 I hope this is helpful to people struggling to explain what's going on to their young children. Please stay safe.

Eid Mubarak to all who celebrate! Today is Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim festival marking the end of Ramadan. A great book for today is "The Gift of Ramadan" by Rabiah York Lumbard. Sophia really wants to fast this Ramadan, even though children are not required to fast. But fasting is super hard when you're still young and she just can't make it. What can she do?... "The Gift of Ramadan" provides a wonderful explanation for the inner meaning of Ramadan, and shows how all can partake in this joyful month, no matter their age. And just think how joyful we all will be when Ryerss can reopen and you can come see the items they purchased in Muslim countries!

Silhouettes were very popular in the 18th and 19th century, especially in Philadelphia! The Ryerss Museum and Library have several in our collection. For some families, a silhouette may have been the only image that they had of a loved one since getting your portrait done was so expensive.

This year's Love Your Park Week looked a little different. It had a new name Love Your Park at Home 2020 and a new mission: Learn about our parks, share wit...h our communities, and take small steps to support both virtually. Here's a quick recap of all of the fun and free ways we celebrated Love Your Park @ Home. View all of the webinars and videos here: https://loveyourpark.org/blog/love-your-park-at-home-videos

Today is the final day of Love Your Park at Home, and the theme is "Gardening and Greening." The Ryerss used to grow food on their land, and we are certainly grateful that they left it to us so we can have green space! One great way to celebrate gardening is with the book "Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt" by Kate Messner. This lyrical book explores what goes on in a garden throughout the year, both above ground where we can see the glorious green, and below in the dirt, where so many exciting parts of plant growth are going on unseen. This beautiful and educational book can help get the whole family excited to try some gardening of their own!

Today is the FINAL day of Love Your Park at Home 2020 and we're celebrating all things gardening and greening! Here are all the things you can learn, share, and... do to celebrate gardening and greening in Philly parks: https://loveyourpark.org/blog/gardening-day-lyp LEARN how to make a native plant container garden with Bartram's Garden SHARE a photo of your own garden or your park's garden #loveyourpark DO take a tour of Master Arborist Lori Hayes' home garden

Today's theme for Love Your Park @ Home is "Wellness". Here is a video from Parks and Rec. to get you motivated! Stay safe and healthy!

Today's theme for our Love Your Park @ Home event is "Play". For this theme, we would like to highlight how the community plays at Burholme Park and the Ryerss Museum and Library through pictures. Enjoy!

TGIF: It's Play Day for Love Your Park at Home 2020! Here are all the things you can learn, share, and do to celebrate play for all ages in Philly parks! ...https://loveyourpark.org/blog/play-day-lyp LEARN why play is important via Studio Ludo's fascinating TEDx Talk. SHARE and make your own park-themed playlist! DO join a virtual Nature Scavenger Hunt in Pleasant Hill Park with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation at 3PM via Facebook!

Discover 6 Historic Houses in Philly's Fairmount Park!