Welcome to Megan’s Museum Minute, your guide to the best museums, exhibitions, and cultural happenings across the Lehigh Valley and the region in 2026! I’m Megan van Ravenswaay, and each week I’ll bring you behind-the-scenes stories, insider tips, family-friendly ideas, and easy date night plans. From historic sites to special exhibitions and festivals, consider this your go-to guide for the Lehigh Valley’s 250th anniversary year. Let’s start your cultural adventure now on Megan’s Museum Minute!
Museum Spotlight
Step into the heart of early American history in downtown Easton at the 1753 Bachmann Publick House, one of Northampton County’s oldest and most important surviving buildings.
Built in 1753 by Jacob and Katrinna Bachmann, this stone tavern quickly became a gathering place for travelers, townspeople, and revolutionaries. From 1753 to 1766, its second floor even served as the first Court of Northampton County—where justice was carried out in a colonial world moving steadily toward revolution. Tradition holds that Benjamin Franklin may have visited here, and the building’s guest list is believed to have included future Declaration signers John Adams, William Ellery, William Whipple, and George Taylor.
Now, visitors can experience a new immersive exhibition: “General Happiness of the People: Easton as a Revolutionary Capital.” Through guided tours, projections, soundscapes, and replica artifacts, the 1753 Bachmann Publick House is transformed into a living eighteenth-century space—where neighbors gathered, news spread, and the American Revolution took shape in real time.
The exhibition explores the idea of “general happiness” in early Pennsylvania life, connecting law, justice, and daily experience inside the building’s original courtroom. It also expands the story of the Revolution by including voices often left out of history—women, laboring people, pacifists, loyalists, and enslaved individuals—offering a fuller, more human view of Easton at the nation’s founding.
Step inside the rooms where history was made and experience the Revolution where it truly happened.
The site is open Thursday – Saturday 10am – 4pm and Sundays 12noon – 4pm. For more information, visit nchgspa.org.
Date Night
Looking for a date night idea for history lovers—with a Revolutionary War twist and a riverside view?
Head to Bristol, Pennsylvania, and the historic King George III Inn, founded in 1681, set right along the Delaware River in one of Pennsylvania’s oldest waterfront towns. From Easton, it’s about 35 to 40 miles away, roughly a 45 to 60 minute drive, making it an easy evening getaway with a big historic payoff.
Bristol was a bustling Delaware River port during the 1700s, when boats carried news, supplies, and people between Philadelphia and the northern colonies. During the Revolutionary era, towns like this were alive with political debate and rapid-fire news of independence, conflict, and change. Inns and taverns weren’t just places to eat—they were where revolution was discussed, argued, and shared.
Today, the King George III Inn continues that legacy with waterfront dining, colonial charm, and sweeping views of the same river that once carried the lifeblood of the Revolution.
Make it a full experience: stroll historic Bristol Borough before dinner, take in the riverfront, and imagine the Delaware as it once was—filled with wooden ships and whispers of revolution. Then settle in for dinner at the King George III Inn, where history and hospitality meet on the water’s edge.
It’s the perfect Revolutionary War-inspired date night—close enough for a quick trip, and rich enough to feel like you’ve stepped into another century.
For reservations and details, visit kginn.com.
Family-Friendly Activity
Looking for a fun, hands-on family adventure in Allentown? Head to America On Wheels, where history, imagination, and play all come together—especially in the amazing LEGO® World of Transportation exhibit!
See an incredible, larger-than-life LEGO display filled with trains, planes, cars, and bustling mini cities—all built to spark curiosity in kids and nostalgia in adults. You can even press buttons to bring parts of the exhibit to life, making trains move and scenes come alive right in front of you.
It’s part museum, part interactive playground, and all about the story of how we get from place to place—on roads, rails, water, and in the sky.
Plus, don’t miss other rotating exhibits like Battle of the Car Clubs, featuring classic cars and local automotive history. Perfect for families, school breaks, or a weekend outing, America On Wheels is where learning meets imagination—and LEGO® makes it unforgettable.
Visit America On Wheels in downtown Allentown for a day of discovery the whole family will enjoy!
Upcoming Highlights
Save the date for a fascinating journey into early American history with strong ties to the world that shaped the American Revolution.
On July 26, join the Durham Historical Society for a special presentation on the recently discovered “Durham Meeting Minutes from 1728.”
Long before the Revolution, communities like Durham were building the local systems of governance, land use, and civic decision-making that would later influence how Americans organized themselves in the eighteenth century. These early meeting records offer a rare window into the everyday concerns, responsibilities, and local leadership that formed the foundation of colonial life in the decades leading up to independence.
Historian, professional land surveyor, and licensed civil engineer David Bretz guides audiences through these remarkable documents and explain what they reveal about early civic structure, land management, and community life in colonial Pennsylvania.
The event will be held at the historic Durham Mill, an evocative setting that connects today’s visitors with the working and governing landscape of early America.
Discover how the choices made in places like Durham helped shape the world that would ultimately become the American Revolution.
Save the date: July 26 with the Durham Historical Society.
2026 is a milestone year for the nation. From commemorative exhibitions to festive events, there’s so much to see and celebrate. To find out more about all these events and more, visit lehighvalley250.org.
That’s a wrap for your Museum Minute! I’ll be back next week with another quick look at our local culture.
