The Johnstown Children's Museum offers regular workshops for kids, parents and educators on a wide variety of topics, as well as other special events! This regularly-updated page includes all workshops currently scheduled, as well as information on museum-sponsored special events for children and families.

Workshops & Events for Kids, and Museum News
The Johnstown Area Heritage Association is delighted to offer special events and workshops for kids, parents and educators in association with the Johnstown Children's Museum! This page includes: Weekday programming Workshops and special events for kids & parents Act 48 workshops for teachers Museum news For more on all JAHA programs and special events (including cultural presentations for adults, Last Fridays and more), visit the News & Special Events page on jaha.org. To see all JAHA and children's museum programs in a calendar format, visit the JAHA's calendar of events; children's programming is color-coded in green. To receive regular updates, sign up for our e-newsletter. All JAHA events are also listed on JAHA's Facebook page.
Weekday activities at the Johnstown Children's Museum
Starting January 3, 2012 -- Tuesday Morning Preschool Program, 10:30 am-noon First Tuesday of the month (Jan 3, Feb. 7, Mar. 6): Yoga and Me. -- Instructor Kristen Rovan Panek will lead parents and children in simple, fun yoga poses to promote focus, coordination, self-esteem and relaxation. Students will "play" yoga by imitating animals and nature, in a fun and caring environment. Kristen Panek is a certified Level I yoga instructor through the YogaFit program, and has been teaching yoga to children and families in Johnstown for four years. Second Tuesday (Jan. 10, Feb. 14, Mar. 13) Kindermusik -- Licensed Kindermusik teacher Jan Rolin will lead participants in singing and dancing, as well as playing musical instruments. Third Tuesday (Jan. 17, Feb. 21, Mar. 20) - Exploring Children's Literature -- Master storyteller Georgia Tiffany will help kids explore the world of childrenÕs literature with story-related activities involving puppets, art, music and more. Georgia Tiffany has years of experience in storytelling at the Cambria County Library. Fourth (and occasional fifth) Tuesday (Jan. 24 & 31, Feb. 28, Mar. 27) - Imagination Station -- Our education staff takes over, offering puppet shows, creative arts, and other imaginative activities designed to stimulate early learning in history and the sciences.
Wild Wednesdays -- Join us at Johnstown Childen's Museum anytime from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm on Wednesdays. We'll spotlight a different animal or plant native to Pennsylvania every week, offering crafts and activities about each one. This event is for toddlers and preschoolers aged 2-5. Free with museum admission or JAHA membership. No pre-registration necessary -- just drop by anytime! Craft Fridays -- Join us for a regularly-scheduled craft time every Friday at the Johnstown Childen's Museum at 2:30 pm, open to children aged 4 and up. We'll offer different craft activities each week. Free with museum admission or JAHA membership. No pre-registration necessary -- just drop by!
Workshops & Special Events Workshops and special events are presented in the Heritage Discovery Center/Johnstown Children's Museum. When you arrive, please check in at the museum gift shop. JAHA members get free or reduced admission to most workshops and events - if you're not a JAHA member and would like to be, click here to sign up online. Otherwise, fees are payable the day of the event. View the Calendar of Events to see a calendar all workshops, programs, and other special events for the entire family (children's programming is color-coded in green) -- the calendar includes all currently-scheduled programming up to a year in advance. Currently, our schedule includes:
Saturday, February 4, 1:00-4:00 pm -- Winter Festival at the Johnstown Children's Museum -- A full afternoon of fun activities related to the winter season! Free to JAHA members or with admission. Here is the schedule: 1:00 pm - Registration 1:15 - Penguin craft begins (and is ongoing through afternoon) 1:30 - Puppet show 1:45 - Magic show 2:00 - Penguin bowling 2:15 - Let it snow mobile craft begins (and is ongoing through afternoon) 2:30 - Puppet show 2:45 - Magic show 3:00 - Winter bean bag toss 3:15 - Penguin craft 3:30 - Penguin bowling
Act 48 Workshops for Educators
Saturday, February 18, 2012 - Historic Site Integration in Curricular Content Areas II JAHA is partnering with the National Park Service to present this workshop, which is designed to help teachers get the most out of field trips to the Johnstown Flood Museum, Johnstown Flood National Memorial, and Allegheny Portage National Railroad. Hands-on educational activities, curriculum guidelines and other pertinent information necessary for a successful field trip experience for your students will be included in the workshop. Four Act 48 hours will be given, and the cost is $25; the workshop will take place from 10:00 am-3:00 pm, with a break for lunch. For more information or to register, contact Fran Fregly, museum education director, at 814-539-1889 x305.
News Museum winter hours to begin Jan. 3 -- During the slower winter visitor season of January-March, JAHA museums will be closed on Mondays. (Note that this is different than our 2010 winter hours, which were 10:00 am-3:00 pm on weekdays; but this interfered with Craft Fridays, so in response to your feedback we're trying this instead). Tuesday-Sunday hours will remain the same, 10:00 am-5:00 pm, and Galliker's Cafe will remain open Tuesday-Sunday from 11:00 am-3:00 pm. JAHA's online calendar includes details on opening hours as well as our currently-scheduled programming through 2012. NEW! Galliker's Cafe features weekly specials-- The cafe is open 11 am-3pm on Tuesdays-Sundays! Join us for burgers, fries & onion rings, chicken sandwiches, salads, pizza, ice cream, handmade milkshakes and more.Plus, we're now offering real, old-fashioned sodas from our soda fountain! Choose from 7 yummy flavors. We also have great weekly specials: Tues: Kids get free scoop of ice cream; $1 kielbasa sandwiches; Wed: Members get $2 off their total purchase; Thurs: free fountain soda w/meal purchase; Fri: $1 pizza slices; Sat: $1 off sundaes.
The Johnstown Children's Museum premieres a new train table -- We're delighted to have this new free play area for our young visitors, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Sarah Rutledge of Mt. Aloysius College. (Also, Dr. Rutledge's education students often volunteer in our education department programming). The train table is located near the Mix-Master Studio and dress-up area. All aboard!
Puppets from JAHA's archive go on display at the museum-- These beautiful, handmade puppets from JAHA's archive are now on display in a special case at the museum. They are from a Works Progress Administration-era program that brought puppet shows to schools on topics ranging from dental hygiene to fairy tales. This set of puppets was created to enact "The Willow Plate," a Chinese love story with similiarities to "Romeo & Juliet." Don't miss them on your next visit!