A Brandywine Christmas features a large dollhouse once owned by Ann Wyeth McCoy
with furnishings crafted by hand by members of the Wyeth family,
plus O-gauge model trains on 2,000 feet of track!
The Brandywine River Museum is all dolled up for the holidays with a "step-in" dollhouse whose rooms are filled with exquisite hand-crafted furnishings, a large display of rare antique dolls, its popular O-gauge model train display covering 2,000 feet of track, and thousands of whimsical "critter" ornaments made from natural materials, all on view from November 25 through January 8.
This year is the debut of Ann Wyeth McCoy's dollhouse, measuring 8 x 10 feet and standing 9 ½ feet high. While the dollhouse is large enough for two adults to step inside, the rooms and furnishings are sized for dolls measuring 16 to 24 inches. Because of space limitations, visitors will see the facade of the dollhouse, surrounded by re-creations of its rooms, filled with Mrs. McCoy's antique dolls and hundreds of miniature furnishings.
A Brandywine Christmas also features thousands of adorable "critters," created from natural materials by Conservancy volunteers, on view throughout the museum. Critter ornaments may be purchased at the Museum's Annual Critter Sale on Saturday, December 3, and Sunday, December 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Following the sale, critters can be purchased in the Museum Shop. Proceeds from the sale benefit the Volunteers' Art Purchase Fund, which has added more than 200 paintings, drawings and prints to the Museum's holdings since 1975.
Christmas at the Brandywine River Museum also includes a spectacular O-gauge train display, which fills an entire gallery. As many as five of the 150 locomotives and 300 freight cars in the collection run simultaneously on more than 2,000 feet of track, winding past a village, stone quarry, oil refinery, mountains, a Herr Foods plant and running waterfall, as Santa and his sleigh fly overhead. A "rail cam," mounted on a snowplow, gives visitors a view from the perspective of a miniature locomotive driver.
The Museum is open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except Christmas Day, and with extended hours until 6:00 p.m. December 26 through 30.
Due to the large number of visitors during the busy holiday season, the Museum regrets that it cannot accommodate baby strollers.
For more information: www.brandywinemuseum.org.
Location: The Brandywine River Museum is located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania
This event is appropriate for: the whole family
Cost: Admission is $10 for adults; $6 for seniors ages 65 and over, students, and children over six; free for children under six and members
