We're throwing a free Neighborhood Halloween Party!!
Read on for the full line up of the day's activities. There's something for everyone at this free community event! All activities ongoing throughout event unless otherwise indicated.
Halloween Scavenger Hunt
Take a walk through the cemetery and visit some of our most famous residents. Visit the grave of Dentist Thomas Evans and hang with students from Penn Dental, make nurses hats at Civil War Nurse Emily Bliss Souder's grave, and turn oak leaves into creatures at the grave of cemetery founder, Eli K. Price. Along the way brave mummy making at the Center Circle receiving vault.
A "Mini Mütter Museum"
There will be specimens you can touch, a life size giant for you to compare your own size to, bone games, a forensic kit, a nineteenth century amputation kit and more! Staff of the Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia will be here to share their knowledge with you. NEW THIS YEAR - a Philly Touch Tours experience at 2:00PM.
All Hallow's Read Philadelphia Spooky Book Swap!
We’re conjuring up the fun again this year and you’re invited. Little ones and grown-ups too! Books about monsters, pumpkins, goblins and ghosts, fall books, harvest books and seasonal reads will be hidden throughout the cemetery in age-appropriate sections. The book hunt is on!
Civil War Medical Walking Tours: Leaving from the Hamilton Mansion at 1:00PM
What do an amputee Confederate officer, a woman who served as a nurse at Gettysburg, and a physician who gave his soldier-patients shock therapy have in common? They are all buried at The Woodlands along with others who shaped or represent the medical world of the Civil War. Join Robert Hicks, Director of the Mütter Museum, for a walking tour to introduce some of these interesting people. Expect some mild up and down-hill walking.
Birding Walks with Tori Bird at 12:30PM and 2:00PM
Explore our resident birds with Tori Bird! Walks last about 20 minutes and will take place on the paved road and some brick paths. When not leading the bird walks, she'll be showing you how to make your own bird feeder with pine cones and peanut butter. To get you excited for our Halloween Bird Walks, here is a Halloween edition Toribird tip:
"If I say CROWS, what comes to mind? Do you think of spooky Halloween decorations, or a swarm of black birds, or a crow picking at bones? Though crows have a bad, scary reputation in our culture, they are actually fascinating birds! Crows, magpies, and jays make up the Corvid family. Corvids are some of the smartest birds, capable of making tools, solving multi-step puzzles, and recognizing individual faces! The American Crow is common in Philadelphia, and can certainly be seen at the Woodlands! Good Birding!"
Spooky Bike Parade
Parade begins at the Hamilton Mansion at 2:30PM
Bike decorating happening throughout
Bring a decked out bicycle, or decorate your ride right here at The Woodlands! We'll have supplies available for you to turn your bike into a spooky Halloween transport vehicle. Hop on your bike for a derby roll through the cemetery with members of the Neighborhood Bike Works Youth Council!
This event is free and open to the public.
Please note: There will be no vehicular traffic or parking allowed on the grounds for this event. Please see the Visit page of our website for more information about transit options. Street parking is available in the surrounding neighborhood. Walking, biking, and use of public transportation are highly recommended.
Thank you to our event partners:
