THEME DAY

Saturday, July 11, 2026 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Entry: Free for Members or included with Museum Admission | Location: Union Terminal

Let’s celebrate America’s 250th Birthday in true Museum style!

Let’s celebrate America’s 250th Birthday in true Museum style – with historical costumed interpretation, glimpses of seldom-seen home movies from our collections, a rare Saturday opening for the Cincinnati History Library and Archives, and a tasting of, and discussion about, the “American-ness” of traditional American foods.

America 250 logo

Special Programming

Public Landing
Apothecary – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Meet our Apothecary and learn about Eclectic Medicine and creating remedies in the 18th century.

Dressmaker’s Shop – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mrs. Ruggles is out, but the staff of our Dress Shop can help you figure out how to make the dress of your dreams!

Mugwump’s Marvelous Medicine Show – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The shadier side of 19th century medicine – from snake oil to soda pop, learn about how entrepreneurial folks in the 1800s created and sold patent medicines, and how some of your favorite products might have descended from them.

Ohio Frontier Surveyor – 10 a.m. to Noon

Mapping and dividing the Northwest Territory up for sellable plots was a difficult job; meet someone who knows all about it!

Native American Stone Tools – 1 to 3 p.m.

See, touch, and be informed about the tools and practices of Native American people who called Cincinnati home long, long before the 1850s.

Scheuman’s Beer Hall – 1 to 5 p.m.

Meet our neighborhood barkeep, and learn about the widespread influence that German immigrants had to Cincinnati’s culture. And probably sing a drinking song as well!

Wet Plate Photography – 1 to 5 p.m.

The 1850s was a time of astronomical change for the new art of photography, and our local Wet Plate practitioner will give you a good idea how it evolved.

Cincinnati History Library and Archives

Special Saturday Hours – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Archivist 101 – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Would you like to learn how to be the archivist for your family? Or has this task fallen to you and you're feeling overwhelmed? Join Curator of Manuscripts, Christine Engels and learn the tricks and tools of the trade. We'll discuss historical significance and how archivists choose what to keep. Finally figure out what to do with that stack of scrapbooks and those boxes of letters, receipts and newspaper clippings!

Cr(eat)e Culinary Studio
As American as…? – 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Through tasting and conversation, guests are asked to think about what defines “American” food to them, and explore the surprising origins of familiar dishes. From hot dogs and burgers to fortune cookies and apple pie, this pop-up invites visitors to question what we define as American cuisine and how those labels are formed over time.

Allergens: Wheat, Dairy, Egg

Newsreel Theater
Reframing the Past – A Rare Screening of Cincinnati Home Movies, 1930s-1960s – 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

In celebration of America250, join CMC’s Curator of Photographs, Prints, & Media, Arabeth Balasko, and step back into time with a screening of home movies for a localized perspective on American history.

Featured clips, all which can be found in the CMC’s moving image archival collection, will showcase snippets from the historic 1937 flood, family adventures to Coney Island, 1930s and 1940s parade footage, downtown happenings and excursions, river front activities, family picnics in the park and more!

Please note, none of the clips will be replayed during the day, so feel free to pop-in and out as your time allots, and step back into Cincinnati’s past through film.