Meadowcroft Rocks: Free Admission for kids in August 

Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village, part of the Senator John Heinz History Center’s family of museums, will extend free admission for kids ages 17 and under throughout the month of August, thanks to support from UPMC.

Just an hour’s drive from Pittsburgh in Avella, Pa., Meadowcroft offers a safe and one-of-a-kind outdoor experience for families.

Kids can watch a blacksmith forge red-hot iron in a 19th-century historic village, use an atlatl (a prehistoric spear-thrower) in a 16th-century Monongahela Indian village, and explore the prehistoric wonders of the Meadowcroft Rockshelter – a National Historic Landmark recognized as the oldest site of human habitation in North America.

Now open for its 52nd season, Meadowcroft is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

Admission is $15 for adults, $14 for senior citizens, $7 for students with a valid ID, and free for Heinz History Center members. No advance tickets are required.

Social distancing is encouraged, and face coverings are required inside Meadowcroft’s Visitor Center and other indoor spaces and when near others. For more information on Meadowcroft’s new health and safety procedures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit www.heinzhistorycenter.org/meadowcroft/visit.

Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village operates in association with the Senator John Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian and Pennsylvania’s largest history museum.  Meadowcroft, a National Historic Landmark, is the oldest site of human habitation in North America and features a massive rock overhang used by the region’s earliest inhabitants for shelter more than 19,000 years ago. The 16th century Monongahela Indian Village includes wigwams, recreated prehistoric artifacts, and hands-on activities related to agriculture. Two 18th century structures help to spotlight the similarities and differences between the everyday lives of European settlers and American Indians in the Upper Ohio Valley. Meadowcroft’s 19th century village features a covered bridge, one-room schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, and church that create a charming country village setting. Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village is located in Avella, Pa., Washington County, within an hour’s drive of Pittsburgh. For more, visit www.heinzhistorycenter.org/meadowcroft.