The Gettysburg Foundation invites visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center to enjoy regular programming and tours, as well as a special exhibit for the holidays during the month of December 2021.
Film, Cyclorama & Museum Experience & Battlefield Tours
Visitors to Gettysburg during the holiday season can start their visit with a film presentation of A New Birth of Freedom, immediately followed by the light and sound show of the iconic Gettysburg Cyclorama painting of Pickett’s Charge. Visitors can then tour the battlefield with a Licensed Battlefield Guide either by motorcoach or on a personalized tour by car. Guests have the opportunity to see a remarkably different view of the battlefield in winter – with clear views to see how soldiers moved across the fields and along the tree lines in July 1863. Visitors can explore the 12-gallery Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War at their leisure throughout the day.
Eisenhower Nativity Diorama Exhibit
Throughout December, Eisenhower National Historic Site will showcase at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center the Eisenhower Nativity dioramas. The Eisenhower Nativity dioramas will be displayed in the main lobby of the Museum & Visitor Center.
The Eisenhower Nativity dioramas, by artists Winfred S. Hyatt and Hanna Weil Fischer-Binder, were originally exhibited in the East Room of the White House during Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency. With additional work by Bryn Athyn Studios of Building & Architectural Arts, these handcrafted dioramas depict the manger, the shepherds and the wise men. The dioramas remained on exhibit each year through 1960, the Eisenhowers’ last Christmas in the White House.
The Eisenhower Nativity dioramas will be on display in the Museum & Visitor Center through Dec. 31, 2021.
Eisenhower National Historic Site is currently open daily from sunrise until sunset for self-guided tours of the grounds with onsite visitor parking available. All buildings and visitor facilities are currently closed to the public. Directions to the site can be found by visiting nps.gov/eise or obtained in the Museum & Visitor Center.
Holiday Gift Shopping
The Museum & Visitor Center provides the community and its guests with opportunities to shop for holiday gift giving. The Museum Book Store is open daily offering merchandise such as books, apparel, jewelry, ornaments, collectibles and food items for gift giving.
The Gettysburg Foundation offers Friends of Gettysburg merchandise and gift memberships at the Friends Desk inside the Museum & Visitor Center or online.
Gift certificates are available at the Ticket Counter in the Museum & Visitor Center and online. Gift certificates are good toward admission to the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center experiences, venues and activities ticketed by the Gettysburg Foundation (Film, Cyclorama & Museum Experience, Licensed Battlefield Guide Tours, Children of Gettysburg 1863 and select historic sites), Friends of Gettysburg memberships, and select programs and events. Recipients can redeem gift certificates online, by phone or on site. To purchase gift certificates, visit the Ticket Counter or Gettysburg Foundation.org or call 877-874-2478 or 717-334-2436.
Prior to visiting the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center, visitors have the opportunity to conveniently purchase tickets in advance by phone at 877-874-2478 or online at GettysburgFoundation.org. Our health and safety protocols are available online.
The Museum & Visitor Center is located at 1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, Pa. The Museum & Visitor Center is open daily, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Christmas Eve Hours on Friday, Dec. 24, 2021, are from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. with the last film and cyclorama show beginning at noon.