Maps, Matzah and More

Celebrating the “Maps, Matzah and More” Festival during the Passover holiday at 12 heritage sites nationwide

When? Hol HaMo’ed; Sunday 9th and Monday 10th April

What? Free entrance to plays, shows, tours and activities for the entire family

Where? 12 heritage sites around Israel – from North to South

North

The Valley Train Site, Kfar Yehoshua

Near the entrance to the village of Kfar Yehoshua, a narrow road runs alongside a row of impressive stone houses. Tel al-Shamam station operated here for nearly 50 years – one of the main stations of the mythical “Valley Railway” site. Built at the beginning of the 20th century to connect Haifa with Deraa, Jordan, the train ran until Israel’s independence. The heritage site includes a miniature model of the train, historical photographs and fascinating documents, such as the timetable for the journey between Haifa and Damascus.

Free Activities during the Festival

       Photo booths with pioneer costumes for the whole family

        Musical corners and street performers in period costume

       Traditional games

        Guided tours of the Valley Train site (between 9.00 and 14:00)

       Ninja climbing equipment

        Train set located in an original train carriage

       Theatrical shows

Call: 04-9014230

Founders’ Museum, Ma’alot-Tarchishah

The museum explores the history of Ma’alot and the story of its establishment. It focuses on the story of the founders of the city: the pioneers who built the country. The museum is in a residential neighborhood from the 1960s, intended to house families who immigrated from North Africa

Free Activities during the Festival

       Photo booths with pioneer costumes for the whole family

       Musical corners and street performers in period costume

       Traditional games

        Guided tours of the Founders’ Museum

       Theatrical shows

        10.4 – 18:00 – Spectacular dance and drum show in the spirit of North African women

        Mural painting workshop ­– Special technique using stencils

        Arts and crafts

Call: 050-4076264

Founders’ Courtyard Museum, Kibbutz Ein Shemer

Surrounded by a wall, with a museum located within is an impressive historic stone house, the Ein Shemer Founders’ Courtyard interesting items such as agricultural tools from the last century

Free Activities during the Festival

        Photo booths with pioneer costumes for the whole family

        Musical corners and street performers in period costume

      Traditional games

        Guided tours and workshops following in the footsteps of the pioneers –pitch tents, wash clothes on an original scrub board, plow, and ‘guard’ at the historic guard post

       Ride in a tractor-drawn wagon

        Visit the Tractor Museum

        Theatrical shows

       Arts and crafts

        Mural painting workshop ­– Special technique using stencils

Call: 04-6374327

Historic Nahalal Police Station

On the line between Nazareth and Ligor lies the historic Nahalel Fort. It was inaugurated in 1936, during the bloody events that took place throughout the country, to protect the civilian population in the Jezreel Valley – Jewish and Arab – and the members of the British government. The working police station houses a visitor’s center

Free Activities during the Festival

        Photo booths with pioneer costumes for the whole family

        Musical corners and street performers in period costume

        Traditional games

        Guided tours of the historic Nahalal police station (every hour between 10:00 and 13:00)

       Theatrical shows

        Arts and crafts

        Mural painting workshop ­

Call: 04-6415073

Jerusalem Region

Gush Etzion Visitors Center

The center is dedicated to the story of Gush, its fall in the War of Independence and its reestablishment 19 years later, after the Six Day War. The site includes a sound and light show which recreates the story on the ruins of the bunker where the last defenders of Gush Etzion fell in battle

Free Activities during the Festival

       Photo booths with pioneer costumes for the whole family

        Musical corners and street performers wearing period costume

     Traditional games

       Guided tours of the Gush Etzion Heritage Center

      Theatrical shows

        Arts and crafts

      Mural painting workshop

Call: 02-9938308, 02-9935160

Yellin House, Motza

This house, built in 1890, is the home of the Yellin family, the first Jewish family that moved out of the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, to live in Motza Valley

Free Activities during the Festival

       Photo booths with pioneer costumes for the whole family

        Musical corners and street performers wearing period costume

        Traditional games and activities

       Guided tours around the Yellin House heritage site (between 09:00 and 13:00)

        Workshop making scent bags from spices picked in the Yellin House orchard

       Theatrical shows

        Arts and crafts

        Mural painting workshop ­

Call: 02-5345443

Central Region

Ben Gurion House, Tel Aviv

The permanent home of Paula and David Ben Gurion and their three children was bequeathed in the first Prime Minister’s will to the State of Israel. A year after his death, in 1974, the house was opened to visitors and is now used as a historical museum, as well as an educational and cultural center

Free Activities during the Festival

        Photo booths with pioneer costumes for the whole family

       Musical corners and street performers dressed as Paula and David Ben Gurion

        Traditional games

       Guided tours around Ben Gurion House (at 10:00, 11:30 and 13:00)

       Workshop to make ‘Kuch Much’, Ben Gurion’s favorite food

      Arts and crafts

        Mural painting workshop

Call: 03-5221010

Mikveh Israel

In the heart of Gush Dan, at the entrance to Holon, lies a small pastoral French village from the 19th century. Mikveh Israel was the first agricultural school in the Land of Israel and many important chapters in all areas of Zionist activity can be credited to it: agriculture, education, defense, immigration and absorption

Free Activities during the Festival

      Photo booths with pioneer costumes for the whole family

       Musical corners and street performers wearing period costume

        Traditional games and activities

       Guided tours of Mikveh Israel (at 10:00, 11:00 and 14:00) and the Botanical Gardens (at 12:00 and 13:00)

        Arts and crafts

        Theatrical shows

        Mural painting workshop

Call: 03-5030489

Southern Region

Founders Hut Museum, Hatzerim

The hut was built in 1946 as part of the 11 settlement points which were established in the Negev that same year. Visitors can historical items from the kibbutz– old photographs, films, tokens used by kibbutz members and notebooks

Free Activities during the Festival

        Photo booths with pioneer costumes for the whole family

        Musical corners and street performers in period costume

       Guided tours the museum (between 10:00 and 13:00)

        Arts and crafts

       Theatrical shows

      Mural painting workshop

Call: 0806473817

Founders’ Museum, Sderot

The museum is an innovative and spectacular visitor’s center in Sderot, which tells the story of the city, and provides a glimpse into Israeli society. The state-of-the-art center pays tribute to the original

Free Activities during the Festival

       Photo booths with pioneer costumes for the whole family and the chance to perform in a dramatized movie which will be sent to the participants

        Musical corners and street performers in period costume

       Embroidery workshop (at 12:00)

       Guided tours the museum (at: 09:00, 10:30, 12:00, 13:30) 

        Arts and crafts

        Theatrical shows

       Mural painting workshop

Call: 054-9444405

Atid House in the Desert, Yeruham

The founders’ house in Yeruham, established in 1951, looks at Israeli pioneering and entrepreneurship in its various forms and the fascinating history of this city

Free Activities during the Festival

        Photo booths with pioneer costumes for the whole family

       Musical corners and street performers in period costume

       Traditional games

       Embroidery workshop based on traditional Bedouin embroidery (at 10:00, 11:30, 13:00 and 14:00)

       An interactive escape-room game for families

      Guided tours the museum (at: 09:00, 10:30, 12:00, 13:30)

     Arts and crafts

     Theatrical shows

      Mural painting workshop

Call: 08-6585484, 054-4244093

Be’arot in the Negev, Kibbutz Alumim

This heritage site tells the story of the first religious settlement in the Negev Desert, Be’arot Yitzchak. The site includes a tour of the historic water tower which recently underwent restoration, and the fascinating visitor’s center.

Free Activities during the Festival

       Photo booths with pioneer costumes for the whole family

       Musical corners and street performers in period costume

     Traditional games

      Guided tours around the site (09:00, 10:30, 12:00 and 14:00) following in the footsteps of the pioneers of the Negev

      Arts and crafts

       Theatrical shows

  Mural painting workshop

Call: 08-9937300, 054-7756070