Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Met Museum To Celebrate 50th Anniversary Of 'From The Mixed Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler'
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Jul 13, 2017
Modified Jul 17, 2017
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Jul 13, 2017
Modified Jul 17, 2017
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
It's been a long time since I last read From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, but every time I go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I still look for the bed siblings Claudia and Jamie Kincaid slept in during their brief, fictional residence at the world's best museum. I never considered running away to the Met like Claudia and Jamie did—my choice of refuge would have been the Children's Museum of Manhattan, so I could commandeer the news anchor desk without having to bite one of the other kids—but E.L. Konigsburg's book made a stuffy art museum magical. On Saturday, July 15, the Met will host a day in celebration of From the Mixed-up Files' 50th birthday, complete with child-friendly tours, themed cookies (!!!!!) and a Selfie Station which, let's be real, Claudia would have hated.
Festivities will take place at the museum from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with hour-long tours for children ages 7 to 11 running at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Visitors will get to see the Greek sarcophagus where Claudia stored her violin case and that musty canopied bed I've never been able to find, and are encouraged to embark on a scavenger hunt that'll take them to Claudia's beloved cat statuette, the Arms and Armor gallery, and Marie Antoinette's armchair, which I didn't know even lived at the museum until RIGHT NOW. Sadly, the Fountain of Muses from which the Kincaids gathered their income moved to South Carolina years ago, but the coins in the Temple of Dendur's moat should suffice as lunch money.
Visitors can also score copies of the book and specially-made cookies, and they're invited to take selfies recreating the original cover on the museum steps, weather-permitting. The event is free with (suggested!) Museum admission, and children under 12 don't even have to pretend to hand the museum a dollar.
Meanwhile, if you are a child or adult who would like to run away to the Met, Hyperallergic has a handy guide for you.
Tagged
from the mixed up files of mrs. basil e frankweiler
met museum
the met
Rebecca Fishbein
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City
What do you see when you record the whole of the boroughs?
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 5, 2026
Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries
It's a busy month at the branches.
By
Alec Hamilton
Arts & Entertainment
Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries
It's a busy month at the branches.
By
Alec Hamilton
NYC music in October: The Strokes, a Blink-182 cover band, and Polish experimentalism
By
Hank Shteamer
Are you a New Yorker? The Department of New Yorker Verification will now decide.
By
Hannah Frishberg
In the mood for a pastoral autumn experience? Try Queens.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .