Kfar Kedem, Open-air museum in Hoshaya, Israel

Kfar Kedem is an open-air museum in Hoshaya that recreates daily life from ancient Galilee through hands-on activities, traditional crafts, and agricultural demonstrations. The setting allows visitors to observe traditional techniques and participate in learning experiences throughout the grounds.

Kfar Kedem was founded in 1992 by Menachem Goldberg within the community of Hoshaya, on a site of about 15 dunams planted with trees and plants native to the Land of Israel. It recreates Jewish life in the Galilee during the Mishnaic period, next to Sepphoris, seat of the Sanhedrin headed by Rabbi Judah the Prince. Israeli groups began arriving in 1992, and the first group of tourists from the Netherlands came in 1994.

Visitors don a four-cornered garment and a headscarf before starting the activities, which follow the Mishnah-period Jewish life of the Galilee. Stations cover shearing, spinning, milking and cheese-making, and the shepherd's tent made of goat hair serves sweet herbal tea or bitter coffee. A carrier pigeon carries a written note to the group's next destination.

Kfar Kedem sits on Route 77 near the Hamovil Interchange, beside Hoshaya. Visits run as guided group circuits through the activity stations, starting with a short opening talk and the loan of a four-cornered garment and head covering. Olive harvesting and pressing are winter activities; grape harvesting and treading take place in summer. The grounds cover about 15 dunams of plants and trees of the Land of Israel.

At the end of a visit, groups take a homing pigeon to their next destination, attach a note with a message to its leg and release it. The bird flies back to Kfar Kedem, a detail borrowed from the site's portrayal of ancient Galilee life.