Museums, New York

A working maritime museum located along the historic Tuckerton Creek, Tuckerton Seaport is only 25-minutes from Atlantic City. The museum celebrates life on the Jersey Shore with many events and activities for all ages and interests. Watch history come alive as docents build boats, carve decoys, discuss clam digging, and more. Open 7-days a week. https://www.atlanticcitynj.com/explore/attractions/details.aspx?id=296

The repository of the largest collection of works by Auguste Rodin outside of Paris features treasures such as The Gates of Hell and a bronze caste of The Thinker. All told, you’ll find more than 120 of the French master’s sculptures here, as well as a fascinating collection of drawings, paintings and studies. The variety of works on hand offers the perfect opportunity to contrast and compare the ways in which Rodin used and re-used the same stances, and even body parts, throughout his work. http://www.rodinmuseum.org/

Founded in 1876, the Philadelphia Museum of Art showcases more than 2,000 years of human creativity, the collections and special exhibitions present masterpieces of painting, sculpture, decorative arts and architectural settings from Europe, Asia and the Americas. https://www.philamuseum.org/

The view from New Jersey’s tallest lighthouse is just what you’d expect: breathtaking. It’s perhaps the only fitting reward for climbing the 228 stairs it will take you to get to the top. The Absecon Lighthouse was the brainchild of Dr. Jonathan Pitney, who many refer to as “the father of Atlantic City.” Pitney first proposed the lighthouse in 1830; the government was late in responding to the request and concluded more than a decade later that a lighthouse was unnecessary. Pitney wrote letters and gathered petition signatures for several years before the lighthouse was finally approved and completed in 1857. The 171-foot lighthouse (the third-tallest in the U.S.) shone with a kerosene flame through a French-made first-order Fresnel lens, though the kerosene light was eventually replaced with an electric one. Today the lighthouse is a landmark tourism attraction, drawing visitors from around New Jersey and the country. http://www.atlanticcitynj.com/atlantic-city-stories/details.aspx?story=The-Absecon-Lighthouse

Lucy the Elephant was built by real estate developer, James Lafferty, in 1881, as a gimmick to attract potential buyers to his land holdings along the coast of South Atlantic City (now Margate). Eventually, a popular hotel business was built around Lucy. Presidents and royalty came from around the world to stay at the neighboring Elephant Hotel and climb the stairs to Lucy's howdah. During her history, Lucy has survived hurricanes, ocean floods, and even a fire accidentally started by some inebriated party-goers when she served as a tavern. However, by the 1960's it became apparent there was one disaster Lucy could not overcome - neglect. By that time, the once proud jewel of the South Jersey coast had become an almost hopeless, wretched wreck. Then in 1970, a developer purchased Lucy's land and intended to build a condominium building on the site. The beach and the ocean could stay - but the elephant had to go! To the rescue came the Save Lucy Committee. Within weeks, this small concerned group of ordinary citizens had raised enough money to move the entire decaying structure two blocks away to a new site owned by the city. Thirty years and over 1.5 million dollars later, Lucy was completely restored to her original splendor, inside and out. In 1976, Lucy was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States government as the oldest surviving example of a unique form of "zoomorphic" architecture, and the oldest "roadside" attraction in America. Today, she stands as the most popular non-gaming attraction in the greater Atlantic City region. She has brought fame to Margate City and is known all over the globe as "The World's Largest Elephant." https://www.atlanticcitynj.com/partnerinformation/membership-directory-search-details.aspx?id=15227

Visit 26 restored historic buildings on 30 shaded acres where interpreters in period clothing bring the 1800s to life. Enjoy demonstrations of blacksmithing, basket weaving, book binding and more! Farm animals, carriage rides, and family activities from June-September. Special weekend events. Country Store, Ice Cream Parlor and Restaurant. Education and distance learning programs from October-May. https://www.atlanticcitynj.com/explore/attractions/details.aspx?id=16331

Marble House was built between 1888 and 1892 for Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt. It was a summer house, or "cottage", as Newporters called them in remembrance of the modest houses of the early 19th century. But Marble House was much more; it was a social and architectural landmark that set the pace for Newport's subsequent transformation from a quiet summer colony of wooden houses to the legendary resort of opulent stone palaces. The house was designed by the architect Richard Morris Hunt, inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles. The cost of the house was reported in contemporary press accounts to be $11 million, of which $7 million was spent on 500,000 cubic feet of marble. Upon its completion, Mr. Vanderbilt gave the house to his wife as a 39th birthday present. The Vanderbilts divorced in 1895 and Alva married Oliver H.P. Belmont, moving down the street to Belcourt. After his death, she reopened Marble House, and had a Chinese Tea House built on the seaside cliffs, where she hosted rallies for women's right to vote. She sold the house to Frederick H. Prince in 1932. The Preservation Society acquired the house in 1963 from the Prince estate. In 2006, Marble House was designated a National Historic Landmark. http://www.newportmansions.org/explore/marble-house

The RISD Museum acquires, preserves, exhibits, and interprets works of art and design representing diverse cultures from ancient times to the present. Distinguished by its relationship to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), the Museum educates and inspires artists, designers, students, scholars, and the general public through exhibitions, programs, and publications. RISD Museum's collection currently contains more than 100,000 works of art and design dating from ancient times to today including paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, costume and textiles, and furniture from all over the world. Of these objects, 3,352 of them are on view in the Museum now, 81,343 of them are available online, and there are 3,867 recent acquisitions. https://risdmuseum.org/

National Great Blacks In Wax Museum is American first wax museum of African American history and culture features more than 150 life-size and lifelike wax figures. http://www.greatblacksinwax.org/index.html

The Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower has been a Baltimore landmark since its construction in 1911. The Baltimore Office of Promotions & The Arts has transformed the Tower into a space for visual and literary artists. https://baltimore.org/listings/art-museums-galleries/bromo-tower-arts-entertainment-district

Located two blocks from Camden Yards, this National Historic Site is Babe Ruth's birthplace and features rare artifacts, photos, videos and more. George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Baltimore's native son who became America's first sports celebrity and an international icon. https://baberuthmuseum.org/

This fascinating, fun place for kids, families and lovers of history features the most important railroad collection in America, and features seasonal train rides and free parking. https://baltimore.org/listings/attractions/bo-railroad-museum

After Isabella Stewart Gardner's husband died in 1898, the art enthusiast bought land in Boston's Fenway area to open a museum to display her impressive collection of Italian art. The museum, which was fashioned after the Palazzo Barbaro in Venice, was completed in 1902, at which point Gardner moved in to the fourth floor and began installing her collection. https://travel.usnews.com/Boston_MA/Things_To_Do/Isabella_Stewart_Gardner_Museum_52775/

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is one of the world's great art museums with masterpieces from around the world and across the ages, including more Monets than any museum outside of Paris, an unrivaled Japanese art collection, treasures from Egypt and the ancient world, and American art from colonial to modern times. At every turn, travel to a time and a place that will inform, enlighten, and inspire. Now open is the spectacular Art of the Americas Wing. Paintings, sculpture, furniture, works on paper, textiles, and decorative arts tell the story of the art of the Americas from the prehistoric times to the present day. More than 5000 glorious examples of art produced in North, Central, and South America are displayed—some for the first time. https://www.bostonusa.com/listings/museum-of-fine-arts-boston/11545/

Adams National Historical Park, Quincy, MA, is comprised of the birthplace homes of Presidents John and John Quincy Adams; the Old House, home to four generations of the Adams family; and the Stone Library. Many park programs and special events are offered to give kids of all ages an opportunity to Picture Themselves in the Past and see themselves in their nation's future. Contact the park for dates and details. https://www.bostonusa.com/listings/adams-national-historical-park/11557/

The famous Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile red-brick trail through Boston’s historic neighborhoods that tells the story of the American Revolution. From the Old North Church to Faneuil Hall, and through resonant burying grounds, visit the temples and landmarks of the Revolutionary Era. https://www.bostonusa.com/things-to-do/sightseeing-tours-trails/freedom-trail/

The Museum of African American History is New England’s largest museum dedicated to preserving, conserving and interpreting the contributions of African Americans. In Boston and Nantucket, the Museum has preserved four historic sites and two Black Heritage Trails® that tell the story of organized black communities from the Colonial Period through the 19th century. http://maah.org/about.htm

At the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, you can be a part of the famous event that forever changed the course of American history through a multi-sensory experience that includes live actors, interactive exhibits, and full-scale replica 18th-century sailing vessels! Enter the Meeting House and step back in time to rebellious 1773 Boston and meet Samuel Adams and your 18th century host! Discover what role you will play in the “single most important event leading up to the American Revolution” – the Boston Tea Party – as you take part in the colonial town meeting. Experience life at sea aboard an 18th-century sailing vessel as you join a Son of Liberty and take part in the “Destruction of the Tea”! Throw tea into the very same body of water where the Boston Tea Party took place over 240 years ago. https://www.bostonteapartyship.com/

For 100 years, Boston Children's Museum has been a leader in Boston and within the museum community worldwide. The Museum is a private, non-profit, educational institution that is recognized internationally as a research and development center and pacesetter for children's exhibitions, educational programs and curriculum. Designed for children and families, our exhibits focus on science, culture, environmental awareness, health & fitness, and the arts. In addition to extensive child-centered exhibits, Museum educators develop programs and activities that address literacy, performing arts, science and math, visual arts, cultures, and health and wellness. The Museum is also one of the few children's museums in the world to maintain a collection, with more than 50,000 items. http://www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org/visit

The mission of the Museum is to preserve and display fire fighting memorabilia from the Greater Boston area, educate and inform the general public on fire safety, maintain our home in the historic Congress Street Fire Station, and to support the fire service in general. The Boston Fire Museum has occupied the old firehouse at 344 Congress St in Boston’s seaport district since 1983. The Museum Committee, which oversees the operation of the Museum, is an all-volunteer group dedicated to informing friends and visitors about the history of fire fighting. Since the Boston Fire Department is one of the oldest in the nation, there is a rich tradition to salute. The home of our parent group, the Boston Sparks Association, is on the second floor. Our museum collection comprises fire alarm displays and artefacts, firefighting equipment, antique fire apparatus, and photographs. http://www.bostonfiremuseum.com/index.html

On the first Sunday of the month, one of the District’s most intriguing museums waives its admission charge. During Free Community Day, the National Museum of Women in the Arts opens up its collection and features programs that connect to its current exhibitions, helping you to discover the immense impact that women have on the world of art. https://nmwa.org/

Although donations are suggested for entry into this colossal museum, there is no admission charge. As soon as you enter the Museum of the Bible through its 40-foot bronze doors, its majesty is undeniable. Beyond its awe-inspiring grand lobby, you will find 430,000 square feet of exhibits that cover the history of the Bible, its many narrative forms and its impact on societies around the world. https://www.museumofthebible.org/

Explore the natural world around you, discover dinosaur fossils and more at this free gem on the National Mall. The museum contains some of the most famous artifacts in the world. The Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals has the supposedly cursed Hope Diamond on display. Meanwhile, Q?rius, the museum’s education center, offers teens and tweens a lab where they can make their own scientific discoveries. Other permanent exhibits include an insect zoo and The Sant Ocean Hall, which features an exact replica of a living North Atlantic right whale. https://naturalhistory.si.edu/

Step back in time and experience 19th-Century military life at Fort Henry. As one of Ontario’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Fort Henry is a hotbed of historic activity. Take a guided tour, fire a rifle, sit in on a class in a Victorian schoolroom, watch a parade of traditional marching music, and stick around in the evening for a dramatic reenactment during the Sunset Ceremony. Visit Fort Henry throughout the year as it plays host to a number of Kingston’s favourite events like the YGK Craft Beer Fest, Cannonball Crush, and Fort Fright. Fort Henry is a can’t-miss stop during your time in Kingston. https://www.visitkingston.ca/see-do/fort-henry-kingston-national-historic-site/

Built in 1846, Murney Tower is one of the finest Martello Towers in North America and served as military housing for more than 40 years after its completion. A museum since 1925, it has an extensive collection of military and domestic artefacts of 19th-century Kingston. https://www.visitkingston.ca/kingston-members/murney-tower-national-historic-site/

If you haven’t been to the Military Communications and Electronics Museum, you might be surprised at how large it is. Its huge collection includes military jeeps, tanks, equipment for laying cable, radar built so well that it served the Air Force for over 50 years and displays telling the story of the incredibly difficult conditions that soldiers worked under. In the Passchendaele display, you learn about the soldiers who manned the wireless sets under heavy fire, seeing their aerial shot down on average twenty times a day. In another section of the museum, you peer into the back of a truck, built in Windsor, but radically transformed to meet the needs of the Communications and Electronics (C & E) Branch of the Canadian Military to operate its mobile telephone exchange. https://www.visitkingston.ca/kingston-members/military-communications-electronics-museum-2/

Agnes Etherington Art Centre is a research‐intensive art museum located on the historic campus of Queen’s University. It illuminates the great artistic traditions of the past and the innovations of the present through year-round programs of exhibitions and outreach activities staged across eight beautiful galleries, the Biéler Studio, and assorted public spaces including the gracious period rooms of the historic Etherington House. As a space of display, innovation and exchange, the Agnes is an experiential learning space for diverse disciplines at Queen’s, and the public gallery for Kingston region. Its superb collections—numbering over 17,000 works―include cutting edge contemporary art and fine examples of Canadian historical art, Indigenous art and artifacts, and material culture including an unusual collection of Canadian Historical Dress and the Lang Collection of African Art. The Bader Collection, focusing on Rembrandt and his school, centres on more than 200 paintings from the Dutch Golden Age, including one portrait and three beautiful character studies by Rembrandt. https://agnes.queensu.ca/about/profile/

As a Father of Confederation and Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald has had a direct impact on how Canada has grown from a small colony into a world leading democratic country. Tour the gardens of historic Bellevue House knowing that seeds were planted there for the birth of a country. Sir John A. Macdonald, and his family made Bellevue House their home from 1848 to 1849. Wander through the family’s preserved kitchen garden to help the costumed gardeners, watch them wielding scythes to cut the lawn in the method of the 1840s and bite into an apple in the heirloom orchard. Be escorted on a journey back in time, following a maid on an Estate Tour to hear tales about the past at Bellevue House and its most famous residents. Explore the juicy deets of Canadian history through an interactive discussion led by an interpreter, while jumping on an Alternative Facts Tour or simply sip a cup of tea relaxing on the grounds and enjoying the view. https://www.visitkingston.ca/kingston-members/bellevue-house-national-historic-site-of-canada/

In 1967, Sandy MacLachlan created the Woodworking Museum as a Centennial Project. To house the collection, he dismantled an 1855 log house, originally built by the White family in Lanark County, and moved it to Princess Street in Kingston, Ontario. There it operated as a privately‐owned museum for over a decade. In the early eighties, it was bought by the former Pittsburgh Township and once again, the log house was moved to its present location at Grass Creek Park. With the amalgamation of the City of Kingston in 1998, the museum became the responsibility of the Culture and Recreation Division in the Corporation of the City of Kingston and then the Cultural Services Department when it was established in 2008. The MacLachlan Woodworking Museum holds one of the most extensive collections of woodworking tools in Canada. https://www.woodworkingmuseum.ca/

Featuring automobiles made in Western New York including Pierce-Arrow and Thomas Flyer. Cars from 1903 to 1960s, muscle cars, etc. The museum offers a unique venue for parties, business meetings and social events. 2011 Frank Lloyd Wright-designed 1927 Filling Station. https://www.visitbuffaloniagara.com/businesses/buffalo-transportation-pierce-arrow-museum/

This Buffalo waterfront attraction is the largest inland park of its kind in the nation. All branches of the Armed Forces are represented in the park’s exhibits. Tour the decks and hulls of a guided-missile cruiser, destroyer and WWII submarine. Inspect uniforms and memorabilia in the museum and exhibits aboard the ships. See planes, a tank and more! https://www.visitbuffaloniagara.com/businesses/buffalo-and-erie-county-naval-military-park-2/

Located at the mouth of the Buffalo River at the north entrance to Buffalo Harbor. Grounds with historic artefact displays and cell phone tour open to the public during scheduled daylight hours. Tower open on scheduled tour days posted on Facebook or by appointment, for per-person or group fees. Group tours may be scheduled at buffalolightshines@gmail.com, subject to availability on days the tower is not open for general admission. Groups tours have more time to view the panoramic Buffalo waterfront vista from the premier view atop the 1833 lighthouse. https://www.visitbuffaloniagara.com/businesses/buffalo-lighthouse/

Theodore Roosevelt began his presidential journey here. All new state-of-the-art exhibits and a dramatic guided tour offer a museum experience unlike any other. Immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and emotions surrounding this pivotal moment in our nation’s history and learn how the enduring legacy of one of America’s greatest presidents affects our lives today. https://www.visitbuffaloniagara.com/businesses/theodore-roosevelt-inaugural-national-historic-site-2/