Sadly, the Park McCullough House (really, it's a mansion) was closed on the 2 days we were in…read moreBennington, but at least we got to walk around the beautifully landscaped and manicured grounds. Because we couldn't go on any tour, I only know this... it was built in 1864-65. It was also home to two Vermont governors, and it was visited by President Benjamin Harrison in 1891 when he was in town to dedicate the Bennington Monument. While the mansion may be closed most of the week, one could arrange to have private events held at this beautiful location... like a wedding, as other Yelpers have attested. If we're ever in Bennington again, I hope we could arrange for it to be over a weekend when the mansion is open to viewing.

Really enjoyed this historic house tour. A Victorian home of the former Governor of VT and his…read morefamily. Original furniture and art. Amazing that the home has been preserved like this. Beautiful grounds and gardens. Try to go if you are in the Bennington area.

Our organized Fall Foliage tour included a brief stop here…read more As there were 48 of us our trip leader got us a ticket discount. $5 p/p. It's an elevator ride to the top. We got a bird's eye view of the fall foliage as you could see the White Mountains, the Green Mountains, and New York State. Quite impressive. Of course you can read about the historic significance of this battle that occurred during the American Revolutionary War. There's a gift shop/ticket office and restrooms.

It's like in the middle of this quiet town in a picturesque state is like the sixth tallest…read moremonument in the country (sources differ on this) but wow it sure is tall! It on its own circular lot with plenty of parking to stroll around and take some photos. There is an exhibit inside for free on the monument and $8 to go to the top to see the panoramic view of VT, MA, and NY. They don't open until 10 am, but we got there early and were chilling, and they opened up about twenty minutes early for us, which was cool. There is a nice gift shop and a bathroom. The views were nice! The employee who opened the obelisk gave us some information on the monument and was very friendly. This was on our route and was worth the stop. It doesn't take a long time, but it's a nice bit of American history honoring the American Revolution.

Absolutely spectacular experience here. I reached out a few days before we planned to visit to see…read moreif we could reserve a wheelchair for my Mom, who is experiencing some mobility issues. They responded to my email immediately and were more than happy to accommodate us. Coming from Albany, this is a bit of a drive at about an hour. The first part of the drive is fine but as you get closer to Williamstown on Rt 2, it can be challenging in bad weather. The museum and grounds are absolutely spectacular. Signage leading to the museum is great and we were able to locate it right away. They have a convenient drop off area that's perfect for those with ADA accessibility needs. Parking was convenient, easy and plentiful. Check in was a breeze and they had the reserved wheelchair waiting for us. The museum is absolutely gorgeous, clean, well lit and phenomenally well curated. There are great works by Renoir, Degas, Manet, Monet, Sargent, and Mary Cassat. I was impressed to see they also included a number of lesser known formal artists in their new acquisitions. There was a great sculpture by Edmonia Lewis, a sculptor of African American and indigenous descent active in the late 1800s, that was very impressive. Bathrooms were immaculately clean. They have a cute station near the bathrooms with free postcards. They will even mail them for you! This place is a little out of the way, which I later learned was because the founder, Sterling Clark, wanted to ensure the artworks were safeguarded in a remote location in case of a war targeting major cities. He lived through WWII and had to flee France and had some of his property destroyed there. Another amazing feature of this museum is their remarkable museum store which has the usual museum store items like bags and scarves and magnets and postcards, but also has an amazing and well priced selection of art books. The most expensive book I purchased was $20 for a softcover on the history of the museum and my fiancé scored a gorgeous hardcover book on the Renoirs for only $15. Staff again here was friendly and kind. We can't wait to go back and check out the grounds and trails when the weather is warmer. If you're driving here from distance make sure you've got a full tank of gas and are comfortable driving on some back roads. We drove back to Albany in a snowstorm on Rt 2, which was a bit harrowing.

Where do I start?! How about.. WOW! I came here with my pops and girlfriend for their first…read moreSunday's Free Day on November 2nd. You could literally spend an entire day here admiring and analyzing all of the beautiful artwork. From Claude Lorrain and John Singer Sargent to Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, they had so many of the greats. What makes this place even more special is that you're invited to wonder the outsound grounds as well! From trails to vast fields to outdoor sculptures and structures.. there is even more to see. I can't wait to return during the snowy months and participate in their Project Snowshoe. Essentially, you're able to borrow a pair of complementary snoe shoes to help you discover the 140 acres of unparalleled beauty.

This was pretty basic, which was a bit of a letdown, but it's still cool to see Frost's house…read more It's not grand, but there's some cool things to see. The one employee did not know anything about Frost, so it was all up to the signage. There is a small gift shop, but mostly all just books and nothing as far as souvenirs with the place name on them. The exhibit signs shine some information on Frost, his family, and his works. There is a live bee collection for unclear reasons. There is an old record player of his records that you can listen to and switch records, so that was cool. At least some of the furniture was original. I wouldn't say this takes longer than 20 minutes to walk through, so only do it if you're nearby or a diehard Frost fan. As a historic site, I'm glad it exists, but it is a bit minimal. An employee who had at least read the signs instead of just a college intern there for credit would do wonders to bringing Frost more to life.

I'm glad we stopped on our way through, I wouldn't go out of the way to visit, but as a pass…read morethrough, it's a nice stop to stretch and look around. There is a lot of information to take in here, about Robert Frost and the Frost family. It's got a good flow to it as you walk through. The young lady working here was helpful in answering out questions. I don't have much else to say about it, though I'm glad I went.

Fabulous artist with a dynamic collection of art sculpture, paintings and drawings from his private…read morecollection and other artists. The art space is remarkable and proves the ability to reuse space in a creative manner. Overall, the museum is great. If you appreciate underrated artists, contemporary art and creative/unique art space, you'll appreciate the Berkshire Art Museum

Probably the most interesting art museum in Mass. If you're in the Boston area, it is a bit of a…read moredrive--we turned it into a weekend getaway, and it was worth it. The museum is massive, with tons of exhibits. You'll find a mix of contemporary art, immersive installations, plus regular live performances. We spent hours exploring/wandering. Some exhibits lean abstract or experimental, so it helps to go in with an open mind, but that's part of the appeal. Overall, it's a must-visit, and I hope to come back to catch their dusk/dawn exhibit, which seems to be a staple.

My mom and I were members for a year. I do wish there were more new and frequently changing…read moreexhibits. We have always enjoyed our time there but prefer to go a bit less often so we don't keep seeing the same things. The buildings are so cool but it is large and a little confusing to navigate. As with any art, there's been certain exhibits we've loved and others that weren't as interesting to us. It would be cool to have some more info about what the building used to be and how it used to look. I think the price could be prohibitive for a lot of people or for families. I am not knowledgeable about contemporary art but I like browsing here. We have done one of the free tours before as well. There are some times exhibits and those require advance booking online (the cost in included). This means many times, there were no slots available during the days and times we'd planned to visit. That felt like some people were getting "more for their money" and like we'd missed out. There was a roller coaster that ran once per hour and so I think members got first choice of spots so there was no availability for months (we never did get to experience the ride). There are a few James Turrell experiences that also require pre-registration. This makes it impossible to see them if you do a spontaneous visit.

Lovely building and a great collection of exhibits collected mostly in the Victorian era.read more

From the owner: The Pember Museum provides residents and visitors with a rich tapestry of the natural world and its…read morecultural heritage. Our collections are showcased in their original cherry archival display cases, with much standing as they were put on display in 1909. The Pember Museum has 10,000 specimens of birds, mammals, eggs, rocks, reptiles, insects, sea creatures, historic artifacts, photographs and art collections.

We made the 90 minute drive from Syracuse to check out the Via Aquarium in...Rotterdam? I didn't…read moreknow this existed until the day before we went, but I'm glad we found it! Repurposing an old mall's dead space into various shops and attractions seems to be the way of the future for malls like this and Via Aquarium is built into the bones of this mall in a really cool way. Instead of just sticking it inside of an old storefront, they really went all out by painting a huge mural outside the parking area for it as well as the long entry hallway into the mall that serves as the Aquarium entrance. Pricing was about what we expected, about $70 for 2 adults, 1 child, and the extra "manta ray feeding" we purchased. The Aquarium is clean and offers a lot of interesting exhibits that range from fish, reptiles, kids play areas, feeding areas, and a gift shop. If you are moving at a moderate pace, you could complete the museum in about 45-60 minutes, so don't plan on dedicating a whole day here. The highlights for us were the tunnels you walked through and underneath fish and sharks and the feeding of the manta rays. On the day we went, they had some arts and crafts for the littles along with a princess in full costume to greet the kids doing the craft (unicorn hat). While we wouldn't make it a regular visit, we'd make the trek again if we were in the mood for some aquatic ambience.

We love this aquarium! Every time we drive through the area we stop by here…read more The girls love the stingray petting area and taking pictures. We have some of these printed on our walls in our house!

Our 3 year old loved the museum! It was clean and well maintained. Staff were amazing and super…read morefriendly! Highly recommend!

This museum is so awesome for kids. It's small but has so many unique exhibits and is very hands…read moreon. I brought my two kids here and as usual was worried about what the baby, who is 1 year old, would want to do or try to get into since this is a museum. The very friendly woman at the desk was so encouraging of letting the baby explore and touch everything. This museum is very educational but kids can touch and play with everything. It's not one of those museums where you are constantly reminding your kids not to touch something. There are exhibits representing many different places and cultures, and the kids can play in all of them. There is a Central American kitchen with items stocked in the kitchen that would commonly be found in that region. There is a Japanese tea house, a Parisian cafe, a West African market (my personal favorite as there are so many fruits and vegetables that one wouldn't see here and cards describing what each plant is), a rainforest where you can learn about how chocolate is made and hold and smell a real cocoa pod. Such a cool place. If we lived closer, I'd take the kids every weekend. Still plan on going multiple times a year. It's just such a unique place.

I didn't want to write this review, as my December trip to the Capital District was a pleasant…read moredistraction from reality, so this final writeup symbolizes the "end of an era" (three days long but I stretched out the content). The museum does stellar work on the impossible task of capturing New York State. ("How dare they mention the NYC subway but completely ignore the one that used to be Syracuse?! ZERO STARS"). Sesame Street's here, along with clocks, fire engines and a discussion of Albany's rum trade. Not only you can you enter an old-timey train car in the subway exhibit, there's a newsstand with old Post and Daily News copies mentioning the (an?) A-Rod scandal. The best part of the museum, or at least the most photogenic, is the assortment of minerals. The greens and oranges were quite surprising, as was the information that many of the specimens are from downstate. The cartography-inclined will enjoy old depictions of areas like "Lange Eyland."

So much to see, this is a well thought out museum about our state. I really enjoyed it. The old…read moresubway csts & turnstile, and the 9/11 memorial was well done. A donation is all they ask for instead of a set admission fee. Im a native, but I think people from other states will also like this museum.