A lovely place to observe art while going for a walk. Staff were absolutely lovely and the gift…read moreshop was filled with art themed treasure.

Used to be my favorite museum in Boston. Hadn't been here in a very long time and recent…read moreaquisitions were very "Meh." They had way better sculptures - large, landscape scale ones - in the entry area. More interactive. Minus the slanted house, everything acquired since Covid is pretty terrible, some even very cheap looking. Example, photographs... outdoors?! Attached to wood posts like cheap yard signs. Trellis with hanging fabric with cheap-looking patterns that looked like samples from Joanne's Fabrics... attached to structure that looked like playground set... not really developed. This idea of walking between hanging things has been done by countless others way better. A couple other sculptures were interesting themselves, but supports were so not thought through or developed. Looked like an afterthought, and attracted more attention or equal to the work. The "crystal" one was more interesting, but seems too precious to be outdoors. It's more of an indoor piece. Older works by Dan Graham, Jaume Plesna, Jim Dine, Joseph Wheelwright, Marianna Pineda are great. Smallest Kenneth Snelson I have ever seen... I counted 10 interesting works. 10. And indoor museum is closed for renovation. $14 entry, out of way location. Not coming back unless they dramatically improve curation. Look at New Orleans Museum of Art's sculpture garden for some inspiration. Storm King might be out of this league, but NOMA should be comparable.

my brother and I visited Lexington, and enjoyed an amazing day of learning. We ended our tour at…read morethe Hancock Clark , and I'm glad we did. Even when we arrived close to the end of the day, our curator Carol still took us through the and treated us with such professionalism. Thank you, Lexington Historical Society for all that you do.

For the package deal of $15 you can visit this house and two others (Buckman Tavern and Munroe…read moreTavern), otherwise it's $8 per house. This house was probably the most extensive tour of the 3 - it starts with a 10 minute video introducing you to what happened that morning in April 1775. You're then brought into the well-kept house by a guide who introduces you to this beautiful home built by Thomas Clark, a wealthy book maker, for his parents who were in ministry. You can hear how much thought, money, and planning was put into the house through the guide's stories. This house is known for housing John Hancock and Samuel Adams on the big night - they were on the run with rewards on their heads. They escaped right in the nick of time when Paul Revere came to warn them to get out. It's absolutely fantastic to be able to see the original architecture and imagine the history that went on there. Guides are very informative and very enthusiastic about the house and everything in it. I'd recommend doing the package deal - the tickets never expire so even if you don't get to all 3 and want to come back another time or give the tickets to someone else to use, you can do that!

Other than being a pain to get to without a car, it's a place filled with fantastic historyread more

would overall recommend this free museum! there's a good variety of different things on display…read more friendly staff. not busy. also a little library attached.

Great staff and there so much to see. Being able to see some of these innovations in real life,…read morethat I had only previous seen in history books or documentaries was pretty neat. My favorite part was to see some of the belt driven machinery actually work. We had visited the day after a person had come and replaced some of the belts. We were able to see a belt driven (automated) saw cut through a chunk of metal. It was an impromptu demo as we were walking around the the staff member saw us examining this particular piece of equipment (with our eyes of course). And he started it up for us. Again...staff is really enthusiastic and engaging. We also got to see where they do hands on workshops, where kids can design and print things in 3D, which is pretty cool. They had a nice even space as well for smaller weddings/events. Easy parking (pay) in a nearby garage and a easy walk across the bridge/walkway to get to the museum. If this type of history interests you, I would definitely recommend you stopping by. We were there for a couple of hours and throughly enjoyed the staff showing us around. Cute gift shop as well.

I'm embarrassed to say that I've worked over a decade in this area of Waltham and have never…read morerealized this hidden gem of a historical museum existed. The guys working the front desk are super knowledgeable, funny, helpful and nice. One of them was kind enough to give us a brief intro when we first arrived. They can totally geek out on all sorts of interesting facts, which I live to absorb. Still, I wish I had planned it in advance so we could have a formal tour because there's so much to see. Before coming here I had no idea that Massachusetts held such a rich industrial heritage. We spent two hours exploring the two story museum. There were plenty of interactive exhibits (great for the kiddos and adults) and each time we looped around the museum we found something else we missed the first time going through. This place is a haven especially for those who are interested in history and engineering. They had antique bikes, wooden cars, steam fire engines, watchmaking tools, belt driven machines, typography machines, horse drawn fire truck, and even a phone booth! They also do a great job of mixing in some modern and new exhibits (e.g., we saw whimsical puppetry paintings by Tanya Harsch). The second floor also has a beautiful and grand ballroom space (perfect for corporate events or weddings). I can't wait to come back here. Whether you are local or from out of town I'd highly recommend a visit.

My mom and I visited the Gropius House when we spent a day in Concord a week or so ago, and it was…read moreincredible. Walter Gropius was one of the most influential architects of the 20th century. He founded the Bauhaus, a German art, design, and architecture school in 1919. It's incredible how influential Bauhaus was and continues to be, considering it only lasted until 1933 (when it was closed by the Nazis). Gropius left Nazi Germany in 1934 and arrived in the United States in February 1937, with his wife and 12-year-old daughter. Gropius became a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and built this house in Lincoln, Massachusetts, for himself and his family. Gropius lived in the house until his death in 1969, and his wife lived in the house until own death in 1983. The house opened to the public in 1985, operated by Historic New England. I arranged a tour in advance for my mom and me, and about 5 other people joined our tour. Our tour guide Christine showed us around both floors of the house. She was great and so was the tour! The house is really incredible. It features design elements of Gropius and Bauhaus, but Gropius also featured design elements inspired by New England (the exterior's vertically-oriented white planks and stone elements). The house is just cool - an incredible staircase in the entry hall, an open coatroom, glass blocks, and more. On the tour, you can enter every room of the house, and there's so much to say about each one. The furniture is incredible, and so is the art. The Gropiuses had famous and talented friends that stayed at the house, and the house is filled with art and mementos from those friends. The tour is incredible. If you're at all interested in architecture, this house is a must visit!

Beautifully executed house by Gropius is a must see for architects or anyone interested in…read moremodernism. It is very well maintained, and the guides are well informed.

With the 250th anniversary of the American Revolutionary War, we wanted to pay tribute to the…read moreglorious patriots who made sacrifices for this country! It is about 20 to 30 miles northwest of Boston, the drive is scenic especially when you start driving through all of the little towns leading to Lexington and Concord. The main attraction for our visit was to visit the north bridge memorial site where the first shots of the war began at 5am on Apr 19,1775 dubbed the "shot heard around the world" There is also a marker for the two British soldiers killed here. The site is spread out and will require some hiking if you would like to see the entire trail. I believe it was 5 to 7 miles on foot to see everything. The visit was amazing and awe inspiring! I highly recommend any history buff to visit.

Great park on the start of the American Revolution. Although it's only open seasonally, there is a…read moregreat exhibit at the visitor's center with a great video explanation of the start of the war. The presentation is very thorough and engaging. The gift shop has decent items. Grab a map, then on a nice day it's a great walk / stepping down the same road history took the English and Americans to face each other. Some of the sites are walkable and some are a little further, but there are parking areas along the way. The tavern wasn't open when I went, but there are tour options throughout the summer. We ended out outing at North Bridge, which is another great site. On a nice weather day, you could easily spend a few hours here. It's a unique site in our nation's history, and it's a lot of fun and good times outdoors.

My nephew had just finished potty training not long before our visit and it was very much worth the…read moreeffort of me walking and him tricycling to the museum from his daycare on a very hot day. We definitely over-estimated how long we would need to tour the museum, but what a special treat to have the collection available (and free!) for visiting by appointment!

I'm a little flushed after experiencing this hidden gem in Watertown! I went there for a holiday…read moreparty and what a great space. It's a large open room with a mezzanine with exposed brick all kinds of antique plumbing fixtures and tools. My only regret was not using the actual bathroom to see if there was anything special there.

After we left Boston on our recent organized guided tour of New England fall foliage we stopped…read morebriefly here before heading to Hyannis. The first shots occurred here which started the American Revolutionary War. There is a statue of Captain John Parker, leader of the Lexington militia. The flag flies 24 hours a day. Across the street from the Battle Green is Buckman Tavern and the visitor center.

A good pause for any history buff. The green is exactly that - just a patch of grass the middle of…read moretown. There is a historical marker and a statue but not much else to see. We unfortunately did not have time for the visitors center, or the surrounding historical building tour but I would recommend it if time allows.

As 1 of 3 of historical homes in a package deal for $15, this house is different from the others in…read morethat it tells both the story of an colonial family but also tells the story of the British. It really puts a lens on their experience, which you don't often hear. It was humbling to remember that they're people too and to imagine they didn't want this to happen either, was a very interesting perspective. The guide that shows you through this house was informative, enthusiastic, and great all in all. You start with a 5 minute video about the redcoat experience and then you're taken through the rest of the house. They tell you about the colonials that owned it, who ran out of the house to hide in the woods knowing that the redcoats would likely come back, how the redcoats broke into the house to use it as a temporary hospital or break as reinforcements met up with the original group and led them back to Boston. Such a great tour. Such a great house. Definitely worth the time!

From the owner: Built in 1735, this important tavern was taken over and used by the British Redcoat troops on their…read moreretreat back to Boston in the afternoon of April 19, 1775. Learn about the British perspective of the day's events and see where President Washington dined when he visited Lexington and this Tavern in 1789. Highlights: Relics of the Redcoats exhibit, Garden of Colonial Flowers, Museum Shop.