Being a devoted fan of children's picture books, visiting the Eric Carle Museum was truly amazing…read more Unlike New York, there isn't a similar museum there. The space was spacious with high ceiling. I stumbled upon interesting books with unfamiliar authors. The staff were friendly, and they offer engaging activities for kids. I can see the value in this place. No cafe is available but there is a snack vending machine and indoor and outdoor seating. There is a water bottle refill machine. I would advise to grab some food first at Atkins Farms as it is a just a few minutes' drive away. It offers a convenient option. Overall, I had a positive experience and I recommend others to come visit this unique place.

I found the Eric Carle Museum a bit underwhelming for the price. I also wasn't really sure who the…read moretarget audience was. The museum has two galleries, a paint room, a library, and an auditorium. Personally, I could spend a decent amount of time reading through the gallery exhibits, but younger kids can't really see or reach a lot of them, so I think they'd get bored pretty quickly. There are a few interactive activities like creating your own recipe or using the peg boards but they felt a little gimmicky rather than being a core part of the experience. The paint room was probably the highlight for kids since there were lots of supplies and things to create, but I didn't see anything my son couldn't already do at home. With that said, kids could probably spend an hour or more here so it should definitely keep them busy. That's kind of where the museum confuses me. I thought this was aimed at younger kids but many of the exhibits are better appreciated by adults. At the same time, older kids will probably find the children's activities too basic. It ends up feeling like it's trying to appeal to everyone without fully committing to one audience. Admission should be much cheaper or donation based. If you're visiting the area, check with your local library first because many libraries offer free passes, and that's definitely the way I'd recommend going. Ironically, I think I'd enjoy coming back by myself more than with my kids. I'd take my time going through the galleries and learning about Eric Carle's work. With young kids though, I found myself feeling rushed because they weren't really engaged. I could also see it being a worthwhile visit for aspiring writers, illustrators, or anyone interested in children's literature.

The Beneski Museum of Natural History is on the Amherst College campus and is one of those smaller…read moremuseums that consistently surprises visitors who arrive without strong expectations. We walked into a building that is modern and elegantly designed, spotlessly maintained, and organized in a way that made navigation intuitive across the three floors. The collection spans three floors and covers fossils, dinosaur skeletons, mineral and gemstone specimens, and an extensive dinosaur track collection with particular connections to the Connecticut River Valley, which produced some of the most significant dinosaur trackways in North America. The dinosaur material is the centerpiece. Two full mammoth skeletons, a T. rex skull, and a range of other fossil specimens give the collection a visual impact that larger natural history museums with more resources and more famous specimens would be proud to have. The dinosaur tracks are a specific strength and the connection to local geology adds a regional dimension that makes the collection feel distinct rather than generic. Staff and professors associated with the collection were present and willing to answer questions in depth, which gave our visit a more engaged quality than a self guided tour at a larger institution typically offers. The museum is free and open to the public, which makes it an easy addition to any visit to the Amherst area without any planning required. For a small college museum that delivers a world class fossil collection in a beautiful modern space, the Beneski Museum of Natural History is a hidden gem in western Massachusetts and well worth a stop. It is the kind of place where you go in for a quick look and end up spending an hour without realizing it.

This place is about as awesome as it gets. I took my 8 year old son and my 70 year old mother, and…read morewe all had a great time walking around the three levels. The staff was very friendly, and my son was super happy to chat them up about the different things on display, and share what he knew with them. We spent about two hours, and we could easily head back again.

Amazing museum that's free! There's a wide variety of art from around the world and from different…read moretime periods. There are many priceless works in the collection like art from Claude Monet, Georgia O'Keefe, Auguste Rodin, and more. There are 4 floors to explore, and don't forget to use the lower level bathrooms! Both bathrooms are full of art and absolutely beautiful. I'd recommend checking out BOTH bathrooms since the art is different in each. The museum gift shop also has a variety of beautiful, high-quality, and unique gifts. During my most recent visit, I bought Smith College tea as well as a kimono fabric hair clip.

I've enjoyed this museum on several occasions over the years. It's peaceful and educationally…read moreenjoyable.

As someone who has loved and cherished Emily Dickinson's poetry my entire life, I hate to leave…read moresuch a bad review, but it was my honest experience. So, they strongly recommend you order your tickets online to make sure there is enough availability, so I did. However, when we got to the museum, they said something along the lines of our tickets being invalid for some reason. We were a party of elderly and disabled people so if something went wrong on their online system or the ticket order wasn't processed correctly we should not be punished. They refused to let us in, but at least we could walk around the grounds for free, and they were truly very lovely; unfortunately, the people who run the museum are not.

I want to kick this review off with a fact nugget- I knew NOTHING about Emily Dickinson (except…read morethat she was a poet) before I planned my trip the prior week to visiting the museum. This was a learning experience. It was Mother's Day weekend and also the museums 41st annual poetry walk to celebrate the anniversary of Emily's death. This is really what caught my eye- I love special events. So here are two review in one: Poetry walk Review: You report to the home, pick up a pamphlet that identifies the poem that will be read at each stop along the way along with a map of the stops and your daisies (her favorite flower.) Note: you are asked to pre-register online for the event (I mean they need to know how many pamphlets and daisies!) Off you go! We knew we were going to make it for maybe one stop and the cometary (last stop) due to an early morning tee ball game I wasn't going to miss. So that's what happened, we were able to stop at one poetry stop right outside the cemetery where they read two poems aloud and people were able to ask questions. The final stop is visiting Emily at her family plot in the West Cemetery (take a look at that mural on your left as you start waling into the cemetery with Emily in the center.) As we neared her tombstone, they were passing out cups of lemonade for a noon toast to Emily. They told some facts about the cemetery, a song was song that was inspired by Emily's writing and then one of her poems was read. We then raised our glasses and cheers to the woman herself. After the toast, everyone took their daisies and gently placed them on or around her headstone or the gate to the family's plot. It was nice to walk back through town as we grabbed lunch and then scooted back to the house for our 2pm pre-purchased entry into the house. Very nice event. The House Review: First off- no parking on site. Based on my experience- I would suggest not visiting the house during the week when college is in session! Around the house most parking spots are permit parking only for the college. With the event happening as well, it was hard to find parking. The Dickinson house has bene restored to Emily's writing hay day. As much as we did not have a guided tour (those happen in the morning) there were people stationed in each room who were a wealth of information. I had a lot of questions and they were not stumped and answered beautifully. I learnt a lot from all these fine folks who were just so interested in her, the family and the historical aspects. Thank you! (I really asked a lot of questions.) Austin's house, The Evergreen House, next door is preserved. Very different from Emily's. One has frozen in time and one has been reinvigorated to present the time. Walking through Austin's home was quite interesting as well. Their art is very interesting. I do enjoy how the museum opted to treat each house differently. I have mixed feelings after my trip about Emily and her poems especially the heavy editing but none the less very impressed with the museum and the people working there- vast amounts of knowledge that they were easily willing to share.

The university's art museum is free, though they did ask me for a zip code for some reason as I was…read moreobviously not local. It was bigger than it looked from the outside; not what you'd find in a major city by any means but there were several rooms and there was enough content there to spend the better part of an hour on in brief. Some people were having academic conversations that may well have lasted longer. Their principal exhibition was a variety of Native American (and Australian) works which provided a robust overview of a wide variety of cultures. Some of the other exhibitions were kind of screechy and political and didn't really offer much as art, but they rotate exhibits and some variation in quality is expected. The parts where they let art speak for itself were worth visiting.

Hello!! A James Baldwin exhibit!!! Say no more. I'm not a huge fan of fossils and antiquity, it's…read moreimportant but bores me. But photographs and art and letters from someone like my boyfriend Baldwin!!! I'm all in. Amhurst is small and there's not a ton to do. This gives you an excuse to walk around campus and save some brain cells.

I went to Summer Saturday Tea at this house a couple of weeks ago. English black tea was served on…read morethe back porch, with scrumptious desserts available for order and a lovely band playing music. It's a splendid summer experience! I highly recommend stopping in and checking out the calendar - you can see which bands are playing which Summer Saturdays and pick one! I had to get a couple of refills of the tea since the pots were so small, but it was delicious!

Great old house with lots of history and beautiful grounds. Tour guides were very knowledgable and…read moreso helpful. Would highly recommend a visit

David Ruggles, born free in Lyme CT, became a printer and journalist championing the Abolitionist…read moreMovement. He aided Frederick Douglas's escape from Maryland and assisted Douglas in reuniting with his wife Anna. Ruggles was a sales agent and wrote articles for the Emancipator and The Liberator, both antislavery newspapers. He was in involved in The Free Produce Movement which boycotted produce and products produced by slaves. He was the secretary of The New York Committee of Vigilance, a biracial organization that assisted fugitive slaves from the South and informed them of their rights in the free state of New York. David Ruggles was active in the Underground Railroad and is said to have led 600 slaves to freedom in the North. Frederick Douglas owes much to Ruggles as he was radicalized by him and went on to become one of the the most prominent black figures in the antislavery movement.

They are not clear and do not advertise their policies on their web site. I drove 3 hours to visit,…read morethinking if the great Yiddish stories that I read from the advice of, and guided by the wisdom of, my great uncle. It was only when I arrived -- in the Summer of 2022 -- that I found they had a mask policy that prevented those of us with medical conditions that make such things dangerous from entering. They have the right to exclude whoever they wish, but to do so without clearly advertising the exclusionary policy is irresponsible. Shame on these curators.

Great museum Loved it Book center. i'm glad that Yiddish…read moreculture stays alive. what a gem GO here you prob won't regret it if you love yiddish culture

Weird. I'm visiting Northampton for a few days and thought I'd check out their museum. When I…read morewalked in I was greeted and informed that part of the museum was closed for a new exhibit. The greeter looked me up and down and said flatly "you can leave your stuff on that table". The table she referred to was small and I asked if I could put my backpack near the coat rack. She responded "I don't care about the backpack. Im worried about that coffee" and pointed to the coffee in my hands. I suppose the vague description "stuff" was to imply my cup of coffee? She then asked me if I would give a donation stating "we're broke and could use all the money we can get". I said "sure" and dropped in the little amount of cash I had and entered the museum. The greeter then turned and walked into another room. The museum is one, very small room that has probably 4-5 cases that display some antiques donated by community members. I was less than impressed with not only the small state of the museum but also the service. The one thing this place has going for it is that it's free.

I just visited Historic Northampton today to see the Making it on Main Street exhibit. It was very…read moreinformative, giving a great deal of information on the formation and development of Northampton's Main Street. It did not shy away from unpleasant topics such as treatment of Native Americans and slavery. The quality of the displays rivals those found in larger museums. Kudos to Historic Northampton. You need to make time to see this exhibit before it is gone!