When I saw on social media that the Pennsylvania State Museum was offering Pay As You Wish…read moreadmission throughout July in celebration of America's 250th birthday, I figured it was the perfect excuse to revisit a place I hadn't been in...about 23 years. I vividly remembered visiting as a kid, especially the planetarium, and since the museum is scheduled to close for major renovations beginning in August, it felt like the right time to see it one last time before the transformation. Normally, adult admission is only $6, but during July visitors could choose what they wanted to pay. My choice? $0. Thank you very much! I arrived around 1:30pm on a Saturday afternoon and easily found parking right outside the museum. The weather was beautiful, so I expected most people were outside enjoying the sunshine rather than spending the afternoon indoors. That worked out well for me because the museum never felt crowded, making it easy to explore at my own pace. At the admissions desk, the employee explained that only the second and third floors were open and that the planetarium had already closed in preparation for the upcoming renovations. I'll admit...that was a bit of a bummer. The planetarium was one of the things I remembered most vividly from childhood, and I had been looking forward to experiencing it again. But...you get what you pay for. And in this case, I paid exactly zero dollars. I spent about an hour and a half wandering through the exhibits, and while I enjoyed taking my time, I found myself a little underwhelmed. The highlight of the visit was, without question, standing beneath the towering 18-foot William Penn statue once again. Seeing it as a forty-something adult immediately brought back memories of seeing it as a kid, and that little wave of nostalgia alone made me smile. My biggest disappointment, though, was the number of replica artifacts throughout the museum. I understand that replicas certainly have a place, especially when preserving fragile originals, but I found myself wishing there were more authentic historical objects on display. For me, that's part of what makes museums special. I can see photos and reproductions online. Standing in front of something that actually witnessed Pennsylvania's history is an entirely different experience. I'm not sure whether many of the original artifacts have already been removed because of the upcoming renovations or whether this has always been the museum's approach. Either way, it wasn't what I expected. I also noticed that several exhibit areas were extremely dark, making it difficult to read some of the informational panels. I'm not sure whether that was intentional or simply part of preparing the museum for renovation, but it definitely affected the experience. Overall, I'm glad I went. I satisfied my curiosity. I revisited a piece of my childhood. And I was reminded that Pennsylvania has a fascinating story to tell. That said, I probably don't need to visit again until the renovations are complete...maybe. I'm genuinely hopeful the upcoming improvements will better showcase the history, innovation, creativity and natural beauty of the Keystone State. As a lifelong Pennsylvanian, I'd love to see our state museum become the kind of place that leaves visitors walking out saying, "Wow...I had no idea." When it reopens, I'll consider giving it another chance. Maybe. If they bring back another Pay As You Wish promotion? There would be a stronger chance I'd check it out again.

I love museums, so on a weekend trip to Hershey and Harrisburg, I made the stop with my girlfriend…read moreand 11-year-old son. We found parking right outside of the museum - $8 for two hours. The State Capitol building is right next door, so it would be easy to combine the two and make a whole day of it. We went to the NJ State Museum in Trenton last spring, and this museum was a lot better. It helps that they charge admission in PA, whereas they do not in NJ, and the money is used to create a clean, informative and well-curated museum. Like NJ, this is a hodgepodge museum of all things related to Pennsylvania, including companies and products created in the state, its Native American and prehistoric histories, notable PA residents, and of most interest to my son, animal dioramas to rival those in the Mammal Halls of the Museum of Natural History in NYC. This museum is big with a ton of interesting things to read and see. For a Saturday in November, it was not that crowded at all. Overall, it's definitely worth seeing at least once and definitely worth the very cheap cost of admission.

It's a great gem of a museum. There's lots to see and learn about American history. If you're…read moreinterested in American history, I highly recommend this museum.

Really well laid out museum, with amazing artifacts. Definitely worth the trip. We appreciated the…read morefamily deal as a family of 5 with 2 adults and 3 students that saved us a little on admission. The museum itself is beautiful, clean, well maintained and we practically had the place to ourselves which was really neat and also a little creepy sometimes lol There was definitely moments that were heavy to soak in especially at the beginning of the exhibits. They are portraying moments in our history to put things into perspective, the mindset to understand the times so that you can experience the rest of the chronological exhibits. Overall, highly recommend especially for middle school aged and up and especially if you plan to also visit Gettysburg.

This is an amazing gallery! If you are looking for a gift for someone special, or a treat for…read moreyourself, be sure to visit. You will find stunning jewelry, unique sculptures, and ornaments by Lynn Shirk, a local artist. There are even note cards to make an extra special get well or birthday greeting. Then there are the original fine art works by owner Joan Maguire. Her paintings and prints are extraordinary. Be sure to see the striking work by Cuban artists who are exhibiting in the USA for the first time, Oscar Rodriguez Lasseria and Leidy Laura Fernandez Gallo. You can follow on Facebook or visit on the web, too, at hersheyart.com.

As oxymoronic as this is going to sound, this place was educationally fun. But that's only if you…read morecan appreciate learning something that you didn't know before. As a head's up, I visited back in September and I was told that they were in the process of moving items to a new location. So my take on that is that a lot of what is here will be moved/moving very soon to a new location. Throughout my visit you would come across certain areas that were covered over in preparation for moving. Being a born and raised Pennsylvanian I had no idea how much of an impact York had on the nation in respect to advancements in industry and agriculture. To say that York played a part in a lot of things might be an understatement. When I say I learned something here, I mean it. I had no idea that York had it's own automotive manufacturing or that the huge ice machine was thought up and created in York. For this museum to focus on just the industry and agriculture, and to be able to fill three large spaces (enough to have to move) should be telling you something. York is not only known for some automotive manufacturing, but they also went back a bit further than that. Bicycles, horse carriages, to horse drawn sleds. You can throw in there some aquatic movement as well as trains and streetcars. When you enter the industry area, my best suggestion is to go up the ramp and then head down the ramp and take the stairs. You will go through eras of the area. Then you move into the agricultural side where you see many pieces of equipment that were used to farm the lands and produce the food. Also in this area you see that Rutter's (sorry, not my go to convenience store in PA) started out as a dairy farm. Who knew? Not me, but I am sure that people from York and surrounding areas knew. There is also a spot in here that you can kind of get the feel of what it would have been like to work in a barn/on a farm. As you make your way through the agricultural section you kind of go back into industry. Did you know that York made dental products. I mean like the false teeth that you might have to get one day in your mouth. Other things that I did not realize being made in York: barbells, pottery, and snowmobiles. Before heading out of this last section of this portion, be sure to stop and look at/interact with the siren. And take a good moment to play around at the telephone area. Rotary phones up to dial tones. You can call numbers that connect the phones and hear the rings of the phones. Then as you head upwards to the main level again, stop and take a gander at the 275 time capsule. The last portion of this place is gigantic in size. It has to be as they pieces in here aren't meant to be moved or displayed in low ceiling rooms. This is where you will see the ice machine, firetruck, and the huge electric sign. One last thing I want to touch on here was the staff. They were super nice and very informative of the museum itself. They were also very knowledgeable of everything else in York. I ended up chatting with the lady at the front desk for a bit. When I entered they were having a bit of trouble with their computer system and they were doing the honor system with me. I had to pay on my way out, don't worry, I checked back in and paid. It was nice of them to do that, or else I might not have had a chance to enjoy this museum.

They moved the museum into a new building a while back which greatly improved it. Clean all around,…read moretime consuming, interesting, and interactive. Would consider coming back.

If you're sans kids and looking for something different on the 3rd Friday of the month, Whitaker…read moreCenter's Night Shift is it. For $10 (cash preferred) you get admission, a drink voucher, and two hours to play with science exhibits... with a beer or wine in hand. Think Night at the Museum meets a cash bar. 100% yes. Adventure Buddy's highlight was the RaceIT exhibit, where he built and raced cars -- only to lose to my championship Houpe-De-Ville (sorry, not sorry). My favorite? The Hurricane Chamber that blasted winds up to 91mph. Cool? More like cold. I almost lost my contact lenses. Totally worth it. Even though the exhibits are geared toward kids, there's something magical about rediscovering them as an adult. Nostalgia hits, curiosity kicks in, and the 21+ crowd makes the vibe peaceful, playful, and fun. Between touching a tornado, watching turtles migrate across Earth, and laughing at ourselves while sipping drinks, it was an inexpensive, unique date night during 3rd in the Burg. Highly recommend pawning off the crotchgoblins with grandma and checking it out.

Great place to bring kids for an indoor activity. Our kids 5 and 3 really enjoyed it. The dinosaur…read moreexhibit was really nicely done with moving dinosaurs. Lots of interactive things for the kids and adults to do. On the upper floor there was a cute play area for kids under 6 that included a shopping area, doctor zone, construction and building area. Everyone was really nice and space was clean. It was not busy which made it nice. We parked in the structure nearby and they did not validate and you have to pay using a QR code. We will definitely be back with the kids next time we need a nice indoor activity.

I had been eyeing this place for awhile on Groupon and when myself and some girlfriends attended a…read morewomen's day event at the Hershey Lodge (way back in February) and came across their booth, I wanted to stop and check it out. We were able to buy a gift certificate directly from him a the Groupon price. I recommend giving him a call and asking about the deal he'll offer -- BUY LOCAL!!! First I have to say...Laird is very talented, loves what he does and you can tell. He's friendly and straight to the point when giving instructions. I highly recommend a visit to his cute little shop. When you walk in, his artwork is everywhere! From jewelry to glass creations and amazing stained glass art -- this is a great unique place to shop for gifts. He offers many different classes as well. Grab some of your girlfriends (or guy friends!!) and try one of his very reasonably priced classes. Parking is in a lot next to the building (off street parking). I bought a certificate for two to try the mosaic class. It is offered on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 6 pm. I dragged my boyfriend along to get him to try something out of his comfort zone, and he enjoyed this first time experience. For the mosaic class we were given a nice size square "stone." Laird gave us some instructions and showed us where to pick our glass pieces that we were going to use. If taking this class, have something in mind BEFORE you show up as he leaves the design entirely up to you. He did show us a couple of examples of his work, but there was no way either one of us could stand up to his talent!! I felt like I took a little time trying to decide what design I wanted to do. No worries, I came up with a kind of "wave" idea and went with that. He has some really cool color glass and I already have an idea of what I would do on my next visit :) Just a tip: For those of you with longer nails, the tiny glass pieces can be challenging to pick up and place!! But I managed.... This class was fun and I highly recommend a visit/class!!

Took a class here to make some items listed on their website and it was a lot of fun. The owner,…read moreLaird is a great instructor and he makes the projects seem less intimidating, especially if you're not a crafty person. Great for couples or small group of friends.

One of the top automotive museums I've been to. Two levels of exhibits. Lots of cars. Also a…read moresection with motorcycles. A Lionel train layout on the lower level. Plus special exhibits. In our mid-March 2026 visit, there was a SAAB exhibit and a large section with hot rods & souped up old cars. The cars shown are mostly US ones. Tickets are reasonably priced. What we saw had a lot of 1950s - early 1960s emphasis. Some exhibits gave me a "Happy Days" vibe. Others got me thinking of the Beach Boys SoCal tunes. There were interesting side exhibits for drive-in theatres & roadside diners. We could step into the counter area of the diner. Ask for Flo ;-) Other eras represented as well, including the earlier half of the 20th Century. If you are the area & like cars or US pop culture history, this a great spot to visit.

Great place for Car Guys to go and see the history of cars. They have at least 30 cars and over 30…read moremotorcycles and bikes. The atmosphere is great.

Carlisle Art & Frame did beautiful work framing a hand drawn portrait of my baby boy. They handled…read morethe artwork delicately and the framed picture is now proudly on display at home in a nice frame. I highly recommend this business!

I miss walking by and seeing their beautiful window displays on my way home at night. One of the…read morefew things I do miss about the city of Carlisle.