Coming from a place where cotton and hand looms were pretty much the life of the people, a lot…read morewhich was stolen by the British imperialists back 300 years away I was still amazed. Yes, I have seen enough of high quality cotton stuff and carding and converting them into threads still this place amazes me. It's a part of the industrial revolution of the west especially a teenage USA. The drop in the water, opportunities for growth etc and then how a planned city nearly dies and coming back while thriving on the diverse culture of immigrants is fascinating. Not to be missed. Park in the visitor center and take the free trolley. Won't take one more than 2-2.5 hours to and from the visitor center.

Excellent place to visit as they talk about the historical impact of millwork on Lowell and how it…read moretransformed the lives of ordinary teenage girls/women in a time where they had almost no economic opportunity. The looms themselves are turned on several times a day so that visitors can experience the loudness of the looms and how fast the weaving takes place. (You do need the ear plugs.) Bathrooms are renovated and are available on both floors. This will take between 1 - 2 hours. The admission fee is $6 for adults.

Love the history that's preserved, staff are incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, best trolley…read moremuseum I've ever been to

What a great, little museum…read more It IS very little, but it's very nice. It's located right in downtown Lowell. There are so many old photos, tickets, turnstiles and other trolley paraphernalia. The second floor is geared toward children, but still good for adults. There's a place for kids to set up their own train tracks, a party room for birthdays, a small trolley car that kids can sit on, a small house that kids can crawl into and play, a computer with trolley-oriented software games and more. See the photos. It's only $3 for adults and $2 for children. With admission, you get coupons for $1 off admission to the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME.

Great experience on every floor. Amazing things to see none stop. Tons of history. Can't believe…read morewhat I learned Thank you

The art is beautiful and varied. There are still lives, landscapes, portraits, sculptures, and even…read morea room full of Whistler's etchings! The staff are friendly and you can take a self or professionally guided tour. The gallery in the back houses local artists with temporary exhibits. This museum is a must see for anyone who enjoys art!

Small museum with a big heart. Our guide was knowledgeable. The museum has some Tewksbury Hospital…read morehistory and some public health history...I learned things I never knew. We took a timed, socially distanced tour - it worked! We hope to visit in the spring to take the outdoor tour next time.

The museum is fine. It's nothing fancy and oddly enough, completely inaccessible to people with…read moredisabilities, and I had to search for a staff member to answer my question about an unlabeled item. But for $5 and a half hour, if you're in the area, fine. Public health is important. Anti vaxxers would hate it but that's their problem. What I am actually sad about is the tour of the hospital grounds, led by an older white woman who seemed informed enough but whose knowledge of history and psychiatric care, etc, was easily outmatched by the children and adults in our group (because the people taking a 90 minute walking tour of a state hospital are not just curious tourists, we all had a specific interest in the history of health.) She simply did not seem to have any real sympathy or empathy for the poor souls held there against their will, and her cheerful demeanor as she led us around would probably be appropriate at another historic site, but not one where people were locked up for life for the crimes of being poor or disabled. She showed us a picture of a row of fat babies in a crib, admitted it was probably staged as most of the kids would be thinner, but didn't mention the well known fact that the majority of infant inmates there died before their first birthday and that their bodies were sold to be dissected. (http://homenewshere.com/tewksbury_town_crier/article_fade0809-5eb1-5269-a6f3-9fbfcb056845.html https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/tewksbury-almshouse-investigation/) To me, a disabled woman, the hospital grounds are a sacred space, a space where thousands upon thousands lived and died and suffered due to the fact that society at the time did not want to deal with them. These attitudes persist today when businesses do not want to make their stores accessible or when schools deny a disabled child needed accommodations. At the time of its opening, Tewksbury hospital was a model for the nation, and today, it has offices for Mass health, the direct model for Obamacare and one of the best public insurance programs in the nation. There is a direct link between yesterday and today, and today, our guide did not even attempt to make it. A small amount of online research makes the place come alive as it did not during the tour, because you are able to find out the actual names and stories of people - very few stories, unfortunately, but many names. This tour had no stories whatsoever, simply random facts about how at that end of that building, the more 'dangerously violent insane' were kept, and how wonderful the farm worked, and how hard people worked, (until their workshops were forced to shut down because there was a law made saying that people had to be paid. This is said as if it were a bad thing......) It is largely just the pointing out of what population was held in this building that is now used for (some program) or, in about half the case, in this building that no longer exists. (Why in heavens name is there a daycare in the building formerly used as the main asylum for mentally ill men?) It is stories that make people come alive. These people are dead, many not very long ago, and their stories are all gone with them. The tour is completely inaccessible to people with sensory disabilities. There are many sections of rotting asphalt road, many stops and starts, few near a place you can sit down, also with one exception you don't get close enough to touch the buildings and not many visual descriptions are given even with a blind person in our group. And although the museum uses up to date language - saying, for example, 'people with mental illness' as has been the standard for years - the guide doesn't bother to, because, she ever-cheerfully explains, they just said 'the insane' then, so that's what she does. It's a poor choice of language and it's a poor tour in general. I do hope that other tour guides are better than ours was. Do go down the road a bit to the cemetery and pay your respects, over 10,000 people are buried there with metal markers that peep up through the leaves. Do think about the lives they led, and the choices that were taken from them as they were locked inside those cells and crowded rooms. Do think about their death and what they mean today to you as a person who maybe benefits from the great public health system of Massachusetts.

I have a life long love of museums...large, small, houses, animals, gems, history, science...they…read moreoffer something for everyone. I've seem plenty of small, 'home grown' museums in my life. More often than not, they are founded and maintained by a passionate group allied around a particular interest. Managed on a shoe string budget with lots of volunteers, they cater to a select group but desire to share their love of a subject or event to the world. The Middlesex Canal Museum is one of these establishments. This transportation corridor played an important role in early 19th century Massachusetts. Today, it has virtually disappeared from the landscape. Other than a sign at the Treble Cove Rd. exit on Highway 3, I doubt many even know this Merrimack to Boston canal ever existed. Unfortunately, the museum does little to connect the canal's history and relevancy to the casual viewer. The rooms that make up the museum are a mish-mosh of photos. laminated graphics, maps, text, and other bits. Its such a random assortment that the casual viewer is unlikely to get anything out of a visit. Still, the docents are passionate about the canal's history and do a better job informing a visitor about the canal's significance than any of the stuff on the walls. The mill complex that houses the museum is a nice piece of architecture and sits in a bucolic location along the Concord River. It's also a short walk to the North Billerica commuter rail stop. If you, too, love small, specialized museums, this is the place for you.

I'm not sure how David can say, "If you, too, love small, specialized museums, this is the place…read morefor you," but give it only two stars. This place is great, and I'll second the passion and enthusiasm of the volunteer docents. Russ was on hand for us yesterday, and he was an agreeable guide for us through the exhibits, which are lovingly assembled and curated. I have often wondered about the Middlesex Canal (living not far from its path in Medford), and this museum does a great job of explaining more about it, its route, how it came to be, and its eventual demise.

Excellent art galleries at UMass Lowell.read more

The Morgan Cultual Center has ever changing exhibits on history as well as many educational…read moreprograms. Check their calendar for events such as dance, music and folk arts. There are also functions relating to Black History Month, Women's Week, Puerto Rican Festival, and Native American Pow wows.

The Morgan Cultural Center is located across from the Booth Mill historical museum and shares space…read morewith the UMASS Lowell library. It offers rotating exhibits (both contemporary and historical). Currently there is a lovely exhibit about the Mill Girls. Good place to visit.