This museum has something for everybody. Whether you are a youngster wanting to control your train…read morearound a track or an older "youngster" reliving the experience of the trains you used to have or any age in between, this is a must see museum when you are in Western Pennsylvania. The upstairs HO scale display is a thing of beauty and of the history of the rails in Western PA as close to the real trains and buildings existing in the 1950s. Well worth the price of admission and the caretakers/hobbyists are there to provide information or answer questions about the display or about the history of the museum.

I have been to model train exhibits before and have always enjoyed them. Usually these exhibits…read moreare modest in size because of the time, money, hands and other resources required to build and maintain them. Additionally, in my experience they are usually meant to portray hypothetical settings rather than resemble actual places. So, I was quite surprised at both the scope of this particular project as well as the fact that this is a miniaturized cross section of the city of Pittsburgh from 1953 that stretches from downtown toward Ohio Pyle and beyond. Its many historical details are pleasingly accurate as anyone can attest to through research on the internet. For me, I had the privilege of having my Dad and Uncle there (both of whom were living in Pittsburgh in that year and were excited at getting to walk through their childhood city). Walking through the room and experiencing it through their eyes made it perhaps even more enjoyable. I would strongly recommend this to anyone who has an interest in this very specific category of art. It is definitely worth the entrance fee. Also, a huge shout-out to those who worked on creating this masterpiece. Please keep it up!

The Beaver Area Heritage Museum is located near the bridge from Beaver to Rochester just south of…read moreBeaver's main drag. It is worth a visit. The museum is opened limited hours however you can stop by anytime to take a close up peek at an 1802 Log House on the property. It is really neat and you and you can peek inside the log house too and see what it looks like and imagine what it would have been like to live in it. Free parking lot in between the museum main building and the log house. There is also a working historic drinking water fountain out front of the museum.

In an otherwise unassuming house you walk in through a chilly hallway, down some stairs to the…read morebasement and are immediately greeted by a... lighthouse. The lighthouse is the structure of this otherwise previously dilapidated home, where you can see remnants of its past... look up from your spot in the basement and you can see tile from the kitchen and the opening for where the pipes were once attached. Enter the lighthouse and feel how real it is -- save for being hidden from the world outside rather than visible for all travelers, lighting their way. Enjoy the living space in the middle complete with a curved bed and cooling area and a few books to make the time go by. Travel higher to the attic, and see the top of this lighthouse, going round and round and shunting light like a kaleidoscope through an intricate glass 'shade'. Make your way partway back down to what used to be a bathroom, fit with a clawfoot tub and tacky retro curtain to match the typical pink tile if the time. Then venture outside and down the stairs after contemplating the black color of the semi-burnt (deliberately) wood to honor the history of the home. Take a loop in the backyard flush with coastal grasses growing wild around a massive orange cone. Bottom line: Weird, authentic-feeling to lighthouses and the coast (although I wonder if the non-native species are okay...?), and worth a stroll.

The latest of 3 art houses in Troy Hill, Darkhouse, Lighthouse has generated substantial excitement…read moreand acclaim by imbedding a lighthouse in the middle of a house. As you move your way through the house to the top floor, you are able to see the authentic Fresnel Lens, which is both beautiful and compelling. Touring the art houses is free, and the online booking has made the process easier than ever. It's difficult to describe, however a visit to Darkhouse Lighthouse is experiential, self reflective, and fun.

I have been here on more than a few occasions, going all the way back to school field trips as a…read morechild. Generally, it's a pretty cool place to visit and explore. This time we checked out an "Experience" from our local library, which allows free admission. This program is great, and allows you to visit Meadowcroft, plus the Heinz History Center, and the Fort Pitt Museum. In the morning, we explored the visitor center and the Native American Village. We liked throwing the Atlatl, which launches big, spear-like darts at a fake deer target to see if you can get them to stick. Afterwards, we left the site to go have lunch about 15 minutes away, and then did a short hike at Cross Creek Lake, where we saw a historic Truss Bridge from 1881. We came back to Meadowcroft, and climbed the steps to the Rock Shelter. We had seen this before, but we were able to experience some excavation work with the staff and scientists. We saw a recent discovery of a chipped flint that was 3,000 years old. Afterwards, we finished exploring the rest of the property. We liked throwing axes, playing double ball, and some other games. The old museum part was slightly disappointing, as it smelled heavily of mold, and I didn't want to stay in the buildings because of the smell. Neat old coaches and wagons in there, but I saw them before, so we were in and out quickly. Lastly, we did the Historic Covered Bridge (looks like it was re-done recently with new wood), the school, church, blacksmith shop and log cabin. All pretty cool to see. Overall, a nice day here at Meadowcroft ... Cheers!

Not too far from Pittsburgh (~1 hr) but the narrow 2 lane rural desolate Google Map route was white…read moreknuckling. All the docents were immersed in their roles. We threw spears and tomahawk. The geologist at the rock shelter was very interesting. There was a guest from Toronto who drove up from Wheeling to visit Meadowcroft. The conference center is still under construction. The bathrooms are open. Lots of stalls that are roomy. The gift shop was a great starting and ending point.

This newly renovated historic schoolhouse is now home to both the Bethel Park Historical Society,…read moreand Reginald's Coffee Shop. They really did an excellent job with the restoration, and decorating the place into a museum. Today I did a quick glance around just to see what they had, but I will surely be back to look around more in the future. P.S. The coffee shop is excellent, highly recommend ... Cheers!

This festival is and annual event that takes place on Labor day weekend, Thursday - Sunday. It is…read morevery well attended every year. The church runs this event incredibly well. Wonderful food, live music, folk dancing & artisans selling their wares. The Gyro tent outside has many great options & inside the churches event center are many of the Greek classic dinner options. ( you may have to wait a bit to get inside. Long lines) We dined outside, the food was good, the beer was cold and our sweet treats were yummy.

Great as always. Went with their new "Yinzer Gyro" which is the same as a regular gyro, but with…read morethe addition of French fries and feta. Honestly was amazing. Hit the spot. Would 100% recommend. Also had to snag a very large helping of the Kataifi from the pastry line. Easily one of the best (cookies???) I've ever eaten in my life. Overall, 10/10. Love this festival, I look forward to it every year.

Creative theater company located Downtown…read more Their annual fundraiser, BUS, is a frenzied 24 race to perform collaborative, dazzling, cutting edge theater, all in the space of 24 hours. Their venue is a very hip space in a restored building. Their Midnight Radio is a perennial favorite. They call it immersive theater, I just call it exhilarating and fun!

My family attended the production of "The Forest of Everywhere" and had an amazing time. It was my…read morefirst immersive theatre experience and I was impressed with the costumes and set design. The entire theater was transformed into an enchanted forest with various animals that need help. My 2-year-old and I got to awaken an ancient tree, participate in a forest sing along, feed bugs to an Australian alpaca, dance with a donkey, and get photobombed by an ostrich. Shows like "The Forest of Everywhere" and production companies like Bricolage are going to help generations of kids fall in love with theater!

I saw ceramic Christmas tree painting events advertised on Facebook and decided to give it a go…read more The prices were a bit high for what I was expecting, but I splurged since making my own ceramic tree has been something I've wanted to do for a long time. Price points started at $65 for a small tree and up to $150 for a large one. My mom and I each got medium sized trees, which I think are about 12 inches tall. Painting other stuff there might be cheaper, but I'm not sure. The staff people on the day of the event were super nice and helpful. The directions were pretty straight forward: Paint three layers of your desired color on the tree and base and then it would take 2 to 3 weeks to fire and finish off. There were lots of paint colors with three or four kinds of finishes to choose from. They give you some recommendations and guidance if you ask. I ended up going with a blue ombre one. When they texted me the day it was ready to pick up, I drove back out that day to get it because I was so excited. It turned out beautiful! The light kit that came with it wasn't great. The lights were too small for the holes, so I bought replacement ones online and it's perfect. I would definitely recommend this place and do it again, but probably for special occasions since it can get pricey.

My sister and I took my mother here as an early Christmas gift to make ceramic Holiday trees. It…read morewas really fun. The staff helped everyone throughout the class with questions. They were even down to help picking colors that would look well together. I'm looking forward to taking more classes here in the future. I decided to make a Halloween tree since it's my favorite holiday.