A beautiful hidden gem right in the center of the city!…read more from History, cultural events, art exhibits, music recital, house tours, special costumed tours, Holiday events, Master Gardens and even really cool oddities like the Frog Circus!! Wistariahurst has it all!! Come and visit a gem in your own backyard!!

A gem! Beautiful historic home with guided tours filled with great background on the Skinner…read morefamily, the history of Holyoke industry and interior design, plus a special section on the lives and duties of household staff. Admission $7 for adults, $5 seniors. The adjoining garden and gift shop / museum (free) are also lovely.

Such a deep dive into the history of the making & development of the weapons that shaped the world…read moreof today by preserving the first Armory in America. Well done & maintained displays of different weapons from an early era. A great stop for weapon & history enthusiasts. The Ranger at information desk provided not just info about the Armory, but Springfield in general. We did not know about Dr. Seuss museum if not for him.

My first review somehow went under a different reviewer with same name…read more Trying again, a great NHS that covers the beginning of the weapons industry in Anerica. The displays cover eras and the conflicts during those times through the history of the weapons that were manufactured to be used by those involved. The displays are nicely done, informative and eye catching, especially the damaged weapons case (one was struck by lightning). The Rangers were helpful and willing to share thier knowledge of not just the Armory, but of the local events (fireworks) and the Dr. Seuss museum downtown. We are very appreciative.

Springfield, MA - the Springfield Museums complex is five museums arranged around a courtyard…read moreanchoring the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, with the history museum conveniently located across the street. One admission gets you into all five: 1. The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum 2. Springfield Science Museum 3. Michele and Donald D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts 4. Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History 5. George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum (closed for renovations at this time) Dr. Seuss Museum is the newest addition and an absolute delight - colorful, immersive, and photo-ready. The first floor is pure chaotic kid energy, like a Dr. Seuss book come to life; the second floor is more grown up, featuring a recreation of Springfield native Theodor Geisel's (aka Dr. Seuss) studio and living room, plus exhibits on his life. My child refused to leave. Thankfully, the museum is equipped with benches and seats in every room, as it is incontrovertible law that children's play areas can never have too many resting places for parents. I eventually pried my child away and ushered him to the science & natural history museum, which was also a hit. Highlights included a snowboarding video game and a 360° photo capture that spits out a digital image you can email to yourself as a souvenir. There's also a dinosaur hall, African hall, planetarium, animal dioramas, small aquariums, and a nice gift shop. Again, kid did not want to leave. Grandpa is into history so toured the Museum of Springfield History on his own. Springfield was once a manufacturing powerhouse: automobiles, firearms, and home of the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company. Fittingly, the museum has an automobile gallery, the world's largest collection of Indian cycles and memorabilia, and the world's largest collection of Smith & Wesson guns among its 1,600+ firearms. Grandpa learned a lot about local history and the Connecticut River Valley. I only got a quick walk-through of the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts, and regret not having more time to linger over the intricate and absolutely exquisite "Book of Wonder"exhibit by Donna Castellanos. The Smith Art Museum, a Victorian-era single-collector museum, is currently closed for renovation, which was fine, as by that point we'd run out of time and energy anyway. Even the on-site restaurant, Blake House Café, was excellent, serving food from Smoked, a local BBQ joint. There was something for everyone in the family (kids, arts, history, and science) and it's good bang for your buck. The museums are compact enough to hit all five in one day if you keep moving, but you're better off slowing down and focusing on two or three.

Springfield Museums has a sculpture garden and five museums on-site. You can visit all 5 with one…read moreticket. There is a parking lot; it was packed on a weekday but I was able to find a spot. First, we stopped at the Dr. Seuss building. It's an interactive museum perfect for toddlers and young kids. We spent about 45 minutes in there. Then the Springfield Science Museum, it had an aquarium, animals, and dinosaurs. The other buildings focuses on art and history. Yes, you could spend a whole day there. We stopped by the gift shop before we left. I recommend a visit to this museum!

What an odd, interesting little place. My son is obsessed with the Titanic so as a surprise we took…read morea 2 hour drive from NY to come here. Street parking was very easy. There was a lovely woman working inside who was happy to share her knowledge of all things Titanic. It is a small space but packed full of artifacts. We stayed about 1/2 hour. Absolutely recommend to those interested in the Titanic and White Star Line!

This will not be to everyone's tastes, but it is to mine so five stars! Located in a small suburb…read moreof Springfield, in the back of a family-run jewelry shop, in a converted photography studio, is this quintessential Americana Titanic museum. It represents the life work of one man (the current owner's brother) who developed an interest in the Titanic as a teenager and started writing to the survivors. The collection is of the ship (with White Star Line china, banners, documentation of the discovery) as much as it is about the survivors (with items from the journal one woman had with her in the lifeboat to one woman's frog) and pop culture (the man was was a background character in THE movie). It is $4 to see the collection, but if you're interested in the Titanic or just want to see what a life's work can look like, it's a once in a lifetime experience.

Visiting family here from Austin Texas and needed something for the kiddo to do while here. Took…read morehim here, he had a blast. I mention Austin because we have this place called the Thinkery which I can compare this with. The Thinkery is relatively new, super expensive, and very pretentious. Whereas this is much older, and while some parts are missing/broken, it had charm, character, was well priced and was accessible to all. My fav part was the large climbing structure. Would visit again when in the area.

Who would have thought that there was such a hidden gem in Holyoke. I absolutely love this place…read more At first I was a little hesitant about coming here based on the limited pictures and reviews. I am not going to lie, I don't spend much time in the Holyoke area, so I was a little skeptical when I was driving past all these abandoned buildings. The parking isn't bad and a few quarters take you a long way here. I know people are little dubious about the street parking, but I have never had an issue, aside from a few of the parking meters being inoperable. There are also two garages that are across the street from the facility and the pricing for that is also fair. Remember bring change!!! I had to learn that the hard way. When I went into the building, I amazed. It is such a cute little facility. It is two stories, but the top level is more of a sitting area. You pay to get into the facility downstairs. There are elevators if you are wondering. The staircase is the way I like to go down because there is an artsy little metal dog that is there and my son always wants to check it out. Before you enter there is a little area where you can hang your coats. People normally leave diaper bags and lunches there. I always pack a little snack for my guy and leave it there. The restroom is also in this area. No food and water is actually allowed in the museum, unless you are heading to the back for a scheduled birthday party. The prices to get in are super cheap. I paid at the cash register and the cashier stamped our hands. After that we were free to roam. There are numerous play stations in this museum. They have an astonishing climbing area, a water works area, a building room, a mini construction site, an airflow center, bubble makers, shadow room, ambulance, fire truck, costumes, grocery store, theatre, a small slide, a toddler area... We can literally spend hours here. My son enjoyed himself so much that I decided to get a family pass, we have been here about every other week since my first trip here. I even booked his party this summer here. I can't wait for all his friends to play with him here. Mom and dad are getting a little sick of climbing through the playscape with him. LOL. Honestly, this is a great place for your kid to exert their energy. I wish I came here sooner, it would have been a more active winter. I recommend all parents to bring their little people here.

This is s fantastic museum for art lovers. It has art collections from different centuries covering…read morea wide geographical areas including French, Italian, Dutch, Medieval and more. The rooms are conveniently separated by centuries We were lucky to have seen the Van Gogh exhibit. Lots of his greatest creations were on display. There was also an activity room that had materials for guests to create their own piece of art.

One of five museums included in the Springfield museums. $25 admission and you can go in to all…read morefive museums. Grand entrance gave me a chill. The collection was very powerful and spoke volume. They had Van Gogh interactive experience when we visited. It was really cool to see the paintings come alive and immerse in the colors.

The museum is included in Springfield museum tickets. It is very clean. Restrooms are well…read moremaintained. There are two floors full of great art collections. First floor had a lot of beautiful sculptures, mostly from European era. We also saw Japanese Samurai suits, swords, collectibles from across the world.

We arrived here around 3 p.m. after driving from Boston. Springfield has a campus of 5 museums. You…read morehave to buy a common ticket for all of them. There is a medium-sized lot in front, with an overflow lot across the street. We ended up in the overflow lot. The combined ticket costs $25 for adults. Theoretically, you can see all 5 museums. However, as we arrived later in the day we only were able to see 2 of them. If you want to maximize your value, arrive earlier in the day. We walked out of the ticket lobby into the central sculpture garden / lawn. From there, The Dr. Seuss Museum is ahead and to the right. If you turn left and walk to the end of the lawn, you will come to the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum on your left. When we were there, they had a piano on the covered arcade along the front of the building. This was a magnet - various people played a bit during our visit. I suspect that some of the other 4 museums don't get the same level of exposure / traffic as Seuss. This one was much bigger but less crowded. The guard / docent was very helpful and gave us a brief history of the place. It was the original of the 5 museums, built around 1905. A young Ted Geisel could have explored it, in fact, as he lived in the area. It is part of that class of museums where Gilded Age millionaires were getting on in years and were looking to leave a legacy and find somewhere to house the stuff they'd picked up on their world travels. That is not meant to be condescending in any way. The Smiths had certain interests and collected things in those areas. The museum has a room devoted to Samurai armor, one for Chines jade, one for Islamic (mostly fabric) art, a huge gallery of plaster replicas of Greek and Roman statues from antiquity, and a room of (at the time) contemporary artworks (now about a century old) of artists of interest to the Smiths. The architecture is an exhibit in its own right. One room in particular (where the Samurai items are displayed) has tiffany windows each dedicated to someone like Shakespeare, Dante, etc. If you are here and pay for the collective admission, by all means stop by and see this place as part of your visit.