The Robeson Science Museum in Binghampton is quite a blend of art, science, and history all rolled up into one building...well, two buildings. During our visit today, we experienced the museum and Robeson museum in its Christmas pagentry, with seemingly hundreds Christmas trees decorated and donated by local businesses and decorated in a specific theme.
Our visit started with a tour or the Robeson mansion, built by local lumber mill-ionaire...Mr. Robeson. His home has outstanding opulance, woodworking, stained glass, and even has a third floor ballroom and billiardroom accessable by steel cage elevator...high tech stuff for 1907! Eight staffers waited on him and his wife until his death in 1936. In 1953, after her passing, the home was donated to the city, and the furnishings were unfortunately auctioned to pay for renovations to the house. Today, period furniture and art adorn the house, with its main purpose to display art. Still, the house is an amazing piece of period art unto itself. And when festooned with Christmasery, it is absolutely beautiful.
The remaining museum, a 1966 addition off the back of the mansion, seems slightly confused in its mission. All is very well done, but you will find everything from a planetarium with several shows daily, an art gallery, a taxidermied "nature walk", a history of Binghampton and its growth and development, a gift shop, and some other random other science and art exhibits. Again, with Christmas trees everywhere-and a model train display- it was decorated wonderfully.
We paid for the tour of the mansion ($36 for 3 adults and 3 students), but then when we decided see a planetarium show, we decided on a family membership, which was $65...a better deal for planetarium and tour, but the membership, when given as a gift, is only half-price...so $33 for a full year family membership that includes free planetarium visits AND reciprocity at dozens of other science museums in PA and NY...heck yeah! Good deal.
I can see us coming by again this summer...there is enough here to be interesting for a second visit. It's an impressive blend of a little bit of everything, and Binghampton should be proud of its presence in its city! read more