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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

As a basketball fan, stepping into the history of the sport I love was an amazing experience. From…read morethe legendary players and unforgettable moments to the incredible memorabilia, every exhibit reminded me why I fell in love with basketball. It was also really cool to see kids playing in a tournament on the court inside the museum. Watching the next generation enjoy the game in a place that honors basketball's greatest legends made the experience even more special. My only disappointment was the gift shop. I was expecting a much bigger selection of merchandise, especially for a place that celebrates the game's greatest players and moments. I left wishing there were more unique items to choose from. Overall, it's a must-visit for any basketball fan.

Drove 4 hours to see this. It has some very rich history and that's kind of worth it. YET much…read moreof the hype is about the fun interactive events at the end. Play on a full size court, shooting contests, drills, etc. Nope. There was a young kids basketball tournament happening all day. The tournament was not advertised on their site for us to know that we should choose another day to visit. We paid full price for half an experience. Poorly done on their part. Perhaps let people know or at minimum discount the tickets to reflect the lack of availability to the complete product.

The only thing worth seeing in this museum was the poison dart frogs. Everything else was…read morereplicas, hardly anything was original except for the gems. It just felt old and not much to see compared to other science museums I've been in. This wasn't really on my list. I wanted to see the Dr. Seuss museum but you had to buy general admission for all the museums in the complex and the ticket booth happened to be located in the science museum.

We came from out of town for a nice stroll though the museums with our toddler but only hit two:…read morethe Science museum and the Dr. Suess museum. Both were well done, though obviously there is nothing else that can compare with the Dr. Suess museum. The Science museum was fun, and I loved the life size dinosaur and the animal exhibits on the ground floor including the dozens of pull-out drawers containing shells, bones, insects, etc. It is a shame part of the lower level was closed for repairs, but what can you do? We tried many of the buttons and exhibits but they either weren't plugged in or didn't work. That was a bit disappointing. We never even saw all of this museum, or much of the other museums included with admission. For $25 if you can see everything it is probably a good deal, but if you only want to go to part of it (or if you or your kid get tired or bored part way) it might not be such a good value.

We only did the Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden which is next to the Museum. We were early and just…read morepassing through. Parking and Garden was free (weekend) and just a really cool walk down memory lane in a well-done garden. The Sculptures were of some of the our favorite characters from the beloved Dr. Suess. A very nice tribute to a man who still brings the love of reading to all ages. His words were full of wisdom and knowledge hidden between the lines of rhymes.

This is one of the 5 museums included within tickets of Springfield Museums. It is very designed…read morefor kids, lots of colors, arts, decor, legos, pretend play. On lower level, they have creative activities for kids. On second floor, there's more history on the real life Dr. Seuss. Our 5yo spent about 1.5 hours here. Few associates are around to tidy up things and help guests. Restrooms are very well maintained.