This is a small gem of a museum (...pun intended...) on the campus of the University of Delaware…read more It houses one of the best mineral, crystal, and gem collections in America...especially including the Irénée Du Pont collection. Much of the collection is displayed by the continent on which the minerals were found. Some of the crystals and gems on exhibit will totally wow you. So stop in for a look if you have a chance!

This is a really great little museum if you are into geology. Most people don't even know that…read moreit's there. It is located on the University of Delaware campus, and it is free. Most of the specimens are world class, and many were donated by Irénée du Pont, Sr. He started collecting them as a child, and some he purchased through Tiffany. There are donations from others as well. Exhibits include regional minerals, American and Canadian minerals, crystals, minerals from caves, and gems. This is the only museum I have ever visited where I was able to see everything in a few hours, but it really is fascinating.

I love this place and area. magical, peaceful, lovely. I…read morehave been foraging here for Asian pears, apples, paw paws and wine berries. I have been here for the Karma Fest, sadly the one here was in late June of this year, it will be missed. I have so many incredible memories here. love this place.

I do not understand why this museum is not advertised. Found this by complete accident when I was…read moreon my way to Rock Run Mill. I thought there was nothing to do near Aberdeen MD but I am so glad I found this place. I didn't expect a museum in a middle of the park to be so big and so good. The museum consists of about five different buildings with different theme in each one. Don't want to spoil it, just go. I figured I wouldn't spend more than an hour since I didn't think it would be that big. But I ended up spending almost three hours there! The main reason this museum is so great is the volunteers!!! Thank you so much each and every one of you (if you happen to read this). There is a volunteer working in each building (one was empty since the volunteer didn't show up[but you can still go in there]). All the volunteers are so knowledgeable and so friendly! They know everything! One guide/volunteer was asked a question to which he didn't know the answer to. He actually went out to find the answer from other volunteers! Even if you don't want to explore the museums the whole area is lovely to walk around. I saw a deer. For someone who lives in NY, that alone is enough to make my day. Anyways, once again THANX to all the volunteers and workers! You guys make this museum. For potential visitors, don't even debate if you should go there, JUST GO! But be prepared to spend at least two hours there! It's well worth it. BTW apparently people have weddings here too! I don't know if this would be my choice for a wedding location, but definitely worth revising!

We were visiting from out of town and decided to stop here for a fun activity to do with my kids (9…read more& 6). They were loving all the exhibits and thought the snakes were so cool. We enjoyed the interactive activities. The kids enjoyed the nature nook where we stamped with mushrooms for an art activity. However we were told the sandbox experience started at 2:30 and when we got there at 2:28 the guy wasn't exactly kind about it or understanding. The kids were sad they didn't get the full experience. It was much smaller than expected though for the price you pay. Probably wouldn't go back but we did have a good time.

1 star for adults and kids over 10…read more 2.5 stars for children under 10 This is a small museum. You can do the full loop in 15-20 minutes unless you have little little ones that get engrossed in one of the interactive stations. Not worthy of a field trip. If you really want a decent natural History museum, plan a day trip elsewhere.

I take my 2 y. o. granddaughter nearly every week. There are so many wonderful things to explore…read moreand learn from. They have a walking path through the woods with a natural playground and sandbox, a bird house building to watch and interactive displays, a mini zoo inside a house with small animals and activities including a treehouse. They also have weekly activities and seasonal events for elementary school kids. My granddaughter calls Briar Bush "The Animal House" and loves to put a donation in the collection box before we leave.

I wish I could rate this more than 5 stars! A nature center/museum and I don't have to do the…read moredrive downtown/pay for parking...and admission is free for Abington residents/friends of Briar Bush? Amazing. (Admission otherwise is only $3 for adults and $2 for kids 2-17). There's animals/insects inside such as owls, huge cockroaches, giant turtle, snakes. And a cute reading corner full of nature books. There's also a discovery den AKA play area indoors for $1. There's animals/insects outdoors such as turkey vultures, turtles, a butterfly house and a bird observatory (cute on the inside with toys for the kiddos - be sure to read the story about the couple who opened the center). And a natural playscape outdoors. There's also a bunch of fairy houses throughout the property that girl scouts donated. And lots of trails through the forest. They also have Magic Mornings for ages 2-4 Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays - but register ahead as they only have a certain amount of spots each day (it's seasonal - they have in fall and spring but not summer - see website). It's an hour class for $10 and includes a snack, craft, nature walk etc. They usually pull out an animal each class. It's great to get some time in nature with other kids. In summer, they have a full week of Magic Mornings in their Itty Bitty Briar Camp. Ms. Heidi teaches it and she is just great. They have a different theme every day such as sun, water, clouds etc and there's an activity each day (visit pond and catch tadpoles, water play, craft pertaining to theme). They have preschool pioneers for ages 4-5 and summer camp for older kids for a week in late June. *Just beware in June that parking is limited due to school field trips and you may not fit in either of the lots; you may have to park out front of the house to the left (which is fine - she just doesn't want buses idling there) They also have field trips to gardens and to the shore, classes for seniors, family nature nights, hot smores nights... Only negative (besides parking, which they can't really control), is the "snacks" for kids at Magic Mornings aren't the healthiest. One was cinnamon sugar graham crackers with whipped cream- regular would have been fine. 2 days were cheddar gold fish. Another day was blue jello with whipped cream. And some red licorice - the kind that whips. Fruit Loops were used for colors. So, if you don't like your child eating sugar, let them know you have a dietary restriction or bring your own snack (snack time is ~10 min and probably not needed but the kids always love snack time!). Some options that would be healthier and just as easy would be pretzel sticks, fruit, crackers, popcorn, veggies, string cheese...but I guess those all cost more besides pretzels/crackers/popcorn.

Every once in a while you drive past a place so many times that it almost becomes part of the…read morescenery. That was the Turkey Hill Experience for me. I'd driven past it countless times over the last few years but either didn't have enough time to stop or couldn't convince anyone else to stop with me. During my Lancaster Adventure Day, though, all of that changed. I purchased a Single Scoop ticket online ahead of time for $16.75 and reserved the very first time slot of the day at 10am. I figured a late-summer Thursday morning would be the sweet spot, and it turned out to be a great decision. It was busy enough that the place felt lively but not so crowded that I had to wait for every exhibit. Parking was plentiful, and I somehow managed to snag a spot right in front of the GIANT cow out front. Honestly, my day was already off to a fantastic start! The only hiccup of the visit came during check-in. Even though I'd already purchased my ticket online, I still had to wait in the same line as everyone buying gift shop items, purchasing admission and asking questions. Since there were only a two employees working both the registers and admissions, the line moved a little slower than I expected. If I could change one thing, it would be creating a separate express check-in line for folks who already have tickets. Once I finally made it inside, though, everything became easy peasy! The exhibits are completely self-guided, so you can wander at your own pace learning how Turkey Hill makes its ice cream and iced tea while playing with interactive displays along the way. One of my favorite parts was creating my own virtual ice cream flavor, complete with custom packaging. I also wanted to film my own Turkey Hill commercial, but those stations stayed busy the entire time I was there, so that'll have to wait until another visit. Naturally, I made a beeline for the tea sampling station. As someone who appreciates sugar-free options, I was thrilled to find both Zero Sugar Sweet Tea and Zero Sugar Fruit Punch available to sample. Both were fantastic! Then it was time for the part we'd all been waiting for...unlimited ice cream samples. One thing I really appreciated is that they weren't tiny little "blink and it's gone" samples. You picked two flavors, and they served actual scoops in a bowl. For an attraction centered around ice cream, that felt exactly right. My only tiny complaint? Wooden popsicle sticks instead of spoons. They definitely got the job done, but they made eating melting ice cream a little more awkward than it needed to be. Still...free and unlimited ice cream? I'm not about to complain too loudly! I spent about an hour wandering through the exhibits, playing with the interactive displays and enjoying the air conditioning on a hot August morning before making one final stop in the gift shop. Prices there were about what you'd expect for a tourist attraction, but there were plenty of fun souvenirs if you're looking to bring a little Turkey Hill home with you. Overall, I'd absolutely recommend visiting the Turkey Hill Experience at least once. I don't know that it's somewhere I'd return over and over again, but it was a fun, interactive way to spend an hour learning something new, eating entirely acceptable quantities of free ice cream and escaping the August heat. That sounds like a pretty successful adventure day to me!

Turkey Hill Experience was a fun stop for our family! We visited with three kids, and everyone…read morefound something to enjoy. The interactive exhibits were engaging, and the kids loved learning how ice cream is made and creating their own virtual flavors. The highlight was definitely sampling the different ice cream flavors and making our own ice cream creations.

This place is straight out of an episode of the X-Files. I'm from New York City so I've seen some…read moreweird sh*t - and this place creeped me out. Mummified animal remains, letters from serial killers, killer clowns, and a cardboard cutout of Danny DeVito... this museum does not disappoint! While not a full "house" of oddities, I would say it's more like a 1-bedroom apartment of oddities, but this "Whacky World of Weirdful Wonder" is completely FREE! They sell all sorts of strange toys, t-shirts, and trinkets. You can buy unique art pieces such as a "Death Loaf" (a loaf of bread impaled with spikes). Bonus tip: There's a bathroom in the back with a poster of Le Pétomane - a French performer with a unique...er...talent.

This place was amazing! There is a wide assortment of preserved animals, skulls, and artifacts. We…read moreall enjoyed our visit and will check it out again the next time we are in town.

I visited the 1719 Museum this past Saturday and really enjoyed the experience…read more The guided tour starts with a short film about the property that provides some great context for the rest of the tour. Then you leave the visitor center and walk over to the first structure of tour, which is a full-sized reproduction of a Native American longhouse. Longhouses (large multi-generational family homes made of logs, saplings, and tree bark) were once ubiquitous in Pennsylvania, including along the Susquehanna River. At the time the Hans Herr home was built, south-central Pennsylvania was home to several Indigenous tribes, including the Shenks Ferry, Conoy, Lenape, Mohawk, Nanticoke, Seneca, Shawnee, and Susquehannock peoples. The 1719 Museum collaborated with the Circle Legacy Center and members of the local indigenous community to build the longhouse reproduction in order to share the history of and honor Pennsylvania's native communities and educate visitors to the area. With your guide, you walk into the longhouse, where you sit down while the guide explains quite extensively about the Native communities in the area, the longhouse and its architecture, and the relationships between the indigenous people and the Mennonite people who made homes in the area. After the longhouse, the guide walks you over to the Hans Herr House. It was built in 1719 and is a 2-story, rectangular sandstone Germanic-style dwelling. It is the oldest dwelling in Lancaster County and the oldest Mennonite meetinghouse in America. The guide walks you through various rooms in the house and shares information about the Herr family as well as the larger Mennonite community in early Pennsylvania history. Our guide was Cindy, and she was incredible. I learned so much about the Native, Indigenous and Mennonite communities of 18th century Pennsylvania (and - in the case of the Native peoples - a much earlier history of their lives in Pennsylvania). She really educated us on a broad range of topics, while keeping the tour fun (I love fun education)! She made my tour extra special. If you're spending some time exploring Lancaster Counter, the 1719 Museum should definitely make your itinerary! In one place, you can learn a little bit about Pennsylvania's Native and Mennonite communities, and it's just a special place!

Why is the Hans Herr House significant and who the hell was Hans Herr?…read more The house itself is significant as it is the last remaining structure that is still standing from the original group of Mennonites who came to the Lancaster County area to escape religious persecution from their native Switzerland. The house is also significant in that it is the oldest structure in Lancaster County and likely the oldest remaining Mennonite meetinghouse in the Western Hemisphere. The original group traveled from Switzerland to Germany to escape religious persecution then after a governmental regime change they were forced from Germany to England where they met with William Penn who allowed them to colonize a portion of what is current day Lancaster County or when they arrived in 1711, the extreme most western frontier of Pennsylvania. One interesting piece of information is that the house did not belong to Hans Herr as it was built by his son Christian which is why his initials are over the doorway along with the inscribing mark of 1719. On the tour you are told why the name remained(s) Hans Herr House versus Christian Herr House but honestly I forget why. Maybe something just deferential from Christian towards his father or because of his father's status with the original group that came to the area or maybe everyone just liked the flow of the name more so it's based on tradition? The tour itself is around 40-45 minutes and it starts in the building which houses the gift shop and you are given a brief overview of the Anabaptist faith, the Mennonites who are direct descendants of the faith and a map which shows the route the initial settlers took from Switzerland to Pennsylvania. After that you are taken over to the house where you see the three rooms which make up the first floor (kitchen, bedroom and all purpose dining room-meeting room-family room) and the second floor which is where the eight children slept and finally the basement which is accessed from a side entrance outside of the house. You learn that the key to the home's design is that they didn't believe in wasting any space so every inch served a purpose such as not having hallways so as soon as you walk in the front door you're right in the kitchen. One thing worth noting, if you are someone who is hardcore hung up on only visiting historical places if they have lots of original items then this place might not be for you. There is not a whole lot original to the house that you can see with the exception of a piece of the ceiling insulation on the first floor (rye straw + manure + ??), the wooden crossbeam over the kitchen fireplace and the steps which go from the second floor to the third floor attic (obviously you can't use them). Past that I think most everything else was changed out in the 19th century when the house was still used as a residence or in the early 70's when the initial renovation occurred to make things into a tourist destination. If you want more original take a look at the bibles on display in the gift shop which are original to Hans and Christian. I wouldn't call the Hans Herr House a must see, but it's interesting enough and the tour is the right length to keep everyone interested along with being located close enough to most of Lancaster County's tourist elements. If you go: The 1719 Hans Herr House is open April 1 through November 30, Monday-Saturday, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM. Forty-five minute Herr House tours are offered at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. This is not the tour information for their reproduction Native American Longhouse. That tour is offered at 10 a.m., 12 noon and 2 p.m and has an entirely different focus. Prices are currently Adults: $8, Children 7-12: $4 and Children 6 and under: free with a slight discount if you choose to tour both structures. There are also several special events that happen throughout the year and that information is available on their website.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has one of my favorite balances in the city: it feels grand,…read morecosmopolitan, and genuinely important, yet somehow never intimidating. My art knowledge is limited, but the museum has a way of making curiosity feel like enough, whether I'm wandering through the galleries, people watching, browsing the excellent store, grabbing something at the café, or bringing our daughter to the terrific kids' areas. The building and its setting at the end of the Parkway are spectacular, and the staff consistently bring a warmth and approachability that feels distinctly Philadelphian. I also enjoy simply passing it on a run or walk and seeing it presiding over this beautiful part of the city. Friday evenings may be my favorite way to experience it. The happy hours are a fantastic deal, parking is deeply discounted, and there is something wonderfully civilized about having a glass of rosé or two in a world-class museum while a cool, diverse crowd settles in for the evening. We brought our daughter with us, and she felt completely welcome, which says a lot about what the museum gets right: sophistication without stiffness, culture without exclusion. One of Philadelphia's great institutions, and one I feel lucky to have nearby. Très bien!

Nice museum to see a bunch of paintings and history. The prices are $30 for an adult, $28 for a…read moresenior (65+ years old), $14 for a student with valid ID, and $0 for those 18 years old and younger. The fountain out front was turned off. Inside is a ton of American history. Also, Japanese art, European art, and well pretty much art all around the world. Oh, and I love all of the Japanese samurai stuff. It's so cool seeing the armor warriors wore way back in the day when going into battle. Claude Monet, Picasso, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, amongst plenty of other famous artists have paintings here. We probably spent 90 minutes to 2 hours in here. That was enough for us. A fun way to start your morning.

This is a great little museum dedicated to the local experience of living on the Upper reaches of…read morethe Chesapeake Bay. It has a nice collection of vintage decoys, boats and duck hunting accessories. The museum also has vintage tools, shotguns, small boat motors, ice cutting tools and fishing poles and lures. The gentlemen who operate the museum are very knowledgeable about the collection. Don't be afraid to ask questions, they were happy to answer questions and explain how things work. The details: this is a volunteer run, free museum. They have a donation box inside don't be shy about supporting the museum with a $$ donation. The museum is situated with ample parking near a very nice park with a playground.

This museum gives a great look at life on the Upper Chesapeake Bay through history. The amazing…read morecarvings and decoys are very eye-catching, and the docents are quite knowledgable and welcoming. More than worth the detour while puttering around on Maryland's back roads. I was fascinated by the different ways they show the life of hunters and fishermen in that particular region, as compared to other parts of Maryland. I will definitely be back!

Not your typical art museum and that is why it is a Five Star experience. Funky and fun (and…read morepoignant) art work by those who are not typically featured in a museum. This strikes me as somewhat similar to the two excellent Kohler Art museums in Wisconsin. Super interesting and thought provoking especially the stories of many of the artists accompanying their work. The main museum building is a work of art itself. The gift shop is a riot. Hands down the best and craziest museum gift store. Thank goodness my friend recommended this stop. Heads up on parking - the meters on the street are way way cheaper then the Rusty Scupper lot across the street. This place is a gem. Don't miss it!

I've lived in the Baltimore area for quite some time now and I can't believe I've never been to the…read moreAmerican Visionary Art Museum. I mean how can you pass by the mirrored egg or the golden hand and not think to find out what type of dope art is hidden inside. With so many unique pieces to look at I took my time leisurely strolling through the two buildings for the museum. Welcomed by a half naked mannequin with wings floating in the center of the stairs, you can't help but be intrigued to learn more about the artists work. There was so much to take in with every turn. I especially liked the homage to the staples of Baltimore's culture in the second building. And we can't forget about the gift shop that I literally could've spent hours in just rummaging through all the eclectic finds. I'm happy I finally bit the bullet to visit the American Visionary Art Musuem, and I look forward to a return visit to see all the things I missed.