WHAT A BLAST. We came here for my birthday kind of ironically because online we saw reels saying it…read morewas the "weirdest museum ever," and thought it would be kind of funny/maybe even creepy. Little did we know it was actually FASCINATING; it was so fun to admire every last piece in the museum. The tram guide was great, the pre-recorded audio is helpful and interesting, and the collection is so varied and extensive that you can't help but love it. The pipe organs - fabulous. The walkable "toy box" collection was great after the tram. Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone - it was soooo fun.

What a fun thing to do! We didn't know what to expect and want to say we all really enjoyed the…read moreexperience! Admission was reasonable and enjoyed the self-guided part while waiting for the next tram departure time. There was everything you could imagine - except one thing! A TELEX MACHINE (which I used to operate). When I asked the staff if they had one none of them even knew what I was talking about (early 20's)! We took the tram tour and really enjoyed it. The tram moved at a nice pace so you could really take in everything. So much to see - everywhere. It was a really fun way to spend a few hours on a rainy day! But I urge you to visit rain or shine!

The Wyck house is in Germantown where you would least expect it! The volunteer tour guides are so…read morenice and helpful, and they let you roam through the homestead garden. Visiting this house really got me interested in horticulture; I absolutely love their set up and it inspires me to create something similar one day!

Wyck House Farmer's Market on Fridays from 2-6. (As of July 2016)…read moreLocal organic vegetables in top quality, reasonably priced. So far, I found all their produce great. Sadly, the blueberries (and other berries) are usually gone 5 minutes after they open. Their local honey seems pricey but is worth every penny - it's like honey concentrate, extra sweet golden ambrosia. Also, thanks to the Philly Foodworks program they offer "Food Bucks" for EBT (Access) card holders, which basically amounts to a 40% discount. Way to go! The Wyck house itself is a beautiful historical landmark in East Germantown. Visit the rose garden in spring / early summer for a real treat!

I came here once in high school and again recently for its community day where it was free…read moreadmission (normally $20 for a ticket). The mutter museum used to be a collection for private medical education at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Their main exhibit is the area with red carpet where you can go downstairs and look at all of the displays of human remains, replicas, and health information. They definitely break it down for non health professions to understand. There's a lot of fascinating things that they have preserved and displayed. They also have the Franklin garden, art therapy room, and legionnaires "Philly killer" exhibit. They do have a mini gift store at the front if you want to pop in. Because it is a small museum, I think you could go through the entire museum in about 1.5 hours if you read everything and looked at every exhibit.

Philadelphia was the first hub of modern medicine in the US. It's incredible to just take a few…read moreminutes to really appreciate the magnitude of this. The staff was really nice as we arrived a few minutes after our allotted time on our purchased tickets. I struggled with the tightness of the space. Many specimens required me to squat which may not be possible for other guests. There is so much to see but it's in such a tight space, specifically the first floor. Many of the glass cases were also warped which was not easy on the eyes. The museum has great potential if everything was spaced out more. Given that the space is tight, one felt rushed to read everything because there were other guests shoulder to shoulder trying to experience the space. If you were ever into Ripley's Believe It or Not, check the Mutter Museum out, plenty of unique cases! I felt queasy at times seeing real specimens floating in jars. The pharmaceutical marketing room was intriguing, I love seeing ads from the past!

What a cool hidden gem in Valley Forge National Park! I took a tour of this museum in November…read more2025. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and intriguing as he guided us around the property and inside the home/studio. Esherick was extremely talented and it was incredible to see his stunning creations. Tips: The tour is inside and outside so dress accordingly. There are steps inside the building. Booking ahead is required and tour group counts are limited.

Visiting the Wharton Esherick Museum in Malvern had been on my to do list for a while, but the…read moretours sell out, and I've missed out on visiting a couple of times! Last week, I planned a last minute day trip to the Philadelphia area and noticed that they had exactly four tickets still open on tours for the rest of the month and they were for the upcoming Saturday at 11am. It was a sign, and I jumped on buying those tickets. How to explain the Wharton Esherick Museum?! Wharton Esherick was an American artist and designer (he's best known for his modernist wood furniture), and - while not a trained architect - he designed this house and studio compound (of four separate buildings) in Malvern to live and work in. By the time he was adding a workshop to the compound in 1955, building codes had made their way into law and Esherick got help from none other than Louis Kahn to help design that building. So what will you see if you visit? Just an incredible home and studio. Esherick was not into straight lines or right angles or wasting perfectly good wood, so the house and studio is an amazing sight: that staircase! the wood floor in the dining room! the concrete extension painted in colors that blend into the natural surroundings! the art and furniture pieces of Esherick's shown throughout the house! It's a hard place to describe, but our tour guide did a marvelous job of teaching us about Esherick and the buildings during our tour, while sharing some woodworking facts and passion, too! Reservations for the tours are required, and they do sell out. Regularly. There's an exhibit on Esherick at the Brandywine right now, and that might be generating more interest than usual in seeing his home and studio - or maybe tours of this amazing place are always this popular?! We did the Experiencing Esherick Tour, which takes you into the home and studio building and lasts about an hour. They offer some specialized tours of more limited days as well - I will definitely be visiting again for the architecture tour which takes you into at least one additional building you don't see on the general tour! The house? Fascinating. Our tour guide? Lovely. The grounds? Beautiful even in December. And a lovely little gift shop in Esherick's old garage where you can do some holiday shopping? Bonus. What's not to love about the Wharton Esherick Museum? I know I'll be returning to bring friends and family to this wonderful place in the future.

When trying to find something to do with my niece who was visiting me last weekend, this came to…read moremy. Because she just finished up a STEM camp for kids back home and her just liking to see/do new things, decided to take her here. Glad I did because she had a blast! We didn't get a chance to see the new Universal Theme park/studios exhibit, but she loved everything else - walking through the heart, the space exhibit where she looked up at the stars and tried to figure out how she would jump in another planet's atmosphere, etc. Great time and look forward to coming back in the future!

The Franklin Institute has finally been checked off our list! We'd wanted to get here for a while,…read morebut I wasn't sure how we'd do with my littles (five and under) , turns out we had a great time. We spent three hours there and the time flew by so fast. Honestly, you could easily make this an entire day; there's so much to see and engage with, and I love that it's educational too. If you're on the fence about going, let this be your sign. Plus, right now they have Universal Theme Parks: The Exhibition going on, and that's definitely worth checking out as well , it runs through September 7, 2026, and it's included with general admission. What Else We Explored * SportsZone * Body Odyssey (home of the Giant Heart) * Your Brain * The Train Factory * Sir Isaac's Loft * Amazing Machine * Changing Earth * Space Command * The Franklin Air Show By the three-hour mark we'd made it through nearly everything ,the only thing we didn't get to was the Fels Planetarium, so that's on the list for next time.

What can you really say about interactive art!? Well I'll tell you! It's so cool!! Being able to…read morefinally go to a museum where you can touch and draw and just be immersed in the experience of art is so much fun! The Arte is actually a really great exhibit. I've been to one that has the slightest edge on the Arte but only because the Arte is actually quite small in comparison. I do wish they had a few more rooms for you to go in especially for it being in NY you would think it would be overwhelmingly huge but nope. We bought the cafe experience with our tickets and it honestly was a little blah. It's only $5 so I won't take away a star for that but the tables had interactive art on them so that was a bonus. The cons are once you enter the cafe you can't go back through that's it! Tour over! So make sure you do all the things before you get there! I do give it a 5 out of 5 because it's still really cool and fun to just go have the experience!

An 'OK' experience. I don't think it's as immersive as it's made out to be, but is midly…read moreinteresting nonetheless. You go from room to room, and the rooms are big enough so that even when there's a lot of people there's still plenty of room. The rooms are also dark and mirrored, and I saw a couple people hit the wall. If you're into Instagram and whatnot, you'll love this place. Otherwise this place is pretty meh. The price could also stand to be half of what it is.

We had a lovely time at the Rose Valley Museum. The history in Pennsylvania is amazing and this is…read morejust the start of our exploration of history and culture in Delaware County and beyond. Also known as the Thunderbird Lodge, this was a community of artist who started with a leap of faith in 1904 with approximately 60 people and moved here from Paoli. They started a community of woodworking enthusiasts, artists, painters, writers etc.. and were very successful in the arts and crafts movement. The museum was opened in 2017 to the public and has been thriving ever since. The property is approximately laid across one acre of land. There is a wonderful gift shop with may artifacts from the eighteenths and nineteenths centuries, that you may purchase for yourself or others to enjoy for your own pleasure Please, if you live in Delaware County come experience the history of our community and give back to the ones that keep our history alive. There is a mere $10 donation collected at the door when you enter. Unfortunately, the building is not handicapped accessible due to the structure and the artifacts in the building, but this is a great place for couples, especially if you are planning to be in the area or families who want to come to visit and enjoy a day trip learning some historical history about our community. Thank you to the volunteers who were so knowledgeable about this project and extremely helpful to us.

The Rose Valley Museum has been around a little over a year now, but I just discovered it a couple…read moreweeks ago. When I took a look at their events and saw a whiskey & chocolate tasting, um, I was there! Admission is $10 for non-members, but with our $20 event, we got free admission to the museum. I'll explain the museum first, and the event we attended, below. The museum is housed in Thunderbird Lodge, designed by architect, Will Price, who was the father of the Rose Valley craftsmen guild at the beginning of the 20thC. The museum is primarily dedicated to this era in Rose Valley's history, however, there are Native American artifacts, remnants of RV's 18th/19thC. Quaker inhabitancy, and other facets of the borough's history, to learn about, as well. The interior of the lodge is gorgeous! Exposed beams, Arts & Crafts features everywhere, handmade EVERYTHING! Artfully laid fireplace stones, hand-hewn stair railings, leaded glass windows! There were handmade Moravian tiles wherever appropriate (Will Price was friends with Mercer). Just art everywhere! The main room you hit upon entry is where they hold events. Beyond there, you find a sitting room and dining room, arranged for use with original Rose Valley furniture, and period lamps, rugs, and decor, all either made by the original guild, or authentic to the period, and part of the Arts & Crafts style. I saw some Tiffany type lamps, but no Van Erp. Furniture was Stickley style, with a little more rusticism and character, IMO, which adds to the charm. I saw a lot of Art Nouveau pieces, especially in things like candlesticks, pottery, and smaller carved wood decorative objects. Tons of pottery was housed in china cabinets, and glass cases. The woodwork for the trim and built-ins around the lodge is high quality, and beautiful. They are currently restoring it back to its original form (for example, the dining room used to have a curved gold-leaf ceiling). Loads to see, especially if you admire this aesthetic. Since we were there for an evening event, there were various fireplaces roaring, adding so much to the ambiance, as well as candles, and parchment-shaded lamps. It was so cozy and inviting! Upstairs is another large room, which housed a more eclectic array of Rose Valley history. There is a small hand-carved totem pole, papier-mâché animal heads, an original guild worktable, antique train station sign for Moylan-Rose Valley, more original furniture pieces, Plein Air painting, portrait of Price, etc. If you are at all curious about the Arts & Crafts movement, they have truly captured a great feel for its flavor at this museum! ---------------------- Now, the event! I highly recommend trying one of their gatherings! The museum's board was there, and they run things, hands-on, like devoted hospitality ambassadors! They are all so welcoming and friendly. We seriously felt like we'd been invited to a 70-person dinner party, and had conversations with almost all of the board members. They were amazing hosts! Note that this event was sold out, and they had a waiting list, with people at the door hoping to get in. They allow you to sign up online, so if you see something you want, get it! Our tasting was four different rounds of whiskey drink, personally made up by a board member, who knows his stuff. Each round was paired with a chocolate from Shane Confectionery in Philly. Our aficionado announced each round with a fun story, and gave all the details of his ingredients' origins. Every table had ice and water if needed (not for me!). They even went around and offered everyone seconds, and sometimes thirds, on each round... I politely accepted a few of those. We got more than our money's worth, it was amazing! After the tasting, they had a full spread of hors d'oeuvres to help sober up, but, for those hoping to keep the party going, there was also a bar available. Everything was beautifully, tastefully done. I can't wait to try another event!

I absolutely loved the Shofuso. It's not as big as I thought it would be, however it's beautiful…read morenonetheless. We first visited the house no shoes only socks allowed. Outside we were able to feed the koi fish it's $2 for the koi fish. Had a great time.

Such a beautiful place! It changes with the seasons. I missed my group due to work but the woman at…read morethe ticket booth let me in to walk in the garden. The azaleas are starting to bloom! They added color to a dreary day! The pond is surrounded by greenery and flowers. It started to rain. That just brought another dimension of beauty. The house is interesting.I didn't go in this time but You can see some of the rooms from the outside. The space is serene It is perfect to sit and take a minute to breathe. It is a little bit of Japanese culture in the middle of the Park.