Northeast USA Museums and Culture

Discover Cape May County's most enchanting escape, where 25 themed gardens, tranquil ponds, and hidden nooks create a year-round sanctuary of natural beauty. Since 1978, this living history museum has welcomed visitors seeking both outdoor adventure and a glimpse into colonial heritage, making it an ideal destination for families eager to explore and learn. Browse the Cooperage Gift Shop for unique treasures, then let the gardens—always evolving with the seasons—inspire your next visit.

The Barnegat Light Historical Society (BLHS) operates and maintains the Barnegat Light Museum (above) and organizes and promotes events to further the awareness of the history of Barnegat Light and Long Beach Island. <br> The Museum Gardens are open all year and the museum is open June through October on weekends from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and July & August, daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Tuesday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. Tours are available by appointment. B.L.H.S. meetings are held the second Thursday of the month . New members are always welcome.

A great place to celebrate your child's birthday party! Toddlers and preschoolers love the interactive, hands-on exhibits, including a real fire truck, a real helicopter, cool fossil/dinosaur cave, play ballet studio, kids' medieval castle, and much, much more. Ask about special party activities, special birthday favors, and fun birthday party themes!

Walk aboard a vessel that earned more commendations than perhaps any other warship in American naval history, and you're stepping into something far more immersive than a typical museum experience. Winter visits bring a particular quietness to the decks—the chill off the water adds an almost contemplative quality as you navigate through BB62's corridors and compartments. Rather than observing history from behind glass, you become part of the story itself. Sit in Admiral Halsey's command chair, bunk down where crews once rested between shifts, and squeeze into the 16-inch gun turrets to grasp how ammunition moved through the firing sequence. The ship hosts guided explorations, special events, and overnight stays that transform this retired battleship into an extraordinarily hands-on journey through naval warfare and maritime life.

Walk through Freehold's Metz Bicycle Museum and you're essentially time-traveling through a century of two-wheeled ingenuity. The sprawling collection pulls together bicycles from the 1850s through 1950s—think boneshakers, highwheelers, tricycles, ordinaries, safeties, and stranger contraptions you've probably never seen before. Hundreds of these machines fill the space with their own particular character and charm, especially during winter months when the indoor setting becomes a warm escape into mechanical nostalgia. Beyond just bikes, the museum surprises visitors with an eclectic mix that lives up to its "Treasures of Years Gone By" motto. Vintage children's riding toys, cast iron bottle openers, antique mousetraps, kitchen gadgets, pencil sharpeners, and early automobiles share display space alongside bicycle gear like oil lanterns, period horns, vintage seats, tools, and posters. It's the kind of place where each corner reveals something unexpected from another era, making winter visits particularly inviting when you want to spend hours browsing indoors.

The Baltimore Tattoo Museum hopes that what you see at the museum will inspire you to come check out the history of electric tattooing, and if you dare, get a tattoo yourself!

America's most important, historic and comprehensive collection lives to tell the story of railroading every day. Forty acres of heritage and a world class collection await your discovery!

Mission: To be the premier experience and best resource for information and inspiration about the lives of African American Marylanders. The museum seeks to realize its mission by collecting, preserving, interpreting, documenting and exhibiting the rich contributions of African American Marylanders from the state’s earliest history to the present and the future.

Geppi’s Entertainment Museum is dedicated to presenting the story of popular culture since the nation’s earliest days in an entertaining and educational fashion so that our guests have the unique opportunity to walk through a timeline that parallels and is entwined with history as a whole.

The National Great Blacks In Wax Museum is among the nations most dynamic cultural and educational institutions. Because it is a wax museum committed solely to the study and preservation of African American history, it is also among the most unique. Primarily, the presentation of life-size, life-like wax figures highlighting historical and contemporary personalities of African ancestry defines its uniqueness.

Find your smile at the National Museum of Dentistry! Smile-inspiring exhibitions and innovative programs make a national impact to educate the public about the importance of good oral health to a healthy life.

Explore the depth and diversity of African artistic traditions through rotating collections that span masks, woven textiles, carved figures, intricate jewelry, and resonant musical instruments. The museum brings these pieces to life via hands-on workshops, engaging lectures, and curated gallery experiences designed for everyone from curious kids to lifelong learners. Winter visits offer a particularly intimate atmosphere within the elegant nineteenth-century Oakland manor in Columbia, where the quieter season creates space for reflection alongside the vibrant stories each artifact tells. The institution reaches far beyond its walls through school partnerships, community outreach initiatives, and travel opportunities that deepen connections to African cultures. Housed in this historic restored estate and supported by a network of donors, corporate partners, and foundations, the museum remains dedicated to welcoming underrepresented communities and ensuring African art belongs in every conversation about cultural heritage.

The Mission, Purpose and Objectives of the Museum are: to focus on the heritage of Blacks from their origin in Africa through the Trans-Atlantic passage, participation with the Underground Railroad, the struggle for civil rights, and their accomplishments across the African Diaspora.

Also known as The Fort Schuyler Museum, this Bronx museum is housed on the campus at SUNY (State University of New York). Visitors enter through the Fort’s sally port, a tiny door that leads you back into maritime history. Once you step through this time portal, you can almost hear the wind in the sails, with a few “Aye Aye Captain” hollers thrown in. This museum is filled with one of the largest collections of maritime materials. The chronologically displayed exhibits provide a great experience of the history of the maritime industry. The underwater exhibit is filled with artifacts recovered from sunken ships around New York. On the second deck, you will find a bounty of art, paintings and artifacts from the early days of sea travel to the most recent merchant marine. The Promenade entrance offers the visual appeal of models of the Reliance, Hansa, Breman and many more. A perfect place for a father-son outing, or a day of maritime education and adventure for any interested in the history of trade, travel and sea adventure, this is a real treasure chest of knowledge. The interesting gift shop called the “Slop Chest” offers many unique treasures and trinkets to commemorate your adventure.

Foolish mortals beware! We love to put a little fright in your day. See if you survive the Black Hole. If so, you have made it through a journey of terror in the House of Frankenstein.

Built in 1680’s as a one room dwelling, today Bevier House reflects the history of the Hudson Valley and its inhabitants.

Located near downtown Glens Falls, a small city at the southeastern edge of the Adirondack Mountains, an hour north of Albany, New York. Today the museum consists of the restored Victorian home of the DeLong family, a changing exhibition gallery, research archive and gift shop.

The Columbia County Historical Society is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the history and culture of Columbia County, New York. <br> It is the Society's goal to encourage understanding, knowledge, and preservation of the County's heritage through the acquisition and conservation of historic lands, buildings, objects and documents, and through the sponsorship of research, publications, exhibitions, and educational programs.

As the Smithsonian Institution's museum of African American history and culture, the Museum explores American history, society, and creative expression from an African American perspective. The museum encourages the collection, protection, and preservation of materials that reflect the history and traditions of families, organizations, individuals, and communities.

Founded by American collector and heiress to the Post cereal empire Marjorie Merriweather Post, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens is one of the premier art collector’s museums in the United States. The museum features the most comprehensive collection of Russian imperial art outside of Russia and a world-renowned collection of eighteenth-century French decorative art and furnishings. The collection includes Fabergé eggs, Russian porcelain, Russian Orthodox icons, Beauvais tapestries, and Sèvres porcelain. Encircled by woodlands, the twenty-five acre estate provides visitors a tranquil oasis of luscious formal gardens.

The evening of April 14, 1865, has forever been marked with tragedy. On that night, our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, was assassinated in Ford’s Theatre by actor John Wilkes Booth. Just days after General Lee’s Confederate troops surrendered at Appomattox, VA, a time of hope and peace in Washington and around the country turned to a period of mourning that America had never seen before.

National Museum of Women in the Arts, the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to recognizing the contributions of women artists.

Generations of remarkable Americans are kept in the company of their fellow citizens at the National Portrait Gallery. The Gallery presents the wonderful diversity of individuals who have left–and are leaving–their mark on our country and our culture. Through the visual and performing arts, we celebrate leaders such as George Washington and Martin Luther King Jr., artists such as Mary Cassatt and George Gershwin, activists such as Sequoyah and Rosa Parks, and icons of pop culture such as Babe Ruth and Marilyn Monroe. They all link us to our past, our present, and our future. For anyone fascinated by famous Americans and their stories, the National Portrait Gallery is a must-visit destination.

From its founding, the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park has stood on its own, collecting grants from federal, public, and private sectors. The majority of funding received to date has been from the MCB-6 Association, other Seabees, the Rhode Island State Preservation and Historical Society, the Federal HUD Office, and a Federal Grant from the Department of Defense (allowing Seabee Reserves to perform a full summer training program here). While this may sound significant, it’s only a small percentage of the bricks and mortar required to complete this tribute to the "Original Home of the Seabees."

Coggeshall Farm Museum is a living history farm set on 48 acres in Bristol, Rhode Island. The museum depicts Bristol's agrarian life in the year 1799 through live interpretation, historic structures, and heirloom plants and animals.

The mission of Providence Children's Museum is to inspire and celebrate learning through active play and exploration. <br> The Museum welcomes children and adults of all backgrounds and from all communities. Its focus is on serving southern New England children, ages 1 to 11, and the adults who care for them.

The Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales University is the premier museum devoted to the preservation of the history of the culinary and hospitality industries.

Built in 1913 and finished the following year, this East Greenwich landmark channeled Medieval design principles into its sturdy brick facade. For nearly eight decades starting in 1918, the structure served as home base for Rhode Island's Guard units until the final departure in early 1996. Walking through during winter months, you'll notice how the historic architecture holds its own against the cold New England weather, creating an almost fortress-like atmosphere inside. The space now houses a Military & Naval Museum packed with artifacts spanning generations, and the building itself earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance and role in the state's defense history.

Please Touch Museum, the children’s museum of Philadelphia. Please Touch is designed for families with young children and since 1976, has dedicated itself to enriching the lives of children by creating learning opportunities through play. <br> Let your child be your guide as they interact with our museum exhibits, take part in museum activities or enjoy one of our interactive theater performances.

Celebrate Philadelphia's Artistic legacy. The legacy of Philadelphia's art can be seen through Woodmere's Permanent Art Collection, our Art Classes, the Edward M. David Art Research Library, and Woodmere's Art Tours & Excursions. Enjoy Philadelphia, its art, and its artists through Woodmere Art Museum.

In addition to the basic mission of acquiring, preserving and exhibiting its collections, the Museum seeks to foster an appreciation for and understanding of the visual arts. In the spirit of this endeavor, the Museum supports the educational role of the University by presenting exhibitions and programs that are relevant to its entire curriculum and offers a welcoming cultural and educational resource to both campus and regional communities.

The Pocono Indian Museum is the only museum in Northeastern Pennsylvania dedicated to showing the history of the Delaware Indian. The museum will both inform and, perhaps, shock you. It will show the North American history of man in Northeastern Pennsylvania from 10,500 B.C. to the contact period with European man prior to the American Revolution. It will show the Delaware Indian's peaceful coexistence with other Indians. And, it will show you the shocking and short 100 years it took the white man to virtually eliminate almost all traces of the Indian's existence. <br> The Pocono Indian Museum traces the history of the Delawares through displays of ancient artifacts, weapons, and tools that form chronological commentary on life among the Indians for thousands of years.

For 200 years, the Academy has connected people to nature. As Philadelphia's natural history museum, we educate visitors of all ages. Our scientists study evolution, biodiversity and ecology, providing information critical to understanding the natural world. These efforts are supported by a collection of 17 million biological specimens and a celebrated natural-history library. <br> Our programs depend on the generous support of our family of members and donors. We invite you to help us continue making the connection.

The mission of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Museum and Visitors Center is to educate the American public on the history of drugs, drug addiction and drug law enforcement in the United States through engaging and state-of-the-art exhibits, displays, interactive stations and educational outreach programs.

Come experience the only remaining examples of the N&W's legendary success at the Virginia Museum of Transportation: the N&W Class A 1218 and the Class J 611. In our Rail Yard, explore historic steam and diesel engines, cabooses, and other rail equipment as modern trains rumble past. Inside the Museum, enjoy model trains, hands-on exhibits, and stroll among our antique automobiles, and truck and bus exhibits.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts houses a remarkable permanent collection of more than twenty-two thousand works of art from almost every major world culture. Especially noteworthy are the museum’s collections of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Modern and Contemporary American art donated by Sydney and Frances Lewis; French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art and British sporting art given by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon; American art acquired through the J. Harwood and Louise B. Cochrane Fund; The Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé jeweled objects; and The Jerome and Rita Gans Collection of English Silver. The museum’s holdings of South Asian, Himalayan, and African art are among the finest in the nation.

The mission of the National Firearms Museum is to develop and manage educational programs that promote appreciation, understanding, and participation in gun collecting, and the preservation of the heritage of firearms through collection, conservation, exhibition and research as part of a nationally recognized museum in America.

The USS Constitution Museum serves as the memory and educational voice of USS Constitution, by collecting, preserving, and interpreting the stories of "Old Ironsides" and the people associated with her. We seek to create a positive, memorable experience for both children and adults by inspiring within them a love for the freedom that Constitution symbolizes. We will share Constitution's contributions with a global audience, and we will strive to be the best museum possible based on scholarship and innovative ways of sharing Constitution's stories.

"We’re more than just the first public art institution in the United States. We were the first museum in America to begin collecting contemporary American art – resulting in our world renowned Hudson River School collection. We staged the first retrospective of Pablo Picasso in America; we were the first museum to both exhibit and purchase works by Surrealist artists – today almost every exhibition about Surrealism includes works borrowed from our collection. We were the first art museum to also have a theater – and we were the first to show Gertrude Stein’s Four Saints & 3 Acts – which we also produced."

The Submarine Force Museum, located on the Thames River in Groton, Connecticut, maintains the world's finest collection of submarine artifacts. It is the only submarine museum operated by the United States Navy, and as such is the primary repository for artifacts, documents and photographs relating to U.S. Submarine Force history. The museum traces the development of the "Silent Service" from David Bushnell's Turtle, used in the Revolutionary War, to the Ohio and Virginia class submarines. <br> The museum's collections include more than 33,000 artifacts, 20,000 significant documents and 30,000 photographs. With so many holdings, the displays change frequently and a return visit will be a new experience. The 6,000 volume reference and research library is a world-renowned collection relative to the history of U.S. submarines and is open to anyone looking for information on submarines or submarine history.

The Delaware History Center dominates the 500 block of Market Street Mall in downtown Wilmington and is composed of the Delaware History Museum, Old Town Hall, Willingtown Square, and Society's research library. Ample public parking is available at 4th and King Streets, 7th and King Streets, 6th and Shipley Streets, and at street meters. <br/> The Delaware History Center is just a few blocks from the Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park, the First USA Riverfront Arts Center, and the Wilmington train station.

It might seem that an institution like a museum is carved in stone, but since its founding in 1912, the Delaware Art Museum has actually changed a great deal. Our Centennial Timeline, installed in the Museum’s Orientation Hallway, is a look at how things were and how they have changed, both here at the Museum and in the community that we serve. To put the Museum’s historical achievements in context, the Timeline mirrors notable Museum milestones with important local and world events. <br/> A century ago, the Museum started life with an original purchase of approximately 100 Howard Pyle paintings. That collection has grown to include 12,000 works of art by great American masters such as Winslow Homer, artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and well-known American illustrators. The Museum’s name and physical space have also changed considerably. Originally called the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts, and then the Delaware Art Center, the Museum officially became the Delaware Art Museum in the early 1970s. And although we spent decades traveling around—with no permanent gallery space—the Museum now encompasses 80,000 square feet of exhibition and administrative space, four studio art classrooms, and a sprawling 9-acre sculpture park—the first of its kind in the region.

Founded in 1939 with one open trolley car, No. 31 from the Biddeford & Saco Railroad Company. Over the years thousands of members have followed the founding fathers by helping the Museum grow to be the premier electric railway museum in the world. Today, our collection contains over 250 transit vehicles, most of them trolleys, from all over the United States, Canada, and many other countries. We are the oldest, and largest electric railway museum in the world.<br/> The mission of the Museum is to present a living history of public transportation relevant to North American life through community-related educational programs. The Museum shall collect, restore, preserve, exhibit and demonstrate the operation of significant transit vehicles with emphasis upon traditional streetcar and interurban service, including rapid transit, trackless trolley and bus service with select world wide comparative representation. The Museum shall provide a repository for artifacts and information of an educational and historic nature relating to the origin and development of the transit industry and its contribution to modern society.

Experience the dramatic story of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry—one of America's most pivotal moments. This museum brings to life the events of October 16, 1859, when Brown and his followers seized the federal armory in a bold attempt to ignite an uprising. Through compelling exhibits and artifacts, discover how this single night of action reverberated across the nation and helped set the stage for the Civil War.

Founded in 1983 in Portsmouth, the Children's Museum of New Hampshire relocated to Dover in 2008. It offers a blend of art, science and cultural experiences for families. At the heart of our mission is a commitment to offering access to all children and families by minimizing barriers that prevent fair and meaningful educational and cultural opportunities. Since its inception, the Museum has served over 2 million people from New Hampshire and beyond. The Children's Museum is New Hampshire's most visited educational and cultural institution. In our three years in Dover, the Museum has reached over 280,000 students and families from 110 New Hampshire towns and cities, communities throughout New England, and visitors from all over the world. 50% of our visitors came in free or with reduced admission, and 24% are from underserved audiences.