A trip to a museum can be an adventurous learning experience for everyone in the family. We’ve chosen seven museums across a wide area of subjects, from nature to military history to art. The Hudson Valley is home to many museums, historic sites, and learning centers—these are just a few to get you started.
**Check operating hours and days before visiting. NOT all museums may be open year round**
Volunteer
Firemen's Hall & Museum
265 Fair St., Kingston, NY
845-331-0866
This all-volunteer
organization works to preserve Ulster County firefighter history, artifacts and
documents in the original Wiltwyck Fire Station. Admission is free. Operation
schedule changes each season. Check the museum website in advance.
World Awareness Children's Museum
89 Warren St., Glens Falls, NY
518-793-2773
An interactive, hands-on Children's Museum designed for families to enjoy. Our mission is to bring our diverse world to children.
Samuel
Dorsky Museum of Art
State University of New York at New Paltz
1 Hawk Dr., New Paltz, NY
845-257-3844
This Museum has a special commitment to collecting important works of art
created by artists that have lived and worked in the Hudson Valley and Catskill
regions. “Children are welcome at the Dorsky Museum—it’s never too early to
introduce a child to the experience of looking at art!” says Sara Pasti, the
Dorsky Museum’s director.
Hudson
Highlands Nature Museum
Outdoor Discovery
Center
120 Muser Dr.,
Cornwall, NY
845-534-5506
The Hudson Highlands Nature Museum
is a center for nature. Its mission is to develop responsible caretakers
of the natural world through its special focus on Environmental Education. It
uses its living collections of native animals, natural habitats and trails to
present a wide variety of programs for people of all ages at its two locations.
Dia:Beacon
3 Beekman St., Beacon, NY
845-440-0100
Located in a repurposed old
factory building on Beacon’s waterfront, the museum has works by some of the
most important artists of the 1960s and 1970s, including Joseph Beuys, John
Chamberlain, Walter De Maria, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, and Andy Warhol.
West Point Museum
United States Military Academy
2110 New South Post
Rd., West Point, NY
845-938-3590
The West Point Museum
houses what is considered the oldest and largest diversified public collection
of military relics in the Western Hemisphere. “We are very appealing to
families. We have something for all ages,” says the museum’s director, David
Reel. Admission is free. The Visitors Center and West Point Museum are open to
the general public daily.
Museum
of Firefighting
117 Harry Howard Ave., Hudson, NY
518-822-1875
The Museum of Firefighting
is America’s interactive museum of firefighting. Activities for families
include creative play on selected fire engines, hands-on interactives—including
the popular bucket brigade activity—a virtual fire engine driving activity, the
new Jr. Firefighter Challenge and the Cabot/McCadam Discovery Room. With more
than 60 pieces of apparatus on exhibit, whether you’re a firefighter, a student
of history or a family looking for a fun and educational day trip, you will not
want to miss this unique Museum.
Mid-Hudson Children’s
Museum
75 North Water St.,
Poughkeepsie, NY
845-471-0589
MHCM is an ideal destination for families with children ages
0-6. It offers a rich blend of interactive exhibits and hands-on
educational programs to promote art, science, early literacy, math, nature, and
culture. MHCM’s mission of empowering young children and their families is
supported by three areas of strategic and programmatic focus – school
readiness, health and wellness, and community-building
Museum Village
1010 State Rte. 17M,
Monroe, NY
845-782-8248
Museum Village offers
visitors the opportunity to explore vignettes of 19th century American life.
Using a large collection of eclectic artifacts, the museum provides hands-on
educational experiences and exhibits that illustrate the transition from a
rural to an industrial culture and economy in America.
Time and the Valleys Museum
322 Main St., Grahamsville, NY
845-985-7700
Connecting water, people and the Catskills, the Time and the
Valleys Museum offers families interactive exhibits on NYC’s Water System,
local history and a 1930s Catskill farm, with a farmhouse, milk house, barn,
working water wheel and much more. Exhibits include activities, puzzles
computer games and hands- on experiences for children.
Harness Racing Museum and
Hall of Fame
240 Main St., Goshen NY
845-294-6330
Drive a sulky to the
finish line in the 3-D simulator. Riveting state-of-the-art and interactive
exhibits. Call and judge a race. Theaters tell the fascinating history of
America’s first sport. Home of the largest collection of Currier & Ives
trotting prints. Changing art exhibits. Group tours, conference and private
party facilities.
Samuel Morse House at Locust Grove
2683 South Rd.,
Poughkeepsie NY
845-454-4500
The not-for-profit Locust Grove Estate features
a historic Italianate mansion open for tours with original collections of fine
and decorative arts assembled by the Young family in the early twentieth
century. In the Visitor Center, a permanent exhibit explores Samuel Morse's
careers as an artist and inventor of the telegraph and Morse Code. Locust Grove
also offers numerous special events throughout the year, many for children and
families as well as beautiful grounds for hiking and walking, a museum shop, mansion
tours and visitor center.
Updated December 2019
Other articles by HVP Top Lists