The Explore All 50 States Project
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There is not much more disappointing than being really excited about something on your road trip and finding out it falls way short of your expectations. Located on Wall Street, I was super pumped to check out the Museum of Finance, particularly since tours of the New York Stock Exchange are now off limits. I was excited to learn with my kids all about the exchanges, commodities, stocks, bonds and all about the … [Read more...]
Ever wondered what life was life for immigrants at the turn of the century living in what was then the most densely populated place on earth? Now you can experience it by taking a tour at The Tenement Museum like Isaac and I did. Located in what's known as The Lower East Side, an original tenement building was purchased by the museum and sort of restored to show visitors what life was like here in it's hey … [Read more...]
Ben Franklin is one of my heroes. If I had to pick one person in history to meet and spend time with it would either be him or George Washington. I can't even begin to tell you what a treat it was to learn and explore all about him at the Ben Franklin Museum which is adjacent to the grounds of where his house once stood in Philadelphia's historic district. What a fun and interesting museum that enthralled all of us … [Read more...]
The Strong Museum also known as the National Museum of Play really is a glorified kids play zone. After driving quite a ways from Buffalo we were eagerly anticipating checking it out. I was really excited to check out cool toys I used to play with as a kid and show them to my kids but when we got to the ticket booth we were informed that there wasn't anything like that there. There were just some play zones for … [Read more...]
You cannot visit the city of Brotherly Love with paying homage to one of it's greatest sons (albeit, a fictional one), Rocky. One of the most famous scenes in the original movie is of Rocky's crazy training regimen in which he runs up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The statue is to the right of the museum entrance (and below the steps-at street level). You will find it when you find the large line of … [Read more...]
My kids and I are huge pop art fans and so we were particularly excited to check out The Andy Warhol Museum which is located in the city of his birth-Pittsburgh. After getting over the sticker shock (it cost the 5 of us $50 to check out the 5 floors) we headed into the theater to watch the looping movie about his life, his art, his movies and his eclectic life. The movie itself was quite interesting and we were … [Read more...]
This is an awesome place not just to learn about the namesake of one of the most famous products in the world, but also to learn about the city of Pittsburgh itself. The five floors are jam packed with interesting displays documenting everything from native Americans who first lived here to modern day sports. It's just chock full of wonderful things to check out and I urge you to take your time and read the … [Read more...]
There is no better way to see the Statue of Liberty than just the way those incoming immigrants saw her on a boat in the harbor. Thankfully you can do that from two locations, one from New York City at Battery Park, and also at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey. There are several tours to choose from but be forewarned, the crown tour sells out months in advance because there are a limited number of … [Read more...]
As museums go the Anchorage Museum is a one stop shop for a little bit of everything. There are some interesting exhibits on art and on photography and the history of Alaska but there were two exhibits that really caught our attention, the first was the permanent exhibit on the native Alaskan villages that is coordinated in conjunction with the Smithsonian and the other, a temporary exhibit about Gyre, the immense … [Read more...]
Do you know what role sugar has played in Hawaiian history? It's amazing that something so sweet has left such a bitter taste for the last few remaining true Hawaiians and what's left of their culture. At the Alexander Baldwin Sugar Museum we learned about the science and history of sugar production in Hawaii. Even though this was a small and unglamorous museum, I truly felt it was one of the most educational and … [Read more...]
