Archives

Exploring Local Industrial History Through the Lens of Silk

Learning about our local history through the lens of silk can help shed some light on understanding our regions industrial past, how local architecture relates to this past, and help us connect more with the history of our local landscape. Through self-guided walking tours, museum visits, tree identification and special hands-on learning opportunities, families can explore the world of silk right here in the Pioneer Valley!

Category: Community Based Education, Hampshire County, Hilltown Families, History, Learning Lens Interest Tags: Fiber Art, Industrial History, Local History, Museum Exhibit, Silk, Textile History, western mass art

The Fabric of History in Western Mass Weaves a Tale

The Western Mass region has such an incredibly rich fabric and textile heritage. To take a trip along the fabric road reveals so much of the identity of the area. This is why the Historic Deerfield Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Its Textile Collection is a significant event that you should not miss!

Category: Franklin County, Hilltown Families, History Tags: fabric and textile industry, Local History, Museum Exhibit, Textile History, Western Massachusetts History

10 Days of Play: A Multi-Sensory Experience To Energize The Mind

Engage in creative free play during school vacation week by visiting the Berkshire Museum for 10 Days of play, an annual celebration that honors the importance of play in the everyday lives of folks of all ages. Featuring special activities and the limitless creative possibilities offered by current exhibit If/Then, 10 Days of Play provides an excellent opportunity for families to draw inspiration from unique surroundings!

Category: Berkshire County, Berkshire Museum, Hilltown Families, Museum, Suggested Activity Tags: Creative Free Play, creative thinking, critical thinking, Museum Exhibit, sensory

Animal Secrets Revealed at Springfield Science Museum

What does an eagle feed its young? How do mother bats find their babies in a cave? Using imaginative role-play and hands-on activities, families and children ages 3 through 8 will answer these questions while exploring the hidden habitats and secret lives of forest animals at the Springfield Science Museum’s newest exhibit, “Animal Secrets.” See the world from an eagle’s point-of-view and gather food for the winter with a chipmunk family, all while discovering Animal Secrets!

Category: Hampden County, Hilltown Families, Springfield, Springfield Museum Tags: Museum Exhibit, nature education, nature science, Wildlife

House Calls to Hoaxes: Early Medicine Exhibit at Hatfield Historical Museum

New exhibit at the Hatfield Historical Museum illustrates early medical practices in western Massachusetts. Fun way to learn about local history while discovering the history of medicine… from house calls to hoaxes!

Category: Hampshire County, History, Suggested Activity Tags: Hatfield Historical Museum, Health Care, History, Medicine, Museum Exhibit

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art Hosts a Rare Opportunity to View the Illustrations of Charlotte’s Web

Some Book! Some Art!: Selected Drawings by Garth Williams for Charlotte’s Web on View at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art hosts their newest exhibit, Some Book! Some Art! – a rare opportunity to view a selection of original illustrations by Garth Williams from E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web! While many of us picture the beloved classic tale’s characters the way they look in the 1973… Read More

Category: Hampshire County, Hilltown Families, Museum, Suggested Activity Tags: Amherst, Charlotte's Web, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Arts, Garth Williams, Illustrations, Museum Exhibit, western massachusetts

Mummies Come to the Berkshires

Wrapped! Search for the Essential Mummy Tells the Inside Story of Mummies: both figuratively and literally! Museum visitors often leave an exhibition of Egyptian artifacts with the impression that mummies are all the same and that all mummies were kings or princes during their lives. In reality, mummies are individuals; they vary in terms of their manner of preparation, the decoration of their sarcophagi, and the region in which they lived. And,… Read More