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Massachusetts - Museums and Galleries in Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket

Cottage Museum
1 Trinity Park
Oak Bluffs, MA  02557
Phone: 508-693-0525

Open: Summer months, daily, Monday-Saturday

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Thirty-five acres of brightly painted cottage dating back to mid 1800s; tour a gingerbread home; performances at the tabernacle. Visitors to the Cottage Museum can view the interior of a typical Campground cottage, complete with period furnishings offering a glimpse of life on the Campgrounds in the 1800s. Also on display are vintage photographs, a selection of stereoscopic photos of Cottage City and the Campgrounds, along with other interesting documents relating to the history of the Campground. Admission charge.



Egan Maritime Foundation at the Coffin School
4 Winter Street
Nantucket, MA  02554
Phone: 508-228-2505

Open: Call for hours of operation

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The Coffin School is an impressive example of Greek Revival-style architecture that retains its original details and now houses a spacious lecture/concert hall and exhibition galleries. The Coffin School collection includes early 19th-century portraits of prominent Nantucketers and works illustrating the history of the school. Includes works by island artist Elizabeth Rebecca Coffin and Rodney J. K. Charman, recording Nantucket's rich maritime history from the 17th century through the 19th century.



Maria Mitchell Association Natural Science Museum
7 Milk Street
Nantucket, MA  02554
Phone: 508-228-0898

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The historic Hinchman House property features a museum of natural history, focusing on plant and animal life on Nantucket. Classes, lectures, nature walks and other events are scheduled throughout the season. Gift shop. The museum is open seasonally but activities are offered year-round. Cost: Adults, $5; children, $4 children; passes to all Maria Mitchell Association museums: Adults, $15; Children, $10.



Martha’s Vineyard Museum
School and Cooke Streets
Edgartown, MA  02539
Phone: 508-627-4441 ext 120

Open: Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; weekdays by appointment only

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The island's largest museum and its only research library dedicated to the history of the Vineyard. The collections include over 30,000 items relating to all aspects of life on Martha’s Vineyard, such as agricultural tools, archaeological material, paintings, prints and sculpture, baskets, coins, costumes, decoys, hunting and fishing and shell fishing tools, ethnographic material brought back from the all over the worlds by Vineyard whalers, armament, guns and swords, furniture and household equipment, medical and scientific tools and equipment, musical instruments, fossils and botanical samples, maritime-related tools, sailor’s artwork such as scrimshaw and inlaid work, ship models, shipwreck salvage materials, Wampanoag tools, woodworking tools, toys, a whaleboat, Nomansland fishing boat, wagon, sleigh, fire engine and an 1854 first order Fresnel Lens used in the Gay Head Aquinnah lighthouse for almost 100 years



Museum of African American History, Nantucket campus
29 York Street
Nantucket, MA  02554
Phone: 508-228-9833

Open: July-August, Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, 1–3 p.m. Other months by appointment

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The Museum of Afro-American History on Nantucket features two historic sites, the African Meeting House and the Florence Higginbotham House. These buildings were at the center of a thriving nineteenth-century African American community on the island. The Museum presents cultural programs and interpretive exhibits on the history of African Americans on Nantucket, and makes the African Meeting House available for ceremonies and special events. A project to preserve and restore the Florence Higginbotham House is underway with generous support from the Community Preservation Committee of Nantucket and the Tupancy-Harris Foundation. Free admission; donations welcome.



Nantucket Life Saving Museum
Polpis Road
Nantucket, MA  02554
Phone: 508-228-1885

Open: May, Saturday and Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Memorial Day-Columbus Day, daily, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

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This museum is the recreation of the 1874 life guard station originally at this site. Admission charge.



Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum
49 Union Street
Nantucket, MA  02584
Phone: 508-228-1177

Open: Memorial Day weekend-Columbus Day weekend, Tuesday- Saturday, 10 p.m.–4 p.m.

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Lightship baskets are unique to the island of Nantucket. The mseum exhibits and documents examples from the early 19th century to present-day creations. Throughout the season, the museum exhibits historical and contemporary baskets, provides demonstrations and lectures by experienced basket makers, weavers, historians, scrimshanders, and restoration experts. The museum also contains a large portion of the workshop of well known basket maker Jose Formoso Reyes (1902-1980). Exhibit changes annually. Admission: Adults, $4; reduced admission for seniors and children.



Quaker Meeting House
7 Fair Street
Nantucked, MA  02554
Phone: 508-228-1655

Open April through October

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Constructed in 1838 as a Friends school, the Quaker Meeting House provides an appropriate setting for presenting the story of Quakerism as a dominant social and economic force on Nantucket. Interpretive presentations are regularly scheduled. Admission charge.



Whaling Museum
13 Broad Street
Nantucket, MA  02554
Phone: 508-228-1736

Open: Open year-round, weekends during the winter

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The museum features a 46-foot sperm whale skeleton, a restored 1847 spermaceti candle factory, exhibition space, and a fully accessible rooftop observation deck. The candle factory, built following Nantucket’s Great Fire in 1846, still has its original whale-oil beam press. In the museum’s Gosnell Hall, visitors will learn about the whale hunt and see the whale skeleton, a rigged whaleboat, a collection of whaling tools, and portraits of whaling captains and their wives. Interpretive talks and audiovisual programs are scheduled daily. The Peter Foulger Gallery showcases changing exhibits, and unique seasonal events. Other galleries throughout the museum’s include its world-famous collection of scrimshaw, Nantucket lightship baskets, the 1850 Fresnel lens from the Sankaty Lighthouse in Siasconset, and the restored 1881 town clock. Admission charge.



Shawn Colvin -- Salisbury
November 20, 2009
Trey McIntyre Project -- Cambridge
November 20, 2009 to November 22, 2009
Bill Blagg III: A Night of Magic -- Springfield
November 20, 2009 to November 21, 2009
America's Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration -- Plymouth
November 20, 2009 to November 22, 2009
Tupelo Night of Comedy – Salisbury
November 21, 2009
Homes for the Holidays Tour -- Gloucester
November 21, 2009
Harvey Robbins's Royalty of Doo Wopp and Stars of Motown -- Worcester
November 21, 2009
Sara Tavares -- Cambridge
November 21, 2009
Dark Star Orchestra -- Lowell
November 21, 2009
Cuisine of Provençale dinner – Deerfield
November 21, 2009
Thanksgiving Parade -- Plymouth
November 21, 2009
Lighting Ceremony at Faneuil Hall Marketplace -- Boston
November 21, 2009
Open Hearth Cooking Class: A Thanksgiving Menu -- Deerfield
November 21, 2009
Festival of Wreaths – Nantucket
November 25, 2009 to November 29, 2009
Thanksgiving Day Celebration -- Sturbridge
November 26, 2009
That's Amore: A Celebration of Dean Martin and Friends -- Springfield
November 27, 2009
Vineyard Artisans Holiday Festival – West Tisbury, Martha’s Vineyard
November 27, 2009 to November 28, 2009
Gallagher -- Salisbury
November 27, 2009
Not Another Bite. Dining in the Early 19th Century -- Waltham
November 27, 2009
Parade of the Big Balloons -- Springfield
November 27, 2009
Season of Thanks 2009 -- Deerfield
November 28, 2009
Charles Dickens's Great-Great-Grandson Performs "A Christmas Carol" – Sutton
November 28, 2009 to November 29, 2009
Wynonna Judd Holiday Show – New Bedford
December 1, 2009
“The Nutcracker” -- Worcester
December 4, 2009 to December 6, 2009
Hansel and Gretel -- Boston
December 4, 2009 to December 6, 2009
Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas
December 5, 2009 to December 6, 2009
A Holiday Celebration for Families – Stockbridge
December 5, 2009
“A Christmas Carol 2009” – New Bedford
December 5, 2009
A Christmas Celtic Sojourn -- Worcester
December 11, 2009
seARTS Wearable Arts Show & Sale – Gloucester
December 11, 2009 to December 12, 2009
Craft Boston Holiday 2009 -- Boston
December 11, 2009 to December 13, 2009
Cultural Survival Bazaar – Cambridge
December 12, 2009 to December 13, 2009
US Air Force Holiday Show – New Bedford
December 12, 2009
Vienna Boys Choir -- Worcester
December 13, 2009
New Bedford Symphony Orchestra Family Holiday Pops – New Bedford
December 19, 2009
Click here for a full list of events.

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