MASSACHUSETTS - Central

Children of all ages love exploring the EcoTarium, a unique indoor-outdoor museum of science and nature. Set in an urban oasis, the EcoTarium offers a chance to walk through the treetops and journey through the galaxy at a digital planetarium. You’ll meet wildlife like turtles, owls, eagles, an otter and a fox – even a polar bear! Plus, stroll nature trails, ride a narrow-gauge railroad, and get hands-on with family-friendly exhibits. The EcoTarium is always changing with special events, exhibits, digital planetarium shows and programming for families year round. For a special offer, visit www.ecotarium.org/coupon.

This family-friendly museum is the areas oldest cultural institution, and the region's most important center for art study and appreciation. With 12 galleries, featuring American and European paintings, prints, sculpture and decorative arts, Greek, Roman, Asian and Pre-Colombian antiquities this Museum hosts changing exhibitions in a 3-building complex. A newly renovated Egyptian gallery will be opening at the end of 2010. The museum is an excellent resource for students, home-schoolers and teachers. Tours, lectures, studio art classes for children, youths and adults as well as weekly yoga lessons. The Museum is also a perfect venue for private functions.
Museum Hours: Wednesday-Friday, 12-4pm, Saturday and Sunday, 11 –5. Open the following bank holiday Mondays – Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Patriot’s Day and Columbus Day. The Museum is open late and free the first Thursday of every month. For more information, follow our link above.

Open year-round: daily 9:30am to 5pm, May-late October; call for seasonal hours.
Admission, good for two visits within 10 days: $20 adults, $18 seniors (65 and up).
Youth rate: $7 (ages 3-17). Children under 3 free.

Come play in the past with us! Our new Kidstory early learning gallery invites children to use their imaginations and thinking skills as they do chores in the farmhouse, barnyard, and country store -- all dressed in 1830s frocks and vests (bring your camera!). Out in the museum Village, play 1830s games, work a water pump, milk Holly the (life-size, resin-cast) Holstein, build a stone wall or quarter-scale snake-rail fence with lightweight materials, and visit “A Child’s Life,” our new hands-on exhibit in the Fitch House. Enjoy an overnight getaway with a family package from our Lodges, dine at one of our taverns, and shop for treasures to take home at the Museum Gift Shop and New England Bookstore.

Southwick’s Zoo is situated within the historic Blackstone Valley. Surrounded by 300 shady acres and home to hundreds of animals representing many species, Southwick’s is more than a zoo, it’s an adventure for all ages! You can soar above Southwick’s Zoo on the Skyfari Sky Ride. Get up close with many of the animals in the petting zoo and Deer Forest. Southwick’s offers food venues, picnic grounds, shows, rides, a play park, the Purple Peacock Gift Shop and more. Visit Parakeet Landing a walk-thru Aviary or learn about different species of parrots at Bird Talk, an interactive show. Southwick’s Zoo also offers presentations at the Earth Discovery Center. The Woodlands Express takes you through the North American Wetlands Habitat. All new for 2012 is the Giraffe Habitat, Hyena Exhibit, Siamang Habitat and more!

Operating hours for Southwick’s Zoo are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 7 days a week, mid –April to mid-October, with limited operations to Christmas.