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Central has indoor and outdoor fun for visitors

Central Massachusetts boasts three unique art museums, one considered one of the finest of its size in the country. Another is a world-class family-friendly museum with a permanent collection spanning 5,000 years. The third offers regular traveling and loan exhibits. You can explore the living history preserved at celebrated Sturbridge Village, and discover hissing cockroaches, a white rhino, camels, alligators and more at New England’s largest zoo. Things to do in nature, the outdoors, and the arts are interesting for the whole family on a getaway to Central Massachusetts.
Kids Cooking - Old Sturbridge Village - Sturbridge, MA
Old Sturbridge Village

1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, off Route 20 Sturbridge, MA, 01566 Phone: 508-347-3362 Toll-Free: 800-733-1830

Experience a true New England getaway at historic village that takes you back to the 1830s

Nothing gives you that true sense of New England quite like Old Sturbridge Village, where stories of the past come to life in 40 historic buildings; in exhibitions of the history of parades to early lighting to sewing, weaving, and textiles; and in demonstrations including cooking over an open hearth, making cloth on a loom and cutting the lumber used in the re-created 1830s village. Walk over the Vermont Covered Bridge or into the many buildings such as the school, cider mill, printing office, law office, pottery shop, and blacksmith shop. Outdoors there are gorgeous gardens with hundreds of heirloom plants, heritage-breed animals at the Freeman Farm and three nature trails. Come to Old Sturbridge Village and experience more than a just a museum.
Paintings - Worcester Art Museum - Worcester MA
Worcester Art Museum

55 Salisbury Street Worcester, MA, 01609 Phone: 508-799-4406

Get whisked away to other times, places, cultures at this engaging art museum

Prepare to be swept away when you enter the Worcester Art Museum, where selections from the museum’s 38,000 objects will take you away to other times and other cultures. See how the natural world inspired the work of Susan Swinand, marvel at exquisite 18th century Japanese folding screens – or go back to medieval times in the expanded collection of chivalric arms and armor. The museum’s stunning paintings from the 16th through 18th centuries have been reinstalled, with interactive elements. Families will feel at home here, with opportunities for play, drawing and relaxation. Ask about public tours, including 20-minute “zip tours” of one artist or work of art. Check the website for current and future exhibits, timed-admission information and safety protocols.
Bengal Tiger - Southwick’s Zoo  -Mendon, MA
Southwick’s Zoo

2 Southwick Street Mendon, MA, 01756 Phone: 800-258-9182

Adventures at this popular zoo start with the animals but include zip lines, mazes, trains

There are so many adventures waiting for you at Southwick’s Zoo, you’ll have some trouble deciding which to do first! You can visit lions, tigers, leopards, sloths, white rhinos, tapirs, alligators, prairie dogs and yaks in their naturalistic environments. You can feed pygmy goats at the petting zoo or fallow deer in the 35-acre Walk-thru Deer Forest. You can offer seed sticks to parakeets and cockatiels in the walk-through aviary or go on a camel or pony ride. And then there are the rides! Soar above the zoo in the seated, two-person zip line or on the Skyfari Sky Ride, walk through a maze or ride aboard the Woodland Express Train through the 50 acres North American Habitat. Dine at Galliford’s Restaurant & Tavern located at Southwick’s Zoo, offering an extensive menu year-round.