Museums and Galleries
The Berkshires region has a wonderful variety of fine museums & galleries
16 listings
Springfield, MA
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
1000 Hall of Fame Avenue 877-446-6752The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is home to more than 300 inductees and more than 40,000 square feet of basketball history. Hundreds of interactive exhibits share the spotlight with skills challenges, live clinics, and shooting contests. Basketball fans will find exhibits, interactive kiosks, memorabilia, and hands-on activities. Children and adults can spend the day in the 80,000-square-foot facility shooting baskets on a regulation court, measuring their skills against sports legends in an interactive game. Kids are invited to coaches’ clinics on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Hours vary by season
North Adams, MA
Mass MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art )
87 Marshall Street 413-662-2111Since opening in 1999, MASS MoCA has become one of the world's premier centers for making and showing contemporary art. MASS MoCA exhibits work by many of the most important artists of today, focusing on large-scale and complex installations that are impossible to realize in conventional museums. MASS MoCA hosts more than 75 performances year-round, including popular music, contemporary dance, alternative cabaret, world music dance parties, outdoor silent films with live music, documentaries, and avant-garde theater.
Hours: September-June 25, daily except Tuesdays, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; June-September, daily, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Admission: Adults $15; Students $10; Children age 6-16 $4
Stockbridge, MA
Norman Rockwell Museum
9 Glendale Road (Route 183) 413-298-4100Largest collection of original work by Norman Rockwell, the quintessential American illustrator famous for his "Saturday Evening Post" covers. Artist's studio; exhibitions of Rockwell's work, his contemporaries, and modern illustrators.
Hours: May-November 11 and holidays, daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Thursdays until 7 p.m. in July and August; November 12-May, weekdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; weekends and holidays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Admission: Adults, $16; seniors 65 and older, $14.50; college students, $10; youth ages 6-18, $5.
Holyoke, MA
Children's Museum at Holyoke
444 Dwight Street 413-536-7048Hands-on science exhibits and activities for children.
Hours: Tuesday-Friday 9am - 4pm, Saturday 10am - 4pm, Sunday Noon - 4pm.
Admission: Children & Adults $8, Seniors $5, Ages 1 and under Free.
Williamstown, MA
Williams College Museum of Art
15 Lawrence Hall Drive, Suite 2 413-597-2429Modern and contemporary art, American art from the late 18th century to the present, and the art of world cultures. Maurice and Charles Prendergast gallery.
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m. ; Admission: Free.
South Hadley, MA
Mount Holyoke College Art Museum
Lower Lake Road 413-538-2245Beautifully exhibited and critically acclaimed broad-based permanent collection. Comprehensive scope ranges from ancient to contemporary art and represents diverse cultures. Imaginative special exhibitions; scavenger hunts for kids. Docent-led tours available with advance notice. Collections focus on Asian art; 19th- and 20th-century European and American paintings and sculpture; Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art; Medieval sculpture; and early Italian Renaissance paintings. 6-8 exceptional special exhibitions annually. Visit the college's botanical gardens next door too.
Hours: Tuesday–Friday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 1–5 p.m., closed Mondays and certain college holidays. Call ahead for seasonal changes. ; Admission: Free
West Springfield, MA
Storrowton Village Museum
1305 Memorial Avenue 413-205-5051A restored New England village, featuring blacksmith shop, homes, schoolhouse, and a meetinghouse. Open seasonally. There is an admission fee.
Williamstown, MA
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute "The Clark"
225 South Street 413-458-2302The marvelous Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute – commonly known as “the Clark,” in Williamstown harbors a rich collection of French Impressionist and Academic paintings, British oil sketches, drawings, and silver, and the work of American artists Winslow Homer, George Inness, and John Singer Sargent. The imposing 1950s building was enlarged in a 2014 expansion, designed by the prize-winning architect Tadao Ando. This beloved museum hosts many public events involving art, music, and theater, especially in the summer.
Amherst, MA
Emily Dickinson House
280 Main Street 413-542-8161The Emily Dickinson Museum comprises two historic houses in the center of Amherst, Massachusetts associated with the poet Emily Dickinson and members of her family during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Homestead was the birthplace and home of the poet Emily Dickinson. The Evergreens, next door, was home to her brother Austin, his wife Susan, and their three children.
The Emily Dickinson Museum offers guided tours, in-person and online poetry programs, interactive workshops, and more.
Amherst, MA
Mead Art Museum
Amherst College 413-542-2335More than 16,000 works; collections range from antiquity to present; portraits by Gilbert Stuart, Italian Renaissance paintings, Japanese woodblock prints, Mediterranean antiquities, and pre-Columbian ceramics.
Hours: Academic year hours, Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday, 9 a.m.– midnight; Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed Mondays. Summer hours, Tuesday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed Mondays. ; Admission: Free.
Dalton, MA
Crane Museum of Papermaking
30 South Street 413-664-2538Situated in Crane's historic 1845 old stone mill. Exhibits and displays of nearly 200 years of papermaking in Dalton.
Hours: June through mid-October, Monday through Friday, 1-5 p.m.. To schedule a group tour, call 413-684-7780.
Admission: Free.
Hadley, MA
Hadley Farm Museum
208 Middle Street 413-586-1160Early New England farm equipment in restored 1782 barn: blacksmith tools, ox cart, stage coach, plows, early domestic appliances.
Hours: May-October, Saturday and Sunday, 2-4 p.m. or by appointment.
Admission: Adults, $5; students and seniors, $3; children under 12, $1.
Springfield, MA
Springfield Museums & Dr Seuss Nat’l Memorial Sculpture Garden
21 Edwards Street 413-263-6800The Springfield Museums consists of five institutions at one location: the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts, the Smith Art Museum, the Springfield Science Museum, the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum and the Museum of Springfield History. In addition, the property includes the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, with life-size statues of Springfield native Dr. Seuss and his favorite characters including Horton, the Grinch and the Lorax.
IN the five art, science and historical museums, guests can find Samurai armor and weaponry; an internationally-acclaimed collection of Oriental bronze, jade and porcelain; intricate Middle Eastern rugs; fine American and European paintings and sculpture; a savannah of animals in the R.E. Phelon African Hall; Dinosaur Hall with its towering Tyrannosaurus Rex; Astronomy Hall complete with a planetarium; and exhibits about Connecticut River Valley history. Curriculum-based tours and programs are available.
Deerfield, MA
Historic Deerfield
88 Old Main Street 413-775-7214Located in western Massachusetts off Routes 5 and 10 in the 330-year old village of Deerfield, the museum has been called the gem of rural New England. It includes 12 houses dating to the 18th and 19th centuries and three exhibition galleries at the Flynt Center of Early New England Life. Guided and self-guided tours are offered. A full calendar of programs, special events, and village walking tours are offered throughout the year. The Museum Store and Bookshop feature gifts, museum reproductions and books about early America and the decorative arts.
Hours: Open Daily, year round; hours vary by season. Call ahead or consult website.
Admission: Adults, $12; youth age 6-17, $5.
Northampton, MA
Smith College Museum of Art
20 Elm Street at Bedford Terrace 413-585-2760The Smith College Museum of Art is free and open to all. Experience a world-class collection spanning ancient civilizations to the present, with extraordinary works from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Discover celebrated artists, fresh perspectives, and thought-provoking exhibitions that spark curiosity and conversation. Visit on Second Fridays from 4–8 p.m. for an evening of art making, gallery exploration, and special exhibitions.
Lenox, MA
Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum
10 Willow Creek Road 413-637-2210Restored 1902 depot with railroading exhibits and model train displays; Berkshire Cottages exhibit in vintage railroad coach. On summer weekends and holidays the museum offers two 90-minute round trip excursions from Lenox Station to Stockbridge and a 45-minute round trip excursion from Lenox Station to Lee narrated by a uniformed conductor.