Museums and Galleries

Concord, MA is a haven for art, culture, and history, offering museums, galleries, and performing arts centers that showcase everything from the historical to the contemporary. At the Concord Museum, visitors can explore not only Revolutionary War artifacts like the original 1775 lantern from Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride, but also exhibits that explore the activism of Concord women to help abolish slavery, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s study, and the world of Henry David Thoreau. At the Umbrella Arts Center, you’ll find studios of 60+ working artists, dance studios, gallery spaces, performing arts facilities, and more. Don’t miss the Umbrella Concert Series (think: John Mayer and Brandi Carlile!) or the Umbrella Film Series. For lovers of performing arts, 51 Walden is home to local theater productions, symphony performances, and more. Follow our link above to explore upcoming exhibits, events, and performances!

Hammond Castle Museum offers families an unforgettable adventure along the rocky Atlantic coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts. This medieval-style castle was built by prolific inventor John Hays Hammond Jr. It blends history, science, and imagination into a one-of-a-kind Museum, featuring works of marble and stone. Guided and self-guided tours make it easy to explore at your own pace. Seasonal events, theatrical performances, and family-friendly programming round out the experience. Open daily now through January 3rd, including all major summer holidays. Little ones 4 and under are free with a reserved ticket. Advance reservations strongly encouraged.

The museum is now open! Wednesdays-Sundays from 10am-5pm. Advance ticketing is preferred - Please call or visit our website.

Detailed and engaging exhibits at the American Heritage Museum will make you feel you were there for the battles that have defined America’s defense of freedom. Dioramas and exhibits include a World War I trench experience, with a Ford Model T ambulance and German machine gun; D-Day, with a Higgins Boat landing craft; the Battle of the Bulge, with a Sherman Jumbo tank; the Korean War, with a Pershing tank; the Vietnam War, with an exhibit detailing the Hanoi Hilton prison camp; and the War on Terror, with a structure from the World Trade Center. The museum also includes vintage aircraft, autos and other vehicles and weaponry. Arrange ahead of time to ride (or drive) a tank. Check the website for special event weekends, including re-enactments.

American history exhibits; films, shows, and concerts; permanent exhibit on freemasonry and the American Revolution. Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. ; Admission: free.

Museum features collections of horse-drawn carriages and Native American artifacts.
Hours: Open Friday-Sunday, 1-4pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day; other times by appointment. Admission is free.

Paintings, prints, sculpture, decorative arts, and photography by American artists from Colonial times to the present. Works by John Singleton Copley, Paul Revere, James Whistler, Edward Hopper, Frank Stella, and Alexander Calder displayed on a rotating basis.
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m.; closed August 1 through Labor Day. Admission is free.

Follow the history of maritime Massachusetts through the exhibits at this museum.
Hours: May 15 to December 21, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday & holiday Mondays, noon to 4 p.m.; January 1 to May 15, Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.
Admission: Adults, $7; seniors and students, $5

This museum features a tour of the dungeon where those accused of witchcraft were held. Reenactment of the trial is also part of the exhibits.
Hours: April-November, daily; last performance starts at 5 p.m.
Admission: Adults, $8; children age 4-13, $6; seniors over age 64, $7.

Museum of social history from 175h century to present. Claflin-Richard House (c. 1690); world-renowned doll collection, dollhouse, costumers, model trains, toys. Conant photography collection, family discovery, and changing exhibits.
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; closed Mondays and major holidays ; Admission: Adults,$8; children ages 1- 18, $6.

The New England Quilt Museum presents, interprets, and celebrates American quilting past and present.
Hours & Admission: Tuesday thru Saturday 10am - 4pm. General Admission is $9, Free under 12.

The birthplace of James Abbott McNeil Whistler. Exhibits of Whistler's and others' artwork.
Hours: Wednesday-Saturrfday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Admission: $5; seniors and students, $4.

This state historical park describes the life and history of Lowell’s 19th-centry textile mills and the generations of immigrant workers that passed through their doors. The site includes a network of canals that furnished power to the textile mills along the water and a 2-mile esplanade along the Merrimack River.

This gallery-type museum has 50 wax figures in scenes that show Salem's history from its founding in 1626 through to the witch trials 1692 and into it period of global commerce in the 18th century. In the Interactive area, you can learn to tie knots like a sailor, create a gravestone rubbing, or feel what it’s like to be locked up in a life-size re-created jail cell. In October the entire street near the museum is transformed into The Haunted Neighborhood, featuring Frankenstein's Castle, Witching Hour spellcasting and ghostly tours!

The Essex Shipbuilding Museum tells the story of a New England village that built more two-masted wooden fishing schooners than any other place in the world. Visitors to the museum will see shipbuilding tools, photographs, exhibits about the shipbuilding industry, and the schooner Evelina M. Goulart. Guided and self-guided tours are offered. A gift shop offers ship plans, maritime books, T-shirts, toys, CDs, and maritime memorabilia.
Hours: Summer: June-October, Wednesdays- Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; after mid-October, open weekends, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Admission: Guided Tour, $5-$10, depending on age; self-guided tour with Shipyard Map, $7.

The Peabody Essex Museum collection presents works from the 1700s to today: paintings, sculptures, photographs, drawings, textiles, architecture and decorative objects, include African, American, Asian, maritime, Native American and Oceanic art. Many interesting changing exhibits. Wonderful gift shop. A large, light-filled atrium is a place to sit, eat lunch, watch a performance.