WHAT A BLAST. We came here for my birthday kind of ironically because online we saw reels saying it…read morewas the "weirdest museum ever," and thought it would be kind of funny/maybe even creepy. Little did we know it was actually FASCINATING; it was so fun to admire every last piece in the museum. The tram guide was great, the pre-recorded audio is helpful and interesting, and the collection is so varied and extensive that you can't help but love it. The pipe organs - fabulous. The walkable "toy box" collection was great after the tram. Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone - it was soooo fun.

The largest toy, car & animatronic collection in the country. All inside an old tire factory. Looks…read morelike an abandon building when you pull up to the front doors. All the employees are very friendly and acknowledgeable about the collection. The tram ride through the collection was extremely fun. There is something from every age group to catch your attention and send you back to your childhood. Well worth the reasonable price tag.

What a cool hidden gem in Valley Forge National Park! I took a tour of this museum in November…read more2025. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and intriguing as he guided us around the property and inside the home/studio. Esherick was extremely talented and it was incredible to see his stunning creations. Tips: The tour is inside and outside so dress accordingly. There are steps inside the building. Booking ahead is required and tour group counts are limited.

Visiting the Wharton Esherick Museum in Malvern had been on my to do list for a while, but the…read moretours sell out, and I've missed out on visiting a couple of times! Last week, I planned a last minute day trip to the Philadelphia area and noticed that they had exactly four tickets still open on tours for the rest of the month and they were for the upcoming Saturday at 11am. It was a sign, and I jumped on buying those tickets. How to explain the Wharton Esherick Museum?! Wharton Esherick was an American artist and designer (he's best known for his modernist wood furniture), and - while not a trained architect - he designed this house and studio compound (of four separate buildings) in Malvern to live and work in. By the time he was adding a workshop to the compound in 1955, building codes had made their way into law and Esherick got help from none other than Louis Kahn to help design that building. So what will you see if you visit? Just an incredible home and studio. Esherick was not into straight lines or right angles or wasting perfectly good wood, so the house and studio is an amazing sight: that staircase! the wood floor in the dining room! the concrete extension painted in colors that blend into the natural surroundings! the art and furniture pieces of Esherick's shown throughout the house! It's a hard place to describe, but our tour guide did a marvelous job of teaching us about Esherick and the buildings during our tour, while sharing some woodworking facts and passion, too! Reservations for the tours are required, and they do sell out. Regularly. There's an exhibit on Esherick at the Brandywine right now, and that might be generating more interest than usual in seeing his home and studio - or maybe tours of this amazing place are always this popular?! We did the Experiencing Esherick Tour, which takes you into the home and studio building and lasts about an hour. They offer some specialized tours of more limited days as well - I will definitely be visiting again for the architecture tour which takes you into at least one additional building you don't see on the general tour! The house? Fascinating. Our tour guide? Lovely. The grounds? Beautiful even in December. And a lovely little gift shop in Esherick's old garage where you can do some holiday shopping? Bonus. What's not to love about the Wharton Esherick Museum? I know I'll be returning to bring friends and family to this wonderful place in the future.

Great tour guide. Highly recommend Zephyr. Very knowledgeable and friendly!!! The grounds are…read morelovely and the castle is impressive.

Henry Mercer was an unusual guy. Very smart and very rich. So, he builds himself a 44 room castle…read morein 1912 in concrete (so it would not burn down). And he is not a trained architect or contractor. And then he sets up a tile manufacturing company about 1/4 mile away (you can visit that too), and he makes thousands of unique tiles to adorn the ceilings, walls, and floors of his castle; his new tiles next to historical tiles from all over the world. To visit Fonthill, you must go on a one hour guided tour. Our tour guide, Lisa, was intelligent and entertaining. Our group was 10 (that is maximum for a group). It can get claustrophobic in some of the rooms and there are lots of steps (so be advised). It is really worth visiting Fonthill Castle. It is far from a luxurious mansion, but rather a peculiar yet intriguing concrete castle. Mercer also built another castle about a mile away in Doylestown to store his "stuff" - this is the Mercer Museum (also worth a visit).

It's considered traditional to celebrate Independence Day at a parade, or a barbecue, or a picnic,…read morefollowed by watching fireworks, right? Well, Lion and I must be non traditional folk, because we visited the Delaware Museum of Nature. It was wonderful. The museum is one of those place I've driven by so many times, thinking - hey, really should go there sometime. Just .... didn't. On a broiling hot 4th of July, when the last thing we wanted to do was barbecue or go to a parade, we saw it was open and decided this was our opportunity. Yay! We arrived to a mostly empty museum, with a group of volunteers and staff who were really great! Being in the museum without crowds was lively. I could spend as much or as little time as I wanted with an exhibit. Volunteers demonstrating various artifacts were friendly Jan helpful. We got to meet two different snakes, learn that turtles can actually move quite fast and can climb trees, and learned that after the passing of Dude, the Museum Cat, they gave a new cat in training. Rye exhibits were nicely curated. This museum is not expansive, however they use their space well, focusing on aspects of Delaware's ecology and history. There's a family/kid nature "lab" where people can explore hands in nature. Parking is free in their private lot. It's an open, airy space that is fully accessible. I think we may have started outrun own new tradition this year.

We were visiting from out of town and decided to stop here for a fun activity to do with my kids (9…read more& 6). They were loving all the exhibits and thought the snakes were so cool. We enjoyed the interactive activities. The kids enjoyed the nature nook where we stamped with mushrooms for an art activity. However we were told the sandbox experience started at 2:30 and when we got there at 2:28 the guy wasn't exactly kind about it or understanding. The kids were sad they didn't get the full experience. It was much smaller than expected though for the price you pay. Probably wouldn't go back but we did have a good time.

I have been here a few times the last few years. My most recent visit was the end of August I…read morebelieve? It was a last minute visit idea on a day that was not blazing hot. Winterthur is a peaceful, restorative place to explore for a few hours. I did not do the house tour this time as I have done it prior. Recommend.

This was not on our list of museums to hit but since the weather was so darn hot we changed what we…read morewere going to do after spending the morning at Longwood Gardens. It helped that we got free admission with our reciprocal museum membership. It was 2:30pm we when we arrived so we didn't have a lot of time. We were given good advice on what to do in our limited time from the folks at the ticket office. We took the garden tram tour which was educational and got off at the house where we did the self guided tour. You only see a small fraction of this giant mansion but that was enough for me. While most of the docents had interesting facts the actual contents of the collection were not that interesting to me. If you are really into this era of American decorative furnishing supposedly they have more in-depth guided tours. We still had time to see a bit more of the grounds around the house but with big thunderstorms rolling in we headed out. I am guessing for some this place is a must... I am glad we got free admission.

This is the best small museum in the area. I learned a lot, and was able to check out tools,…read morewagons, and other things related to ice. I did not take pictures, because I was interested in the tour.

This was a delightful museum, an amazing collection by the "Ice Man". a wonderful collection of all…read morethings ice, related natural ice and manmade ice. They have worked hard to create a sense of how ice and refrigeration evolved and how all of the tools of the trade have evolved over the last 200 plus years. This is a wonderful educational and historical experience not to miss if you are looking for something "Cool" to do for a couple hours. Something interesting to see for all ages. Definitely email soon to get a private tour. Thank you for the opportunity to enjoy. Beth Anne Keates, Train Lady of West Chester, author

The Brandywine Museum has a special place in my heart. Intimate and welcoming, it is set in a…read morebeautiful natural environment, a wall of windows overlooking the river and green foliage. The focus on nature is a fitting homage to the special place the Wyeth family holds for the museum. This family of painters made their home in the area, and Andrew Wyeth - in partnership with his wife Betsy - took the local landscape, architecture and people as his life's work. However, the family produced three generations of artists, and there is usually at least one, carefully curated, Wyeth exhibit on display at the museum at any given time. Each time I come I learn about a different aspect of their art, and fall in love a little bit more. You can also take a tour of the artists' home and studio, as well as the newly installed N.C. Wyeth mural in the Round Barn, constructed just for this purpose. These tours need a reservation and cost extra, but worth it if you are able to splurge.

The Brandywine Museum is a treasured spot we've visited several times this year. Permanent exhibits…read moreare wonderful, and the rotating exhibits are especially interesting. A beautiful spot in scenic Chadds Ford.

This was a neat little house/museum that I hadn't heard of but was just randomly looking up things…read moreto do in the area and found it. It's right next to Princeton's campus and the Battle of Trenton Memorial. My husband is a big fan of all the Signers of the Declaration, and unlike a more restored house about the people who owned the house, it focuses on the Stockton family who lived here and the American Revolution and a special exhibit. We were actually here for a few hours since there's a lot of signs to read and a lot of Richard Stocktons who lived in the house, followed by some governors. When I went, there was also a really interesting exhibit on Ma Bell and the history of telecommunications upstairs. This was a great historical site, a cheap price, and a nice space. Would love to come back when the garden is in bloom, and I will look out for future exhibitions as they rotate in.

I was fortunate to be able to go when they were offering a cream tea which I can highly recommend…read more It was quite wonderful. The tour was interesting and ok but with limited things to see. There was information about some Stockton family members who lived there but would have liked to have more broad information. The house is quite beautiful and the garden is very nice. I did enjoy the visit but the cream tea was really the best.

In the heart of Abington, and about a hundred yards away from the Roslyn train station, you can…read morefind Briar Bush, a hidden nature preserve tucked away on Edge Hill road. With scenic walking trails, an outdoor classroom, day camps and a small indoor animal habitat, Briar Bush is a great spot for small children, couples on a date, or anyone looking for a brief respite from the urgency of the modern world. With free admission for locals and a small fee for out-of-towners, the preserve is accessible to all patrons provided that they are able to walk down some wooded trails that circle through the admittedly short walking routes. The centerpiece of the trails is a picturesque, secluded pond with benches for sitting and an interactive sign with information on the local fauna and flora. The indoor animal habitat has a small gift shop, pamphlets on upcoming events and information on other parks in the area, and several interesting animals such as a blind possum named Odin, a bearded lizard named Karl, and several other unique turtles and reptiles. All of Briar Bush can be walked through in an hour or so, but the low admission, interactive nature events and scenic walking trails will have you wanting to return again soon.

Staff are very informative when it comes to presentations but the facility is not very well…read moremaintained in some places because multiple trees have poison ivy on them. I know what poison ivy looks like, and when it's in hairy vine form, it can choke a tree and kill it. There was a wildlife sanctuary in the neighborhood that I grew up in as a child, and many of the trees almost died because they were being choked by poison ivy. Hairy vine, no friend of mine. But, on a more positive note, they have some animals that you can pet (when they are being presented by a lecturer), including rabbits, rats, and snakes, plus a turtle. In fact, now, as I am typing this, I remember coming here as a kid with school and Cub Scouts and my family as well, and I remember Boo the Rat (R.I.P!) and I remember a turtle who came to Briar Bush after being fed dog food by its owner. Eww. Bottom line, presentation is everything. One thing that I personally don't mind but that wildlife and some other visitors are probably irritated by is the fact that SEPTA's Warminster Line runs behind Briar Bush with a train going by every so often.

The museum is very interesting by itself but we really enjoyed the guided tour of the restoration…read moreshop led by volunteer Tom. It was a small group of 6 visitors and we saw how much work, time and expense goes into restoring these wonderful locomotives and rail cars. Tom was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic in sharing detailed information. So much goes on behind the scenes. Tom really made the era of the steam locomotives come alive.

You can actually walk onto the trains, which makes the experience even more unique! The conductor…read moreshares so much fascinating information about the trains, their history, and what life was like during that time. The entire exhibit is designed to feel like you're stepping into an old train station, complete with the shops and details that would have surrounded travelers back then. It truly feels like stepping back in time. A one-of-a-kind experience and a beautiful walk through history!