A friend and I traveled to Canajoharie specifically to visit the Arkell Museum. The first seven…read moreyears of my life were spent one town over and I remember my Mother had worked at Beechnut before I was born. The Arkell family was very good to their employees and built the library and a studio that became the Arkell Museum for the residents of Canajoharie. Its permanent collection includes 7 Winslow Homer paintings in addition to other American artists' works. The gallery of art representing the local communities is interesting and informative. I especially liked the map of the region painted on the floor of this gallery. There are three special exhibits:To be seen representations of women in The Arkell Museum Collection, Kevin Kuhne's Bygone Framework--watercolors of buildings and places in Albany that no longer remain as they once were and Happy Little Beech-nuts, advertising artwork of children enjoying Beech-nut foods. We spent approximately 3 hours at the museum and library as we enjoyed learning about the Arkell family and the garden that was created in memory for Mr. Arkell's second wife. In my opinion, The Arkell Museum and library is their legacy, to a community and its people they genuinely cared about. It is well worth visiting.

Despite being a small town upstater, I've been to some incredible museums this year from the…read moreGuggenheim to MOMA to the Met to the "more intimate" Seattle and Portland art museums. Still, I liked this little museum a great deal. Let me put it this way. What's more boring than a drive along the New York State Thruway? How about a fun, educational break from the cross-state driving? Just 3 or 4 blocks from the Canajoharie toll booth and you're at the museum. Stretch your legs, see a lovely little collection of interesting art, and barely interrupt your drive. I was most impressed by the beautiful bronze in the garden and the American Art Collection. I could care less about the high quality reproduction of the Night Watch; I've seen the real thing and I've even seen it done in tiles in the Delft factory - oddly interesting. My only regret - I missed the recent Homer and Wyeth shows. The current specials (infrared shots of American ruins and a room of paintings arranged by seasons) didn't ring my bell although my wife was agog over some of the winter scenes. If you have time, head south just a block or two to the Church & Main Restaurant. Or, along the way there is an old fashioned small town cafe/diner. Regardless, take a tiny detour, get out of the car, and have fun!

This museum is visually stunning from the outside but less impressive inside; it's quite a small…read morecollection. It's definitely worth a trip of you're in the area or combine it with a visit to Howe Caverns in the same area. They have an extensive collection of arrowheads and some beautiful and moving art and history well worth studying. Nice that they have a lot of activities and space for kids and the community. I was expecting a bit larger museum but am still glad I checked it out.

A fun museum, very well done. I learned a lot and enjoyed the interactive nature of it all. Walking…read moretrails and scenery are also beautiful.

What a beautiful house, great view, and interesting tour. The house was built in the early 19th…read morecentury (don't let the old-time car at front throw you off) and is beautiful for its architecture and its interiors. Our tour started at the gift shop which has some great souvenirs and books. Our guide was really knowledgeable and had been giving tours for about 20 years and was able to speak to restorations and changes that had been made in that time. He speaks at length about the English Clarke family, how they came to sit up their home here, and how it remained largely authentic in many ways with some key restoration. This great estate was saved from demolition, and you can see the care that's gone into it from the Friends of Hyde Hall since. The guide was able to answer all the group's questions on the family who lived here and the objects on display, including what was original and what the functionality was. He also said some details get more depth in other specialty tours, and I was very intrigued by some of their events and holiday features. The Clarkes may have wanted a nice rustic manor, but its downside to tourists is that it's not the easiest place to get to. I definitely recommend checking this place out and the nearby state park.

Nice museum about the Clarke family's 150 years of living in the area and their contributions to…read morethe city. Beautiful place and scenery. Great volunteers and staff, very informative and friendly. Museum tours every hour.

Absolutely amazing! If you love hunting and fishing and are looking for something to do this is the…read moreplace for you. Admission was cheap and well worth it. This museum has a huge variety of gorgeous mounts, specifically bucks. It took use almost 2 hours to walk through everything and we still could have spent another hour looking around. 100% recommend!

CLOSED ON SUNDAYS..at least - heard good things about this museum, but arrived with my kids on a…read moreSunday after opening and the parking lot was blocked with a sign reading closed..Google says it's open every day. Kids were bummed and there's nothing else in the area for them so whoever runs the place needs to update that.

On my first visit, I just saw a fantastic Blanche Lazzell exhibit here. The Institute is large…read moreenough to provide a comprehensive main exhibit, as well as a smaller one, plus other permanent installments. I like its size, not overwhelming enough to get visual overload, but large enough to provide an artful experience. Parking on the street or in a small lot at the back entrance, reasonable entry fee, beautiful galleries, welcoming staff - excellent venue in the state's capital city.

We visited this museum after visiting the NY State Museum. The gentleman at the reception was…read morepleasant and friendly. Entrance fee was reasonable. As someone who frequents museums wherever we go, I can only give this one three stars. I guess I was expecting more and better quality paintings especially that it's the state capital's art museum. Not to be nit picky but our museum (City of Portland, Maine) has much more interesting pieces. Still glad we went. Happy to support arts and culture.

I did not expect to spend as long as I did at the military museum! It's surprisingly vast and…read morefilled with historical documentation, artifacts, and knowledgeable staff (volunteers?) to greet you upon arrival. There is no entry fee required, but there is a place to drop cash donations. Yet another treasure in the city of Saratoga.

What a find! First, it's free. Second, if you have even the slightest interest in America's wars…read morethis museum will impress and educate. The museum is housed in the Saratoga armory. The exhibits begin with the Revolutionary War (focusing on Burgoyne's invasion) and continuing clockwise take you through Vietnam. It also has an impressive Naval exhibit. I believe I was there for more than two hours. The exhibits included placards explaining what you are viewing. Of course the central theme is NYS's connections to each war, particularly the contributions of the famed NYS National Guard. Many of the relics were either made in NYS or presented to the museum by NYS veterans. If you admire military weaponry this is the place to visit.

I don't know who put this all together, but it was a genius move. Spectacular way to display Van…read moreGoghs work, even if you don't know another about him, you will get all you need heretic room where everything definitely wakes up is so beautiful, and the VR was really cool too. Look up the immersive experience in your town and go!!!

It was great when it WAS here!…read more This must be very out of date as Van Gogh exhibit closed more than a year ago!

I'm not sure how to describe this place. It's unlike any other I've been. That said, if you…read moresculpture, art, history, walking, nature, and how they all intersect, you're going to like Opus 40. Essentially, a man named Harvey Fite single-handledly took over 60 acres of Saugerties and built a giant bluestone sculpture in the center of it. The beauty of the walls, the paths, the pools...it's worth checking out. The scale is incredible when you realize one man did it all himself, including hoisting the 14 foot, 9 ton stone he called FLAME in the center. Opus 40 hosts concerts, nature talks and walks, events, and more at this beautiful, serene space, so check those out. And if you're more inclined, just do what my mom and her friends do often (what I've only done once so far), and walk the grounds and take it all in.

Well worth visiting including the on-site museum. I would say think about the historical context as…read moreto when this was being built.