Owned by the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh., this is an amazing facility stepped in…read morehistory and tradition. The Observatory is locked in Deer Lakes Park, and situated high on the hilltop with scenic views in every direction. The most wonderful thing about Wagman are the Star Parties. They are packed with people of all ages. Some have brought their portable telescopes, while some arrive hoping to look through both of the large telescopes housed at the Observatory. There are presentations, for example, an Introduction to the Night Sky." Periodically there are announcements made about things to look for up above. It's quite an evening of education and fun. Everyone is welcoming and friendly. And it's a great way to learn about the Observatory. I was amazed to find out that several Association members have had an asteroid named after them, and that our presenter discovered a Super Nova while at Wagman one evening. Association members who take a yearlong training can get keys to use the Observatory.

You can't take pictures... which adds to the surprise, but if you like something super quirky like…read morea dilapidated house that an artist purchased for $9,000 to then completely "remodeled" into an odd art piece in and of itself -- with cool photography by the artists, floor-to-ceiling record (literally), ceiling fans used like table lamps, ear molds and canned produce in jars mimicking preserved body parts, and crawl spaces to different rooms and up to the attic where you finish the (by appointment only) tour with an odd video of the artist himself... this is your kind of place, too. Bottom line: Shhh -- keep this place a secret but also go, go, go!

Free Admission ... Highly recommended ... This is the…read moreoriginal (out of three (there will be a fourth in the near future)) of the Troy Hill Art Houses. Without giving spoilers, I will only say that the inside of this house is really cool, and totally worth your while to visit. Make your reservation online, arrive on time, and enjoy ... Cheers! P.S. Contrary to what the listing says on Yelp, this art museum is NOT closed, it is open on weekends by appointment. See web site for details . . . https://www.troyhillarthouses.com/

The Depreciation Lands Museum is a nonprofit village that teaches visitors about local life in the…read more1700s to 1800s. Many people do not understand what "Depreciation Lands" means. American soldiers who had fought in the Revolutionary War had been paid with paper money called Continental Currency that had depreciated so much that is was almost worthless. As a result, in 1783, the Pennsylvanian government purchased the Depreciation Lands--720,000 acres in the counties of Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Lawrence, and Armstrong--from Indians in order to compensate the soldiers. Currently, the Depreciation Lands Museum is open on Sundays from 1-4 PM from May through October. Some special events, such as ghost-hunting and the Hydref Fall Festival, are held at other times. The suggested donation is $5 per adult and $3 per child, and these donations can be paid with cash or check in person or with PayPal or credit card on the website. My husband and I parked our vehicle in a parking lot that was near a bank across the street. We spent one hour at the museum, although other people might want to visit for a longer time. We felt interested in seeing the church, cemetery, tavern, barn, workshop, log house, blacksmith shop, Indian wigwam, herb garden, bake oven, smokehouse, and schoolhouse. All staff members were volunteers. The staff members wore costumes, and they reenacted work such as processing flax into linen thread, weaving the linen thread into cloth, cooking pumpkin soup in a hearth, making nails out of iron, etcetera. The volunteers spoke nicely to us, and they communicated educational information.

This place is super cool. Honestly it's right off the side of a busy highway but not many people…read moreknow it's there. They require at least a $5 donation to tour the museum. Honestly it's worth it. They are open on Sundays from 1-4pm except when it's winter. And seriously you could spend the whole 3 hours there. The workers are extremely knowledgeable and they act like they came right out of a history book for that time period. It's great for all ages.

Another one of the Troy Hill Art Houses, Mrs. Christopher's was a home formerly owned by said-named…read morewoman until she died. After that, her kids sold the home and the buyer commissioned an artist to make their vision come alive. Currently on the ground floor is a diorama of Christmas Day 1960 -- although if you are form the '80s and '90s, it may feel reminiscent to you as well... ashtray and cigarettes on the table, cookies for Santa, Monopoly on the floor, TV in the background... Upstairs there is a room designed like a small hunting lodge -- yet created to both mock and put down idea of hunting while reminding us of species gone extinct with repeated images surrounding the room via wallpaper. In the attic is a wall of canned goods -- from produce to a snake to a jar filled with beads. On the other side is floor to ceiling boxes -- like an old Sucrets tin or a fancy jewelry box or an old chocolates box purchased for Valentine's Day long ago. Inside are various knickknacks like little figurines or painted leaves stating "mercury poisoning" or acorns. You are encouraged to open as many as you wish. Bottom line: This house is creative in the feelings it evokes, from reminiscing the old holidays, to starting to ponder the ethics of our hobbies, to wondering about how to preserve anything in a jar or other makeshift time capsule and come back to rediscover it with the joy of a kid. At least that was my experience.

This is the fourth, and newest of the Troy Hill Art Houses. If you are not familiar with the Troy…read moreHill Art Houses, they are all individual houses up on Troy Hill that have been turned into art exhibits. There is no admission fee to tour the houses, and you can reserve a time slot on the website. The newest is called "Mrs Christopher's House," and was named after the former owner of the house. The art inside the house was curated by artist Mark Dion, and just opened for public exhibition on October 26th, 2024. Although video and photography is now prohibited on the inside of the houses (It used to be allowed), I snapped a few photos from the outside, and found some online that I re-posted. Inside there are several rooms, and the theming is different in each room. I won't go into too much detail about the rooms, so I don't spoil the surprise, but they are well worth checking out, especially if you like art, and are of the curious sort, and like seeing interesting things . . . Cheers!

I stopped by the Carnegie Museum of Art because I was looking for something fun to do inside. The…read moreCarnegie International is on display throughout the museum. Super cool, this is the 59th year and is the longest running exhibit in North America. This year titled "If the word we". As I was standing in the lobby reading about the exhibit, a small group started to assemble and a docent arrived for a free art walk of some classical pieces on display. In all my years of going to the museum, this was my first docent led tour and it was really interesting. It lasted about an hour and was very interactive with the guests. I really enjoyed.

For the museum lovers in the crowd, this is a decent museum. I do remember thinking like a snooty…read moreelite a few times that those accustomed to museums abroad in Europe would think this was weaksauce -- in terms of the art presented and the amount of art (or lack thereof). That said, you DO get entry into not just the museum but also the History museum while there, so your day can be rather full if you want to check out more than just art (e.g., dinosaur bones and other fossils). And perhaps most interestingly -- for those who haven't been to Europe, currently there museum has these huge stone structures that you would find in, say, Rome or elsewhere. I can only imagine how they transported these! But for someone who hasn't gotten to see the immensity of something like an old historic church embellished with stone sculptures that put our basic designs to shame, this is an experience worth having... Get there while they have them if they are part of a temporary exhibit! Bottom line: Decent. Good for the kids, too.

This is one of those Pittsburgh attractions that everyone knows exists but many people have never…read morebeen inside. It is part museum, part event venue and works well for both. There is a parking lot under the lawn of the museum that is very reasonably priced, but there is also street parking in the area along with other surface lots. The museum portion of the space is interesting, but you get a lot more out of it if you are able to take a tour. There is just some information that can't be conveyed well with just looking at the objects. It is an absolutely beautiful space and while the exhibits might not take a large amount of time to go through, you'll enjoy the time you spend there. The auditorium is well maintained and the seats fairly comfortable, especially for an older venue. It is the type of place where you can't really have a bad seat. Overall, a great place to spend some time and absolutely worth a visit.

We attended a graduation ceremony at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial. It was a great place for a…read moresmaller graduation. The aesthetic of the building was amazing. There was not a bad seat in the auditorium. You felt close to the ceremony and we were able to see well. The seats were comfortable. The elevators and bathrooms were dated. This is to be expected. The elevators were very compact. With a larger group there was some waiting. We had a cocktail on a different floor and with an older adult logistics were difficult. The room for the cocktail hour was spacious and well suited for the event. Parking was in a parking garage directly underneath the building. Again for someone with mobility issues it was a long walk. We enjoyed the ceremony and the history of the building. I would recommend taking a look even if you don't have an event taking place. The architecture alone is worth the visit.

We had an awesome experience at the Clemente Museum! The guided tour was excellent, and our guide…read morewas knowledgeable, friendly, and passionate about sharing Roberto Clemente's incredible story and legacy. You could really feel the history throughout the museum. Highly recommend taking the tour -- it was a memorable experience from start to finish!

This place was awesome. It's not a massive space for a museum, but there is so much interesting…read morestuff inside the space. Even if you know very little about Clemente or not a big baseball fan, this museum really walks you through who he was, what his values were, and the impact he made. The employees inside are extremely helpful and knowledgeable too. We did the self-guided open house, and liked it. Also, a MASSIVE shoutout to Mr. Rieder, who ended up talking to me for about 40 minutes as I wandered into a spot I wasn't supposed to. Go here, it's well worth it.

I have been here on more than a few occasions, going all the way back to school field trips as a…read morechild. Generally, it's a pretty cool place to visit and explore. This time we checked out an "Experience" from our local library, which allows free admission. This program is great, and allows you to visit Meadowcroft, plus the Heinz History Center, and the Fort Pitt Museum. In the morning, we explored the visitor center and the Native American Village. We liked throwing the Atlatl, which launches big, spear-like darts at a fake deer target to see if you can get them to stick. Afterwards, we left the site to go have lunch about 15 minutes away, and then did a short hike at Cross Creek Lake, where we saw a historic Truss Bridge from 1881. We came back to Meadowcroft, and climbed the steps to the Rock Shelter. We had seen this before, but we were able to experience some excavation work with the staff and scientists. We saw a recent discovery of a chipped flint that was 3,000 years old. Afterwards, we finished exploring the rest of the property. We liked throwing axes, playing double ball, and some other games. The old museum part was slightly disappointing, as it smelled heavily of mold, and I didn't want to stay in the buildings because of the smell. Neat old coaches and wagons in there, but I saw them before, so we were in and out quickly. Lastly, we did the Historic Covered Bridge (looks like it was re-done recently with new wood), the school, church, blacksmith shop and log cabin. All pretty cool to see. Overall, a nice day here at Meadowcroft ... Cheers!

Not too far from Pittsburgh (~1 hr) but the narrow 2 lane rural desolate Google Map route was white…read moreknuckling. All the docents were immersed in their roles. We threw spears and tomahawk. The geologist at the rock shelter was very interesting. There was a guest from Toronto who drove up from Wheeling to visit Meadowcroft. The conference center is still under construction. The bathrooms are open. Lots of stalls that are roomy. The gift shop was a great starting and ending point.