I am a self defined and described nerd. It has recently been more notable since I have been…read morefinding myself searching out more and more historical sites and museums to visit. Especially with how the last year has panned out. Visiting some of these sites allows you to explore on your own and away from a crowd. I have driven past this on so many occasions and never gave it a second thought. With my recent vacation turning into more of a staycation because plans got changed at the last minute I decided why not venture here and check it off my list of things to see and do in our fine state of Pennsylvania. Fort Ligonier sits along busy Route 30, right wear the route converts from two to four lanes. You might as well consider where this sits as the entryway to the town of Ligonier. Makes it look like a grand entrance. Fort Ligonier is actually two things in one...I guess we can call them attractions. You have the museum that has several different exhibits. Then you have the reconstruction of the fort. Each of the two can consume a good amount of your time. Once you arrive and pay for your admission you are given a ticket, or should I say sticker, you wear the sticker as you go through the exhibits. That way that let's the employee know that you paid. The museum portion offers a lot. Within the museum you have the History Gallery, George Washington Gallery, Art Gallery, The World Ablaze, Arthur St. Clair Parlor, and Archaeology and Reconstruction. That seems like it shouldn't fit inside the building that it all does. Because when you pair that with space set aside for educational needs and conference room space, this facility is a lot bigger than it appears. I enjoyed visiting each of the exhibits, I learned something new in every single one. I did not really understand the importance of this fort and the role it played throughout its timespan. There are quite a many unique items inside that you will not find elsewhere. Especially stop in the GW gallery and check out his firearms. The art gallery was impressive with the paintings of famous names from the past. Definitely check out the Arthur St. Clair Parlor, it is an actual portion of a home inside this building. I could go on and on about how much there is to see in here, but if I do that, I will run out of room about the rest of this place. The fort portion is very interesting, and quite the workout. You get to walk about the fort, any and everywhere you want to explore. Make sure that you do explore, I mean inspect every nook and cranny. I wondered everywhere I could and read all the informative plagues that they had. Things to note about this place. The fort is not fully reconstructed You get that when you notice that the walls abruptly stop. Also, the famous Forbes Road runs right through the fort. They even have it laid out that you can walk the path within the fort. After walking in and out of the many buildings on the ground you will run into a staffer that knows so much more information about this place than they had room for. I ran into such a staffer who showed me a lot of the grounds and even pulled out a map that showed where exactly the fort was and how they had to figure out exactly where it was when they started out with the fort/museum. A majority of what you see inside comes from the excavation they had to do. The staffer also informed me about the weaponry used inside the fort. I was informed the distance some of the bigger guns would reach. There is so much to go over with the grounds, I am sure I would miss something. There are so many buildings on the grounds inside the fort that range from a hospital, armory, and soldiers quarters. There are so many things that went into the fort that I had no idea how much of a city a fort really is. The museum store is decent. There are many decent gifts to find within. Of course they are all Fort Ligonier themed.

This is definitely worth a visit. Alot of great history, the museum is very well put together both…read moreinside and outside

My wife and I both read, 'The Johnstown Flood' by David McCollough and knew we had to visit this…read moremuseum and historic site. We had a tour in a van that covered the various sites where this tragedy took place. We saw the bridge footings over the valley that were wiped away by the flood, and the 'cottages' the wealthy club members lived in when they were visiting on vacation. This is a very special place to visit and reflect.

update your website to say it's temporarily closed!!! drove 40 minutes to get here because your…read morewebsite said "open until 5pm."

Very informative museum . I was not very familiar with the flood and after touring this area and…read morethe Floor Memorial I felt the devastation that Johnstown underwent. Great piece of history. Site is well maintained and very clean. Keep up the good work A+++

There is not much to see here but you'll learn a lot about the tragedy. The rangers here are very…read morefriendly and knowledgeable. Plenty of parking space.

This is the perfect little science museum for little kids--I'd say 8 and under. My 3 & 6-year-olds…read morehad a blast playing with all the different areas. I'd say we stayed for about 1.5 hours. If you're in need of an indoor activity for your kids in the State College area, I would recommend this place!

This place was awesome! We live in Bedford and took a day trip up to go to Trader Joe's, have a…read morebeer, then take our son here just to get out of the house. We don't know anyone that has gone here, just saw it online and thought we'd give it a try. My son will be 2 in a month and spent about 1.5 hours here playing in all his glory. They have everything to entertain a 2-10 year old. Digging for fossils, wood train sets, musical experiments, duplos, gravity/ball activities, examining X-rays, using magnifying glass to look at bugs, etc. Everyone was friendly and it was very clean and organized. There are workers that walk around putting everything back in its place constantly after use if it wasn't done so already.

Love this place its so calming and my daughter had an amazing time. It's not about money it's…read moreabout your child

This was a cool little find! My daughter and I love road trips so on our most recent trip to…read morebiscuit world in Morgantown, (we LOVE biscuit world), I was looking for some fun kid things to do. I didnt have much luck finding things in the area until i stumbled upon here on the map. When we arrived I was surprised to see the center is in a mall. I was expecting a stand alone building. I will say the center is a bit smaller than it looks online, but nonetheless packed with fun. I loved all the hands on learning experiences. They had everything from musicmaking, space exploration and dinosaur excavating. I saw they also have a party room that can be rented for birthdays. My daughter played her for hours and still cried when we left. We came on a Saturday morning. There was many other kids but it wasnt packed. For the amount of people in the small space, it wasnt overly noisy or messy either. If we are ever back in the town, we will definitely stop by again! Also, the price was unbeatable! $6 dollars for unlimited play.

Small changing exhibitions installed in a hallway of the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center…read more Embarrassingly slapdash venue for a nice collection of art.

What an amazing place! You literally can just feel the history in the walls of this place…read more The Miller House (which also houses the Washington County Historical Society) was built in 1825 and may just look like an ordinary brick building from the front, but you would never guess this structure has over 20 rooms and 4 staircases. Ms. Linda, the Executive Director of the historical society, gave my classmates and I a tour of the house and it was amazing (and a workout). If you're looking for a place with a lot of Civil War history, this is it! Stop by in Hagerstown and check this place out, then find an awesome place to eat down the street! For more information, please check out http://www.washcomdhistoricalsociety.org/index.php

Such a fantastic time! I went to the Miller House 2 consecutive days and each time we went back we…read morelearned more and more about the local history of Hagerstown! Linda, the executive director of the Washington County Historical society in Hagerstown, was such a wonderful guide through history. She has an impressive amount of knowledge of local history and is a pleasure to be around. Get out and learn about some local history!!

Art in Bloom 2026 was another AMAZING exhibit. I truly do not understand why more people are not…read moretalking about this! This exhibit blends art + nature in the most beautiful way, challenging local floral designers to reimagine pieces from the gallery through stunning arrangements. It's colorful, creative, and exactly the kind of spring energy us Pittsburghers all need during the transition between grey winter and spring!

Great museum! The Art In Bloom flower show is a hit! The artwork they have displayed in there is…read morevery nice looking and the place is very clean.

I've been wanting to visit this place since I was a kid. I finally got there. They are doing a lot…read moreof work on the building so unfortunately, a lot of the building was covered with scaffolding which was unfortunate and they were offering refunds, but this was only time to get there so I went. I did the guided house tour which was great. The lady who did the tour was very knowledgeable. I appreciate that they give you ear pieces so you can hear and don't need to feel like you need to be so close to the guide to hear. Unfortunately, there was a medical emergency (ambulances and all) so we could not get to the 3rd floor, but they did let us see the staff quarters instead which I do not believe was part of our tour initially. They had a really nice gift shop as well. They also had a café but I did not look into there so I do not know exactly what was being offered. I would love to visit again once the scaffolding and tarps are gone. Regardless, this place is very peaceful and just beautiful inside and out.

It's hard for me to convey why visiting this landmark was so significant for me. I was a lad of 12…read morewhen I saw pictures of this house in a coffee table book about Frank Lloyd Wright in a mall bookstore. I remember because I was so drawn to the aesthetic of the building. It initiated my attraction to open living spaces, mid-century modern design, and organic architecture. All these decades later, I made it, and the sight of the house actually made me tingle. I said tingle, not tinkle. That happened in the surprisingly spacious restroom at the visitor center before the tour. Built in 1935 for Pittsburgh department store magnate Edgar J. Kaufmann and his family as a vacation home, the unprecedented cantilevered construction is a 4 bed / 4 bath that would've been pooh-poohed by the more obnoxious wannabe buyers on "House Hunters". The main house is 9,200 square feet of which 4,400 are outdoor terraces. Outdoors is where Edgar's worldly wife Liliane threw parties for their friends. However, the key draw of the multilevel terraces was the sound and sights of the Bear Run stream underneath. Except for the Kaufmann's impressive art collection, there is nothing ornate about the two-tone house of light ochre and Cherokee red. The innovative design elements speak for themselves like the glass-enclosed staircase down to the stream. Given my longstanding desire to come here, I went for the $89 In-Depth Guided Tour which ran well over ninety minutes and gave us full access to the house interior and the surrounding grounds including the guesthouse and the gardener's cottage (now used as staff offices). Our guide Larry did a fine job sharing the history behind all the architectural details of Wright's idiosyncratic design and uncompromising commitment to organic compatibility. Be aware that the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy started a major $7 million preservation project in 2023 and it's not due to be complete until next year (fingers crossed). The advanced age of the structure had caused leaks, cracks, and corrosion, so repairs are still underway. However, some of the house was still covered with scaffolding with terrace access a bit limited. It didn't bug me though because we're talking about checking off a major bucket list item for me. RELATED - Exploring Pittsburgh? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/qN_tq21lnL