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    Icon Museum and Study Center

    4.5 (27 reviews)
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    Laurie M.

    Thank You Open Studio for promoting this great museum! Full of local history and a hidden gem. A must visit.

    Upstairs, love that the lights change color.
    Shelley D.

    Fun facts: 1. The owner of the museum sometimes walks around and asks you what you think of his collection, he is so nice! 2. This three story museum has an awesome collection of Icons, and they are all displayed really nicely 3. The tea house has amazing Russian chocolates. Try them and a nice cup of hot tea, it will literally relax you onto cloud nine. Went with my friend on a recent visit to Boston. So worth the drive to middle of Mass, Clinton! This museum is one man's personal treasure chest and he clearly loves the work. He even is the voice of all of the audio tour snippets.

    A wall of icons.
    Nathan A.

    This place is absolutely stunning! It's somewhat mind blowing that such an amazing collection of Russian icons can be found in the cute town of Clinton, MA. Regardless of one's faith tradition or experience, this is a wonderful museum worth a visit. In the Eastern Christian Church, icons play a huge role in spirituality and faith development. There are over 500 icons at the museum and most are incredibly old (circa 1450-1650) artistic paintings of Jesus Christ, Saints, biblical characters, and depictions of certain biblical scenes. The system and method of creating icons is amazing and you can easily learn the meticulous and prayerful process of writing an icon. I stood mesmerized by one icon of John the Baptist from 1450. We went on a tour with one of the staff members. She went piece by piece explaining the rich history, details, and theological significance of each icon. At one point, she share through tears how much she loved a particular icon because it reminded her of her son who had died. She was incredibly knowledgeable and personable. If I could remember her name, I'd recommend getting a tour with her. The collection of icons are owned by a gentleman named, Gordon Lackton. He took an interest in icons when visiting Russia and has since visited Russia bi-yearly to gain more icons for the collection. He is at the museum every afternoon and spent some time with us talking about the crazy adventures he's had purchasing the hundreds of icons in the museum. The museum only costs $7 for an adult, it's an entirely "green" building, and there is a cute town square with beautiful churches, buildings, and restaurants to visit.You can also enjoy some Russian tea in their Russian Tea Room. The building of the museum also has some interesting history as a courthouse and prison. If you have an afternoon free, I'd highly recommend a visit to the museum.

    Denise S.

    What a wonderful Museum this is. If you like icons and would like to know about their symbolism and history this is the place to go. It has the largest collection of Russian icons outside of Russia. We received a tour by the docent, Mr Flynn. He was very knowledgeable.

    The museum provides magnifying glasses so you can get a really close-up look at the detailed iconographic work.

    A real gem! You don't need to be Russian or Eastern Orthodox Christian to appreciate this museum. The space is brand-new, well planned and very fitting for the icons. The icon collection itself is pretty impressive. It's not a huge museum so you won't be overwhelmed by the number of pieces, and every icon is well-explained. You will need a basic knowledge of Christian lore (who is Jesus et cetera), but you don't need to be an icon expert -- they will explain the basic symbology. The location of the museum is in the heart of scenic, relaxed Clinton. It's in a beautiful brick building on the town green (yes, a real town green), and the building itself is modern with fabulous space and lighting on the inside. I believe they're also adding to their performance hall space, which means they will hold more Russian cultural events at the museum. Considering this new museum is already hosting a number of icons from the Tetryakov in Moscow, it stands to be a great new cultural ambassador for America and Russia. I also want to add that the curators at this museum are SUPER NICE. They are so enthusiastic, really happy to answer any questions and very knowledgeable about Russian culture and history as well as iconographic lore. I grew up in the Greek Orthodox church so I'm pretty well-versed with iconography as it is. But even though I grew up looking at them (you'd think I'd be sick of them), I still love icons, I love the methods and symbols behind it, and I love the collection here. It's a little weird for me to see icons that I can't touch -- traditionally you kiss icons at every imaginable juncture in the Orthodox church -- so it was a bit like seeing bits of church on the wall in an unusual context, but they are all treated with the utmost respect, so I was OK with it :) [edit] Note that the museum is totally ok with NON-FLASH photography. So if you bring a good camera you can get as up-close to the icons as you like and take pictures to your heart's content. And hooray for that!

    Great museum. Read Maria V's review for a better review. I went on a field trip with my russian class at school to this museum. I loved the small town of Clinton, MA. THe museum had a wonderful collection. The icons were beautiful. The only complaint I have is that the guides give such long explanations of the different works of art. It gets boring after I while. I mean, the depth of their explanations are great- if you are a conosseaur of Russian art or a Eastern European History buff, but for high schoolers, myself included, the tour was boring. Overall though, fascinating museum.

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    Nice small museum the building renovation inside is almost as interesting as the Russian Art Work.

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    Ask the Community - Icon Museum and Study Center

    Review Highlights - Icon Museum and Study Center

    I grew up in the Greek Orthodox church so I'm pretty well-versed with iconography as it is.

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    Salisbury Mansion - Front of house

    Salisbury Mansion

    (6 reviews)

    What a beautiful home. Open to the general public for tours at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm, the door is kept…read morelocked. We knocked a couple of times before it was opened. We were a bit early for the tour and waited in the hallway until tour time began. One other gentleman joined the tour on this weekday visit. The house was moved from down the hill to it's current location in 1929 leaving behind a kitchen addition and outbuilding. Originally the home was mostly a store with a ground floor kitchen and living quarters over head. Later, the shop space was turned into a small office, central staircase, hallway, dining room and parlor as it is today displayed. The tour included information about the original owners family and their impact on the City of Worcester. The building was temporarily used as rental property, one of which was a men's club who tore down walls to build a bowling alley. Because why not? The museum has restored that area to be as close to period as possible. Some items in the home are original to the family, including a beautiful harp. Other items in the home are appropriate to the period and include some beautiful dresses, furniture and artwork from one of the gentleman's 'tour of the Continent'. One fun piece on display is a Lego mock-up of the home. The tour guide is very knowledgeable and friendly. Parking is located next to the building. I'm not sure if it's wheelchair accessible due to it's age. There certainly is no elevator to reach the upper level and the staircase is steep. Some of the wall paper has been reproduced from pieces found during renovation and the lower level floors covered in a reproduced 'floor cloth' which the tour guide described as 'the original linoleum'. Very interesting view into life in Worcester during the late 1700's and early 1800's.

    Great tour. Guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Showing just a few photos so you can see the…read morerest for yourself! Go there - it's awesome!

    EcoTarium - City science Interactive exhibits

    EcoTarium

    (94 reviews)

    Follow the instructions to science and technology. Let's explore !…read more Our nations majestic bird greets you as you walk down a path from the parking lot . The parking is plentiful and free! As you walk this beautiful place it's divided between different animal paths and eco systems! You will learn visual and physical features from each habitat. Make sure and enjoy the experience that has been created to show how these creatures interact and exist in their surroundings . They maintain well funded environment by individuals that care for the animals. Thank you for this opportunity. If you're a local to the area the yearly pass would benefit greatly . Make sure and visit the gift shop for a souvenir. Until the next time.

    We recently visited the Ecotarium which is almost an hour away from where we live; and while it had…read moresome highlights, I left feeling the admission price didn't quite match the experience--especially with a toddler. For our family, it came out to around $55, and for a 2-year-old, there wasn't a lot to engage with at this age. Many of the exhibits are better suited for older children who can read, explore independently, and understand the science concepts. Both the planetarium and the train ride require an additional fee beyond admission. My toddler enjoyed the train and we thought the planetarium was nicely done, but it would've been nice if there was an option to just purchase tickets for those experiences instead of paying full admission. We were excited to see the mountain lions, but learned they're often resting high up and out of view. It was a little disappointing since that's one of the main animal exhibits. The bubble exhibit was also not functioning properly during our visit. Overall, the grounds are nice and I can see older kids having a great time exploring all the exhibits. For families with toddlers, though, the value just isn't quite there. I'd recommend this more for kids 4-5 and up who can really interact with and appreciate the exhibits.

    Worcester Art Museum

    Worcester Art Museum

    (107 reviews)

    Lovely museum with a variety of exhibits…read more I was very excited to view the new armor collection they have on exhibit. It's a vast collection with full suits of armor down to the smallest embelishment, cerfemonial or functional. Pieces include European and Asian examples. The exhibit is included with admission and has timed entry so be sure to book ahead to get your desired time slot. A small kids area in the exhibit has art supplies and books in case the adults are taking too long. Directly across from the armor exhibit we viewed the "Peaceable Kingdom" exhibit. Artists around the world have submitted works of their interpretation based on the original painting. Some artist included information explaining their thoughts working on the project. Many of the pieces are very insightful. A recreation of an Italian palazzo courtyard showcases a roman mosiac floor. Gorgeous. Also on this level is a 12th century Charter House moved from France. The museum has adorned this space with period stained glass from England and mimic candle light with electric candelabra to set the scene. A small cafe near the moasic floor offers sandwiches, coffee, tea, water, sweets, soft drinks, soup and salad. The gift shop is by the entrance on this side of the building and offers a large variety of gift items including note cards, ornaments, books, games, kitchen items, hand bags and more. On the next level up in the palazzo are a series of galleries flowing into each other displaying European art from the 11th century to the early 20th. Behind this area you will find egyptian art and more. One exhibit included a kiosk with more information about items in that collection and a comfortable sofa and seating. At the time of this review, the third level is being renovated. The fourth level is modern art (Andy Warhol and Christos for ex.) and collection preservation labs. Fifth level seems to be an event space. Free lockers are available in the coat rooms near the ticketing desk. Class rooms are located near the Lance St. entrance. See their website for available classes. A free parking lot for museum patrons is available across Lance St. There is a cross walk with wheelchair ramps on/off the sidewalks here. An elevator is available to the left of this entrance if you cannot navigate steps. Interior elevators move between levels as do staircases. Restrooms are on a couple of levels and have diaper stations. A water fountain (bubbla) is near the elevator and restrooms. A few wheelchairs are available on a 'first come' basis. Discounted entry is available, see website for details. Most definitely recommend. I very much enjoyed our visit. Plan to possibly spend a few hours. You can easily spend hours looking at all that armor. You can also make a quick run through if you are short on time. On a side note, the Salisbury Mansion is located behind the museum and well worth a look if you have time.

    The Worcester Art Museum is packed with memorable exhibits, and I had a great time exploring them…read morefor 2.5-3 hours. I was able to make it through the entire museum at a leisurely pace. The Asian art section, especially the Japanese prints exhibit "Reflections of a Changing Japan: The Evolution of Shin Hanga" was a standout. The Roman mosaics taken from a floor of a home were definitely memorable. They're incredibly well-preserved and shows stories about life, mythology, and religion. I was amazed by the amount of skill and detail it must've taken to puzzle it back together after transporting it across the world. The ancient Egyptian exhibit was super cool, packed with statues, sarcophagi, and other artifacts. They also have some restored European and American oil paintings that were truly stunning, some looked insanely realistic. I spent the most time admiring this exhibit. I wasn't a fan of the contemporary art but one can say that I lack whatever it takes to fully appreciate it. It's a small museum but worthy of a visit.

    Icon Museum and Study Center - museums - Updated May 2026

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