The Beneski Museum of Natural History is on the Amherst College campus and is one of those smaller…read moremuseums that consistently surprises visitors who arrive without strong expectations. We walked into a building that is modern and elegantly designed, spotlessly maintained, and organized in a way that made navigation intuitive across the three floors. The collection spans three floors and covers fossils, dinosaur skeletons, mineral and gemstone specimens, and an extensive dinosaur track collection with particular connections to the Connecticut River Valley, which produced some of the most significant dinosaur trackways in North America. The dinosaur material is the centerpiece. Two full mammoth skeletons, a T. rex skull, and a range of other fossil specimens give the collection a visual impact that larger natural history museums with more resources and more famous specimens would be proud to have. The dinosaur tracks are a specific strength and the connection to local geology adds a regional dimension that makes the collection feel distinct rather than generic. Staff and professors associated with the collection were present and willing to answer questions in depth, which gave our visit a more engaged quality than a self guided tour at a larger institution typically offers. The museum is free and open to the public, which makes it an easy addition to any visit to the Amherst area without any planning required. For a small college museum that delivers a world class fossil collection in a beautiful modern space, the Beneski Museum of Natural History is a hidden gem in western Massachusetts and well worth a stop. It is the kind of place where you go in for a quick look and end up spending an hour without realizing it.

It's is such a gem! A must see. It's a free museum with a room full of mammal fossils, another of…read moredinosaurs, and a hallway of rocks and gems. You can easily spend an hour or more here, which makes it a perfect stop especially if you're looking for something indoors on a hot or cold or wet day. Our kids enjoyed the exhibits, the free stickers, and the dino toys they got to explore at the front desk.

This is an annual apple festival (this year was year #21), without apples! No apples anywhere! And,…read morenot in any recipes...no apple cider, apple turnovers, apple dumplings, or apple pie. There were hot dogs, coffee from the local Pierce Bros. (pretty good), and Kettle Corn, but NO apples! What a shock! There were also, as promised in the title, local artisans selling reasonably-priced local honey in bars of soap and lotion, stained glass, goat's milk soap, and Emu oil soap (ick!), pottery, clothing, angora scarves (with the Angora Bunny right there in a big cage!), as well as kids activities. This was like a country fair, and really cute in the town green, but we were slightly disappointed because we wanted some apples or something delicious with apples. So, we went home and drank our apple cider. Sometimes what you want is what you have! ;)

Go to the fair! One…read morereason is that they have candy apples. Candy apples taste so good. Another reason is you can also go on rides. You can go on the rollercoaster. The fair is in Amherst. You can go in the spring. Little kids can get lost. Make sure to stay with your mom and dad!

Beautiful establishment, delicious food I would highly recommend everyone comes here!!! It's…read moreliterally the most fun chill accepting place everyone should go

The staff are so nice! Just unbelievably nice! It's a…read morerelaxed and very fun environment. And the burgers are very good!

We always love supporting the local independent cinema. Clean, great selection of films, nice…read morestaff.

This movie theatre is one of the best places on the planet. They show niche movies, they show…read morecurrent movies, and their cult classic nights always ensure a full house. I know they partner with Amherst College's film club as well. They host special screenings with talks beforehand. The theaters range from small to super small and intimate, offering a unique viewing experience that no other place in the area can provide. This cinema is ensuring the film doesn't die and that no one is left behind. They were particularly influential in my film journey because of all the international films that they show. I've seen Norwegian, Brazilian, French, and Japanese movies to name a few. Thank you for such a great experience and I hope to return sometime soon. Please visit and become a member if you can!

I found the Eric Carle Museum a bit underwhelming for the price. I also wasn't really sure who the…read moretarget audience was. The museum has two galleries, a paint room, a library, and an auditorium. Personally, I could spend a decent amount of time reading through the gallery exhibits, but younger kids can't really see or reach a lot of them, so I think they'd get bored pretty quickly. There are a few interactive activities like creating your own recipe or using the peg boards but they felt a little gimmicky rather than being a core part of the experience. The paint room was probably the highlight for kids since there were lots of supplies and things to create, but I didn't see anything my son couldn't already do at home. With that said, kids could probably spend an hour or more here so it should definitely keep them busy. That's kind of where the museum confuses me. I thought this was aimed at younger kids but many of the exhibits are better appreciated by adults. At the same time, older kids will probably find the children's activities too basic. It ends up feeling like it's trying to appeal to everyone without fully committing to one audience. Admission should be much cheaper or donation based. If you're visiting the area, check with your local library first because many libraries offer free passes, and that's definitely the way I'd recommend going. Ironically, I think I'd enjoy coming back by myself more than with my kids. I'd take my time going through the galleries and learning about Eric Carle's work. With young kids though, I found myself feeling rushed because they weren't really engaged. I could also see it being a worthwhile visit for aspiring writers, illustrators, or anyone interested in children's literature.

I came here by myself a few weeks ago. I was shocked by how few exhibits there were and now small…read morethey were. I was expecting them to have more on display about his life, artistic process and some of his more famous books. They had a studio and library which would be fun it you brought a child. The overall vibe was charming and very much in the spirit of his books. I just wouldn't go out of my way to go here. The gift shop and info wall about his life was the best part.

Grounds are lovely. Home is as well maintained as funding allows…read more Please donate to the preservation of this home.

As someone who has loved and cherished Emily Dickinson's poetry my entire life, I hate to leave…read moresuch a bad review, but it was my honest experience. So, they strongly recommend you order your tickets online to make sure there is enough availability, so I did. However, when we got to the museum, they said something along the lines of our tickets being invalid for some reason. We were a party of elderly and disabled people so if something went wrong on their online system or the ticket order wasn't processed correctly we should not be punished. They refused to let us in, but at least we could walk around the grounds for free, and they were truly very lovely; unfortunately, the people who run the museum are not.

This is a lovely venue. I can't believe I've lived here over 20 years and never been. This year the…read moreFab Faux performed there instead of where we usually see them. I purchased first row mezzanine which is where we prefer to sit in most venues. I don't care for orchestra where I can not see over the person in front of me. So I was very surprised when we found our seats to see just how far back the mezzanine is, and that the orchestra seats are graduated upward so there is no one directly in front of you. The show that we saw is not big on visual, but the acoustics are phenomenal. The Fine Arts Center allowed this music to soar. For future shows though I would sit closer in the orchestra. Prior to the show there was a party on the plaza with desserts, live music, and a cash party. A fun way to start the evening, thank you.

A very nice theater in the middle of campus where they usually host UMass cultural shows and…read morenon-alcoholic parties here. Had some fun moments here while I attended Zoomass.

The university's art museum is free, though they did ask me for a zip code for some reason as I was…read moreobviously not local. It was bigger than it looked from the outside; not what you'd find in a major city by any means but there were several rooms and there was enough content there to spend the better part of an hour on in brief. Some people were having academic conversations that may well have lasted longer. Their principal exhibition was a variety of Native American (and Australian) works which provided a robust overview of a wide variety of cultures. Some of the other exhibitions were kind of screechy and political and didn't really offer much as art, but they rotate exhibits and some variation in quality is expected. The parts where they let art speak for itself were worth visiting.

Hello!! A James Baldwin exhibit!!! Say no more. I'm not a huge fan of fossils and antiquity, it's…read moreimportant but bores me. But photographs and art and letters from someone like my boyfriend Baldwin!!! I'm all in. Amhurst is small and there's not a ton to do. This gives you an excuse to walk around campus and save some brain cells.

Craving for some ice cream...discovered this place. Cozy sitting area in the back, country music…read morewith farm animals. Nice place to watch the sunset with farm animals surrounding you. Yummy ice cream tooo

I love this place. The name of the day for a free scoop…read morealone should be reason to be a fan of this place, however they offer so much more than just ice cream. The food in the refrigerators is awesome. Cheeses, meats and ice cream. It's so cute inside as well. Get the graham cracker ice cream if it's available.

Friendly, welcoming, largely gender-neutral, queer friendly. Callers generally still use the…read moretraditional "Ladies/Gents" terms for starting on the right or left (and avoid "Men/Women", but the majority of dancers dance both and you'll probably be asked your preference when you dance with someone. Great bands and callers including nationally known ones on tour. Volunteer run by very receptive and responsive committee of dancers.