Cancel

Open app

Search

Rachel Carson Homestead

5.0 (1 review)

Rachel Carson Homestead Photos

You might also consider

Recommended Reviews - Rachel Carson Homestead

Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
Yelp app icon
Browse more easily on the app
Review Feed Illustration
Photo of Matt R.
230
747
1185

10 months ago

Helpful 3
Thanks 0
Love this 4
Oh no 0

Verify this business for free

People searched for Museums 712 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

Verify this business

Bayernhof Museum

Bayernhof Museum

5.0(27 reviews)
7.7 mi

We were looking for a fun experience for my husband's big sis, and boy did we find it at Bayernhof!…read moreI couldn't recommend this museum more highly. Lisa, our tour guide, was just perfect - entertaining, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and fun. Our 2-hour experience was a joy - it passed so quickly! You call ahead to arrange a tour, and Lisa returned my call maybe a day or 2 later. We arranged it for a Tuesday morning at 10am (the other option was something like 2pm). The 19,000 square foot Bavarian-inspired home is atop a large hill outside Sharpsburg overlooking the Allegheny - and with a lovely view of downtown. You come thru the gate and park near the door. Inside, Lisa talks a bit about the foyer - chock full of collectibles - and takes you to the main room with that fabulous view, a comfy room with a bar just off the kitchen. You settle in to wait for everyone to arrive. The lecture there takes about 30mins, & you learn about the wealthy, quirky eccentric, Charlie "Chuck" Brown, who built this quirky home in 1982. He was a total prankster who had very little sense about how to build a really stable home. After his death, the board would save the home for all to enjoy. The real treat is hearing from some of the 165 music machines spread thruout the house - some Chuck collected, some purchased by the board set up by Chuck's lawyer, Dave, who - with Chuck's faithful secretary - took on the Herculean task after Chuck's death of fulfilling his dream of turning the home into a museum. The mysteries of the home reveal themselves as you go - and Lisa relishes in showing them off - from the hidden doors, wet bars (in almost every room! Chuck loved to entertain though he was socially awkward!), observatory, below ground cellar, cave, and pool room with a waterfall. It's great. Lisa shares tons of stories, knowledge, anecdotes, and more. Our favorite of the fabulous musical machines: the cylinder player on the landing that has a tiny dancing black bird figure inside; the singing birds with real feathers (!!) in the bird cage upstairs; the uber-art deco Decap machine downstairs with the purple velvet pool table; and the fringe lamp victrola in the upstairs guest room. As you're walking thru the house, you can't believe all there is to see and learn. We were fascinated! Just go! You won't regret it.

What an incredibly unique and wild place. Just go! It's cool, quirky, weird, and surprising. This…read moreis not to be missed!

Photos
Bayernhof Museum
Bayernhof Museum
Bayernhof Museum

See all

Mattress Factory Art Museum - Azza El Siddique's Echoes to Omega

Mattress Factory Art Museum

3.9(248 reviews)
13.5 miNorth Side

The Mattress Factory excels at site-specific imersive installation art, and their permanent…read morecollection has some origami art by some of the biggest names in installation art. The museum also hosts private events, a few of which I've attended, and they were outstanding. The staff are very welcoming. The museum gives back to the local community in a big way.

I've visited the Mattress Factory many times over the years, and it's always a place I enjoy…read morereturning to. I love the main building and how the exhibits are constantly changing, while some of the iconic spaces--like the mirror rooms--remain favorites that you can always count on seeing again. During this visit, I noticed the Dollhouse building has been completely redone. The new exhibit is much darker and heavier in tone, which honestly made me a little disappointed since the dollhouse installation used to be a staple of my visits and something I always looked forward to. The third building had construction going on on the first floor, but from what I could see it looks like it's going to be an incredible new display once it's finished. I was also a little sad to see the delayed recorder projector piece gone, but the new installation in its place was still interesting. One thing I still absolutely love is the water flowing down the handrails--it's such a small detail but always one of my favorite parts of the experience. Overall, it's still a place I enjoy visiting and seeing how the exhibits evolve over time.

Photos
Mattress Factory Art Museum - Small wall work from Luke Stettner's State of the Sky

Small wall work from Luke Stettner's State of the Sky

Mattress Factory Art Museum - Lots like junk, right?

Lots like junk, right?

Mattress Factory Art Museum - This is an exhibit of trash.

See all

This is an exhibit of trash.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History - Gift shop

Carnegie Museum of Natural History

4.7(211 reviews)
11.3 miOakland

I was really impressed by the museum of natural history and the art museum. The natural history…read moremuseum had cool fossils, beautify rocks/minerals, and breathtaking dioramas that really put you in the habitat of the creature they are portraying. The museum was relatively empty when I went except for multiple field trips of elementary school students. Admission for one adult to the museums was only $25 for the whole day, which felt like a steal. There were plenty of opportunities for children to enjoy the exhibits as well. The museum was clean, inviting, easy to navigate and had staff all over to help give directions.

Hey, I liked the first "Jurassic Park" and was raised on Saturday morning episodes of "Land of the…read moreLost". However, I've got to admit I'm just not into giant dinosaurs. Truth be told, the key reason I came here was that the $25 admission gave me concurrent access to the Carnegie Museum of Art since the two museums share the same building. If dinos are your thing, the scale was indeed impressive. Just be mindful they didn't move and were ironically crowded together in one section (Photo 7). There are rooms dedicated to wildlife dioramas from eons past, including the fabled La Brea Tar Pits (Photo 9), as well as more current ones representing North America, the polar caps, and the African savanna. I thought the most arresting exhibits were the rooms dedicated to minerals, gems, and jewelry. The Hillman Hall focuses on natural forms and dramatic shapes (Photo 8), while the Wertz Gallery presents more of the finished, polished results (Photo 10). It felt like Tiffany's without the breakfast or Holly Golightly. It was quite a family-friendly hodgepodge of attractions. It seemed I deal for a junior high school field trip, probably somewhat less for out-of-town curmudgeons like me. RELATED - Exploring Pittsburgh? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/ygLhKUK9LU

Photos
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Carnegie Museum of Natural History - Brachiosaurus

Brachiosaurus

Carnegie Museum of Natural History

See all

Museum of Illusions - Pittsburgh - Another great illusion

Museum of Illusions - Pittsburgh

4.1(66 reviews)
13.7 miNorth Side

Awesome experience! We went last night and Savanna made our visit perfect and captured all the…read morelittle things helping make memories special

This was the moment I realized I overstayed my welcome in Pittsburgh, an indisputably great city…read more However, even indisputably great cities can have disappointing attractions. My first clue was that I discovered this museum was not specific to Pittsburgh. In fact, it's part of a privately owned museum chain, one of over sixty identical museums across over 25 countries. I came here because I had a free morning trying to avoid the wintry weather. I decided to make stops on the North Shore along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. Clearly, not every stop is a landmark. This museum appears to be targeted to either young families with hyperactive kids and Instagram-addicted tourists. Falling somewhat into the latter category, I found the admission rather steep at $25 for what looked to be a relatively small scale space. I paid that same amount for both Carnegie Museums (Art and Natural History). This museum consisted of a series of interactive exhibits that create optical illusions. There were several spinning wheels, tilted spaces, distorted rooms, and mirrored illusions. My walkthrough lasted around fifteen minutes. Kids were anxious to go through the exhibits at breakneck speed, and my attention span was rarely stimulated by the exhibits. In visiting this museum, at least I won't be curious about the sixty other Museums of Illusions. RELATED - Exploring Pittsburgh? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/h0qh7n2Ol5

Photos
Museum of Illusions - Pittsburgh - The boys.

The boys.

Museum of Illusions - Pittsburgh
Museum of Illusions - Pittsburgh - Was I really standing on my head?

See all

Was I really standing on my head?

Inventionland - Inventionland Motor Speedway

Inventionland

1.0(2 reviews)
5.7 mi

I worked with them with Hugs Inflatable Pet Steps. Please stay clear of these scammers!! You will…read morebe over charge. You will lose so much money with them and get NOTHING in return. Its a legal scam. Run !!! Stay away from this money pit!! Also I dealt with Inventionland many years ago and Mr. D has not changed one bit. This is a con. Your idea will be e-mailed to companies not presented like they claim. Plus to top it all off I never got the prototype of my product like they claim I would. They just took my money and nothing came true. I'm talking like over ten thousand. They even tell you on their site most inventions never see royalties and the checks he is holding are of small amounts compared to what the client pays. Do not waste your money or dreams on them. You have been warned :o(

Davidson Invention robbed me of 14 thousand dollars. They have promised me the moon and stars…read more After 2 years of phone calls stating my protype was moving into yet another level of production I decided to call their bluff When I asked them for the delivery of my prototype as promised via our contract and as promised. Now to top it off they say they delivered said prototype to my personal address, they sent me some fake fed ex receipt. They say I signed it I DID NOT EVER GET IT The receipt reads that it got sent to some city, limmerick which I have never heard of and my name clearly is not B Robinson, which is who supposedly signed for my 14 thousand dollar project. I have had a couple emotional break downs over this 2 year rodeo and numerous panic attacks....not only have they robbed me financially but emotionally AS WELL....CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME AND OR STEER ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION? The consumer affairs has 100s of complaints for the exact same issues as well and the BBBS. I am contacting Consumer affairs, the FBI, the federal trade commissions and the list goes on and on.. I wan a full refund. If I have to obtain legal counsel I will be asking for emotional damages, punitive damages, all out of pocket legal fees and what ever else deemed possible to get this settled. Refund me and I go away, if not I will proceed. I have included their fake fe ex delivery receipt. I have no clue where limmerick is or who B Robinson is, keep in mind this is a 14 thousand dollar shipment, why would I NOT HAVE TO SIGN UPDATE I HAVE FINALLY FOUND AN ATTORNEY WILLING TO PROCEED WITH A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAISNT THIS COMPANY AND DAVISON INVENTING FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME

Photos
Inventionland - Pirate Ship: Discovery

Pirate Ship: Discovery

Inventionland - Creation Cavern

Creation Cavern

Inventionland - Creativity Cabin

See all

Creativity Cabin

Rachel Carson Homestead - museums - Updated May 2026

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...