I didn't want to write this review, as my December trip to the Capital District was a pleasant…read moredistraction from reality, so this final writeup symbolizes the "end of an era" (three days long but I stretched out the content). The museum does stellar work on the impossible task of capturing New York State. ("How dare they mention the NYC subway but completely ignore the one that used to be Syracuse?! ZERO STARS"). Sesame Street's here, along with clocks, fire engines and a discussion of Albany's rum trade. Not only you can you enter an old-timey train car in the subway exhibit, there's a newsstand with old Post and Daily News copies mentioning the (an?) A-Rod scandal. The best part of the museum, or at least the most photogenic, is the assortment of minerals. The greens and oranges were quite surprising, as was the information that many of the specimens are from downstate. The cartography-inclined will enjoy old depictions of areas like "Lange Eyland."

So much to see, this is a well thought out museum about our state. I really enjoyed it. The old…read moresubway csts & turnstile, and the 9/11 memorial was well done. A donation is all they ask for instead of a set admission fee. Im a native, but I think people from other states will also like this museum.

Mansion where Alexander Hamilton Married Elizabeth Schuyler [Albany NY]…read more The Schuyler Mansion was less than a mile away from the USS Slater so if you can do both tours it's very much worth it to visit these two historic sites. Admission fee for the Schuyler Mansion is only $5. After we paid for the fees in the Visitors Center we caught up with the group that had just begun its tour. The mansion was the home of General Philip Schuyler, in command of the Northern Department Army during the American Revolution. It was explained to us that during the Revolutionary War his home was used for military meetings, political meetings (he was also a U.S. Senator), elegant parties, and family life. General Schuyler's property extended to a huge chunk of land in Albany but is now only reduced to just the brick mansion that is now a museum. Philip and Catherine Schuyler raised their family (eight children) in this house including hosting the wedding of their daughter Elizabeth to Alexander Hamilton in 1780. We viewed the Yellow Parlor Room, Library, Best Parlor Room, and the Dining Room. Our tour guide was very informative. Most of the tour was held on the first floor, where the family held public and private gatherings. Interesting tour too if you're a fan of the musical, Hamilton. They are only open Fri-Sun each week. We were lucky to visit the mansion during its open season and on the day of the week that we were in Albany. The Schuyler House has just opened for 2023 last month on Fri, May 26th and will be operating through Sun, Oct 15, 2023. Review #3015

Schuyler Mansion is just so beautiful!…read more These are the pre-Revolutionary war-digs of one of only two attendees for the State of New York to the first Continental (State) Congress: Colonial soldier, then renowned and brave General and New York politician, Philip John Schuyler and his family. The Schuyler family were influential early Dutch settlers. The buildings are brick and face East across the Hudson - looking towards New England. Inside are bountiful dining rooms and cozy living rooms as well as rooms for high society! The Schuylers were an influential and renowned and famous New York family who settled very early in and lived in Albany throughout the American Revolution 1776-1781 Walk around and read some plaques and signs and read about Colonial America. The views are perfect and the grounds always pristine. There are small fields. Walk around and take in the scenery, old walls, metal fences and more culture, architecture, framed art and fancy, delightful chandeliers and interiors than you will find at most other places. It's a history and photo spot. Review: 5 splendid

The staff here were pleasant, kind and helpful. We came for a Saturday night light show in the…read moreplanetarium. About 45 minutes long, a good time you can't beat it. A few jokes from the ticket-taker as well. Tip: try and grab the seats toward the back, to keep your neck more comfortable. We arrived ~15 minutes before start time and were able to peruse around the different displays and interactive exhibits. A place for all ages. This was a nice indoor activity to get out of the house and not be in the frigid cold.

Amazing hands-on activities, fun and engaging displays. Such an amazing museum and kids will love…read moreit.

Friendly staff. I have been in larger museums that were free (in both smaller towns and in larger…read morecities) , so the $12 price per adult was a bit of a heftier price than we hoped for - along with it being a slightly smaller museum. Also disappointed they didn't provide a map of the building/exhibits (I took a photo to help us navigate a little bit. My spouse did particularly like the Hudson River School paintings.

Cute museum but a bit small, it was still good to experience. On the weekend, there is free street…read moreparking, so we luckily got a spot right in front. For weekdays, there are meters or garages around. There are a few exhibits, and the Hudson River room was really spectacular and had so many paintings in a room that really set a nice mood with its deep purple walls. There was an exhibit on maritime art that was more contemporary, but it was interesting to see the variety of paintings on the same theme. There's a section of Egyptian history and some 19th century sculptures. There's a current exhibit of the time capsule under the Philip Schuyler statue. While interesting, the statue was destroyed for unfortunate reasoning, even though the resulting exhibit has really great artifacts from 1920s. The gift shop is good, but the cafe is either not open at all or not on weekends, but you can grab water and chips as needed. The gift shop attendant was very nice, and we got some nice merchandise. For $10 a ticket, the collection is eclectic and the variety gives everyone some focus to enjoy.

One of hundreds of mesmerizing effects based on the works of VanGogh. Take in the entirety of the…read moreexhibition. Pay the additional $5 for the virtual experience. And do NOT leave early when you reach the immersion room. FANTASTIC. congratulations to the artists and animators who took us to a nearly out of mind experience! TIP: You will not be seeing the original art. This is an immersion based on VanGogh's masterpieces. STAY FOR THE ENTIRE cycle.

It was great when it WAS here!…read more This must be very out of date as Van Gogh exhibit closed more than a year ago!

My son took me here for Mother's Day this year. It was informative and interesting…read more My son took me here for Mother's Day this year. It was informative and interesting

The Underground Railroad symbolizes the best in all of us. Even in the darkest of times there are…read moreenlightened souls, and they can be us.

We made the 90 minute drive from Syracuse to check out the Via Aquarium in...Rotterdam? I didn't…read moreknow this existed until the day before we went, but I'm glad we found it! Repurposing an old mall's dead space into various shops and attractions seems to be the way of the future for malls like this and Via Aquarium is built into the bones of this mall in a really cool way. Instead of just sticking it inside of an old storefront, they really went all out by painting a huge mural outside the parking area for it as well as the long entry hallway into the mall that serves as the Aquarium entrance. Pricing was about what we expected, about $70 for 2 adults, 1 child, and the extra "manta ray feeding" we purchased. The Aquarium is clean and offers a lot of interesting exhibits that range from fish, reptiles, kids play areas, feeding areas, and a gift shop. If you are moving at a moderate pace, you could complete the museum in about 45-60 minutes, so don't plan on dedicating a whole day here. The highlights for us were the tunnels you walked through and underneath fish and sharks and the feeding of the manta rays. On the day we went, they had some arts and crafts for the littles along with a princess in full costume to greet the kids doing the craft (unicorn hat). While we wouldn't make it a regular visit, we'd make the trek again if we were in the mood for some aquatic ambience.

We love this aquarium! Every time we drive through the area we stop by here…read more The girls love the stingray petting area and taking pictures. We have some of these printed on our walls in our house!

This little college museum is a great place to check out some small art collections. This place is…read morenot a huge museum, but it is nice for a quick stroll on a Tuesday night! I saw Tuesday because that is the night they are open the latest. I enjoyed my time here, I just wish that they had more to offer.

From the owner: The University Art Museum's mission is to advance knowledge and foster understanding in…read morecontemporary visual arts. The museum has presented over four hundred individual exhibitions in its 9,000 square foot facility, located in the Fine Arts building on the uptown University at Albany campus. A short list of representative exhibitions and projects includes work by: Xu Bing, Nina Bovasso, Phil Frost, Julie Heffernan, Kimsooja, William Pope.L, Tim Rollins and K.O.S., Karin Sander, Jean Shin, John F. Simon, Jr. and Roman Singer. The musem is an integral part of the dynamic learning environment of the University at Albany. Over 13,000 visitors attend exhibitions and events each year. Public programs explore contemporary art and culture by presenting a combination of established voices and new perspectives in the arts. Guest speakers include artists, theorists, writers, and scholars engaged in the critical examination of issues that shape and inspire us as individuals, cultures, and communities.

Only one remains afloat in America [Albany NY]…read more We learned so much from our docent, Caroline.. this is a guided tour inside the World War II destroyer escort. General admission was $10 each and lasted about an hour. There were 563 built during WWII and the USS Slater is the only destroyer escort left in the US. It has been restored to its original 1945 configuration. We were fortunate to learn about this national historic landmark. The first thing we learned was the history behind the name of the USS Slater (DE 766). The destroyer escort was named after Seaman Frank O. Slater. He was assigned to the USS San Francisco at Pearl Harbor and was killed when a Japanese torpedo bomber he had shot down crashed into his gun position. Instead of leaving his gun and trying to find a safe place for cover he stayed at his position continuously firing until the plane crashed his gun mount. The tour took us to the galley, officers and enlisted mess halls (btw, the officer mess hall doubled up as the operating room, there is a medicine cabinet by the wall), we viewed the chart room and the sonar room, captain's cabin, ship's office, signal bridge... we mounted ladders to get up and down between decks. These are steeper than stairs so it could be challenging for some. Overall, a very educational tour and I enjoyed it. A Destroyer Escort's main job is to defend naval task forces from Japanese submarines and Kamikaze air attacks in the Pacific. Review #3014

This was a lot of fun. We went on the tour, and our guide was Alan Fox. Very cool guy. He showed us…read morein and around the ship and he had a huge amount of information to give. He also was had a great sense of humor, which made the whole outing even more fun. I would definitely recommend this. It's a small ship, but well worth it for any ship or WWII history buffs out there.

My wife and I brought our Chinese exchange friend here for the view of Albany. We were the only…read moreones up there for much of the time, and it was quiet and peaceful. While it was a gloomy February day, the views were still pretty good. Since I am familiar with the area, it was fun to look around and spot areas I know from the higher vantage point. For those who don't know Albany, they had nice picture boards pointing out the major sites in the area. However, since they were only in English (and not Chinese) they were of limited value to our friend. We did our best to help her out. One downside is that to gain access from the indoor concourse level you either need to take an elevator to the plaza level, or take an escalator. Because we had a baby stroller they helped us with the first elevator ride up. On the way down, though, they not only acknowledged that we had a stroller but instead asked us to "deal with the escalator." I believe they were short-staffed at the desk, but this was really annoying. Thankfully, a we made it down without incident (or lawsuit). At least it is free.

Now that you are in New York's capital, why not see it from the tallest building in the city. Best…read moreof all it's FREE to go to the 42nd floor observatory. If you come here on a sunny day, you can really see a lot of Albany and it's surroundings. I personally love viewing the Empire State Plaza from above. Go to the other side of the observation deck and you can see the governor's mansion. This is a GREAT place to take out of town visitors since there isn't a TON to do in Albany. Two things to keep in mind: 1. Hours are limited, at my time of visit it was only open M-F, 10-4. Kind of a bummer that this isn't open on the weekends, I think it used to be, but it has to do with state funding. 2. If the weather outside is horrible and cloudy you won't be able to see much. If you are visiting Albany, I'd also suggest a quick visit to the free state museum where you can also ride the carousel. Stroll up to Lark Street for a meal or beverage too! If it's nice out wander through Washington Park.