July 19, 2013: AmericanStudies Daytrips: Native American Museums

[If you’re like me, you’re always looking for new places to take your crazed 7 and 6 year old sons/wrestlers in training, while introducing them to some American history and culture at the same time. Even if you’re not like me, daytrips are fun. Because I live in New England, I’ll be highlighting NE daytrips this week, leading up to a special weekend guest post; I’d also recommend prior blog focal points Salem and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. But feel free to share great daytrips from around the country, or the world, in comments!]

On a trio of New England museums that together offer a well-rounded perspective on the region’s most long-standing inhabitants.

1)      Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center: I suppose it’d be impossible to mandate that every visitor to Foxwoods Casino also stop by the adjacent Museum, one of the nation’s two best dedicated to Native American culture, history, and community—but I sure do wish they would.

2)      New England Native American Institute: This Worcester cultural center is far less well-known than the Mashantucket Museum, but provides a strong complement to it, highlighting texts, oral histories, and other materials that help us connect to some of the many voices and stories that comprise New England and American native communities.

3)      Robbins Museum of Archaeology: This wonderful museum, run by the Massachusetts Archaeological Society, provides yet another perfect complement to the Mashantucket and Worcester museums, offering both collections of unique artifacts and compelling exhibitions that bring the history to life.

Each is worth your time and a daytrip—but if you have a few days, they add up to an even richer AmericanStudies experience.

Guest post this weekend,

Ben

PS. Thoughts on these or other museums? Other daytrips you’d highlight?