Wenham Museum

Today we started off at the Y, and then headed over to the Wenham Museum. According to their website (www.wenhammuseum.org) The Mission of the Wenham Museum is to protect, preserve and interpret the history and culture of Boston's North Shore, domestic life and the artifacts of childhood.

It's a small museum, located next to Town Hall. The parking lot is shared, and there is additional parking up the hill. We are able to get in without too much trouble. The museum has two levels. The main level houses the admission desk, dollhouse collection, some train sets, and what looks to be a gallery for special collections, and gift shoppe. The lower level houses the 'train room' and the Family Discovery Center. It was easy to get around with the three, though the gift shop was quite a draw for Patrick. We first stop at the train table in the lobby. Today we didn't explore the dollhouse and dolls collection. The kids are a little young for that and it doesn't hold much interest. They do have some 'play dollhouses' scattered throughout the collection and the kids did like playing with these. Definitely caused a few fights over who's playing with what, where. The first time we went we had a hard time getting the kids to go downstairs.

Downstairs is our favorite spot. There's basically two rooms. The train room is a great room totally filled with model trains. They are enclosed in plexiglass on different tables. I must say, there is an incredible amount of work and craftsmanship displayed here. (As there also is in the dollhouse collection!) All of the train displays do work, and there's stepstools for the kids to watch. Patrick loves this room and loves pushing the buttons to make the trains go. There are some work desks there that you need to be aware of. One area has a small rope blocking it off. We missed that the first time around and Patrick of course went right through it. The second room downstairs is the Family Discovery Center. We do have lots of fun here. There is a train table right at the entrance. Once in the discovery center there are some 'older' toys for the kids to play with. By older I mean "Gumby", Ventriloquist dolls, sock monkeys, Barrel of Monkeys, Candyland, Etch-a-Sketch, Colorforms.....yes almost all things I remember playing with, so they really aren't all that old! There's also a store set up and a house with a kitchen, table, and cradle inside. There's a rack of 'classic' books such as Curious George, Babar, and Fun with Dick and Jane. In addition, there's a table of Lincoln Logs, and a Typewriter. Cecilia loves playing in the store, and with the house. Patrick if you could imagine, likes the train table, and typewriter! There is no photography allowed, so I didn't take any pictures. (http://goodmorninggloucester.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/wenham-museum/ There are some recent pictures on this blog!)

There are bathrooms with changing stations on both floors, and there's a coat room which is a great place to drop off coats and diaper bags. The museum is very clean, and hasn't been very crowed the few times we've gone.

Hours: Tues-Sun 10-4.
Cost: $7.50 for Adults, $5.50 for Children (ages 1-18)
**If you have the Entertainment book, there is a coupon for a buy one get one free. I believe this is re-printable**
Family Membership is $70.00.

If you're local to the Wenham area, I do think it's worth purchasing a family membership. While it's not quite as exciting as some places, it's a good trip for an hour or two, particularly if your kids are a little older than mine. I will say, I am looking forward to being able to go without the kids and check out the workmanship on the dollhouses!

Next Stop: aMAZEment, Haverhill MA