An Ode to Little* Museums

I love museums. Art museums, science museums, history museums. Love 'em all, and New England has lots of museums. Some of the best known ones (the MFA, the Gardner) can be expensive (relatively) and a hassle to get to. This is where Little Museums come in. Galleries and houses with free or low-cost admission, often located in places one wouldn't expect. 

This was inspired by – of all things – a post on Tumblr bitching about a tweet. The original tweet was advising people that instead of going to Target and buying crap they don't need, they should go to a museum instead if they want to wander around and look at stuff.

Tumblr being Tumblr (if you know you know) some took offense to this because museums are expensive. Which, depending on your income, family size, and the museum in question, is not false.

The thing is, not all museums are the MFA. Most aren't! Not all museums cost $20 per person to get in, plus parking and/or train fare, and the hassle of getting into downtown Boston. There are countless museums in New England that are low or no-cost for admission, and that are located in the suburbs or even rural areas where there's no cost to park. 

So, consider this a guide to Little Museums of New England. I'm going to start with a few I've visited, or plan to visit, and maybe I'll expand this list as times goes on. 

*For the purposes of curating this list, I'm counting a Little Museum as anything you can see (most of) in about an hour, with admission of less than $10/person. Some of these I have visited and some I have yet to.

The Danforth

Framingham, MA • Admission: $7 • Visit Website

The Danforth is both a museum and a school, it's part of Framingham State University. The museum is on a single floor in the Johnathan Maynard building and consists of 4 galleries with a mix of permenant and rotating exhibits. Works include sculpture, painting, photograpy, mixed media, etc. It's a great little museum that you can see all of in under an hour.

The Russell-Colbath House

Albany, NH • Admission: Free • Visit Website

The Russell-Colbath House is a 19th century farmhouse located along the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire's White Mountains. It's the oldest remaining structure in the Valley and is operated as a muweum house by the USDA Forest Service. If you're into hiking, there's also some trails on the property. The house doesn't have an address, per say, it's right off the west-bound side of the Kanc, just past Bear Notch Rd. 

The Rose

Walthm, MA • Admission: Free* • Visit Website

The Rose Art Museum is a part of Brandeis University. Their collection focuses on contemporary art and highlighting up and coming artists (makes sense, for a museum attached to a university!).

*Note that while Admission is free, they do still practice timed ticketing, and tickets must be reserved on their website.

Addison Gallery of American Art

Andover, MA • Admission: Free • Visit Website

The Addion is stretching the definition of "Little Museum" here, but I included it because admission is free and it's got a world-class collaction in a suburban location that's easy to get to. It's another museum associated with a school, this one with Phillips Academy. Their collection includes works by John Singer Sargent, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Jackson Pollock, to name a few from a very long list. 

Want to share your favotire Little Museum? Send me a note on Bluesky!