Lake George Historical Association Museum | Lake George, NY | Adirondack Mountains

Pros:Free! Interesting and Educational, Covers a wide variety of topics
Cons:Probably at least somewhat boring to kids (except for the jail cells)

If you are visiting the village of Lake George and you are looking to spend some time learning about the history of the area in a laid back (and free) environment, the Lake George Historical Association's Museum is a great stop.

Finding the Lake George Historical Association Museum

The Museum is very easy to find.  It is located right on the main drag of the village (290 Canada Street) towards the northern end of the village.  There is some parking for the museum, but the vast majority of the parking in Lake George Village is on-street parking that you must pay for.  There are a few lots located in the outskirts too if you can find them.

Getting In andSpending Time

One of the great things about the Museum is there's no admission fee.  After paying through the nose for other activities in Lake George, this is a nice change.  They do ask for a small donation, but you are not required if you visit the museum.

I would plan to spend about 45 minutes or so to go completely through the museum and read through each of the exhibits.  Kids will probably spend less time as the exhibits tend to be static.  There are lots of pictures and artifacts to look at and lots of explanations to read, something kids probably will not be that interested in.

What's there?

There are three floors to the museum.  You enter on the 1st floor, which is home to the old courtroom along with a small exhibit room and a small gift shop and informational center.  Upstairs are several more exhibit rooms and down in the basement is a recreation of the old courthouse's jail along with several other exhibits.

The courtroom is home to exhibits on the history of the area in general.  On our most recent visit there was an exhibit on Lake George as a whole, which lets you locate and identify various historical locations along the lake.  There was also information on the local battles during the French and Indian War and information on revolutionary war history.  In the small exhibit room before the courthouse, there was an exhibit on contributions of women to the Lake George region over the years.

Upstairs were a number of different exhibits.  The first was on the history of ships in Lake George and the archaeological investigations of the sunken ships from the French and Indian War period.  I thought this was really interesting as there have been some amazing discoveries at the bottom of Lake George and there's even an underwater historical park protecting these shipwrecks that I did not know about.  There were also a few exhibits on life in the Lake George area through the different time periods since its founding.

Down in the basement was my favorite part.  It was a bit damp and musty, but they have a number of exhibits that you travel through as you make your way to the jail cells all the way in the back.  There were exhibits on the history of Prospect Mountain, along with a number of others that were interesting to read through as we made our way.  We enjoyed checking out the cells and getting pictures of each other ‘in jail' too.

Experiences

This is not a world-class museum by any measure, but the Historical Association has done a great job and pulling together a number of different aspects of the history of the Lake George region.  I know I learned a thing or two in the 30-40 minutes or so we spent wandering around the museum.

Final Thoughts

I think a trip to the Lake George Historical Association Museum in the village of Lake George is something that anyone visiting the village should do.  It is something free to do in Lake George (a rarity), it is quite interesting and I bet you will learn a thing or two about the history of the region.  I know I did and I have spent a lot of time in the Adirondacks and the Lake George region.

Mountain Top Historical Society | Catskill Park, Haines Falls, New York

The Mountain Top Historical Society is located in the village of Haines Falls in the Catskill Mountains and helps to preserve the rich history of the Catskill Mountains High Peaks region. This area was home to railroads and grand hotels during the 19th century and was one of the first great vacation destinations in the United States. The Historical Society is home to a visitors center with a small exhibit hall, a restored train station and several other interpretive exhibits on their property. They are also the western terminus of the Kaaterskill Rail Trail, which links the Historical Society property to the North and South Lake Campground, approximately a mile and a half to the east on the old Ulster and Delaware Railroad bed.

Read the full review of the Mountain Top Historical Society on Epinions

New York State Museum - Albany, New York

I have always loved the New York State Museum in Albany. When I was younger, my parents would regularly bring me to visit and even though a lot of the exhibits are static, the museum always has something new happening and features plenty of exhibits that are either special features or traveling exhibits. Some of my favorites in the past have been the Dinosaurs Alive exhibit and a gallery of Far Side cartoons. Nowadays I don't get the museum as often as I did in the past, but it is just as good of a place as it was before and on my latest visit, I really enjoyed myself as it had been several years since I had last been there.

Read my full review of the New York State Museum in Albany, New York on Epinions

Adirondack Museum - Blue Mountain Lake, New York

If you are visiting the Adirondacks and want to get a good introduction to the region's history, then a stop at the Adirondack Museum in the Town of Blue Mountain Lake is just what you need. This museum showcases the history of the Adirondacks. It includes information on just about everything Adirondack and includes information on the people of the Adirondacks, the forests and the natural history of the region.

Read my full review of the Adirondack Museum on Epinions

Fort William Henry Museum | Lake George, NY | Adirondack Mountains

Pros: Tons of history, Nice views, Interesting guided tour, Hands on
Cons: Kind of expensive

Located along the southern end of Lake George, the Fort William Henry Museum is a great place to understand the historical significance of the region in our Nation's early wars (actually we weren't even a Nation, just colonies at that point).

While Fort William Henry didn't exist for very long, it was host to some fierce battles between the British and the French, along with their Indian and Colonial allies.  The Fort sat at the southern end of Lake George and was at the beginning of a portage to the Hudson River.  Whoever controlled the area controlled the flow of people and goods in a north-south corridor between New York City and Canada.

The British established Fort William Henry to protect that route and the French attacked in 1757 to win control over the route.  While the fort fell in the battle, eventually the British were victorious, preventing the French from cutting the American colonies in half.

What's there?

The original fort was destroyed in its final battle by the French.  They overtook the fort and drove the British to the south.  After taking over the fort, it was burned and destroyed by the French so that it couldn't be used by the British in the future.

The Fort William Henry you visit today is a reconstruction based on the descriptions, plans and archeological evidence at the site.  The fort is built roughly in the same area as the original fort and where it was possible, original portions of the fort were incorporated into the reconstruction.

In addition to the fort itself, there are a number of different exhibits scattered throughout the fort describing life and the battle the fort faced.

Tours?

In order to view the interior of the fort and make your way through the exhibits, you must purchase an admission to the tour.  This tour consists of a short film and then a short guided tour of the fort that explains the weapons and manners of warfare from the time period of the fort.  You'll get to see a musket and cannon firing demonstration (it's really loud!) and you'll get to see the guide (who's dressed as a British solider) make his own lead musket ball.

After the guided portion of the tour, you're left to your own devices and you can wander the fort in any way you'd like.  There are a number of different "stops" throughout the fort which let you get different views of life there and of the battle that destroyed it.  You can take a look at the hospital, which is where injured British soldiers were also killed by the French Indian allies (as evidenced by photos of the mutilated skeletons that were found there).  Take a walk through the barracks and see what life for a soldier in the fort was like.  Down in the dungeon there's still some of the original fireplace left.  There are also exhibits on the archeological research done on the site, the history of the French and Indian War along with a number of other interesting things.

All told between the guided tour and the self-guided portion, a trip to the Fort will probably take 2 hours or so, depending on how much time you spend exploring the various exhibits.

It's also worth spending some time to enjoy the views from the top of the fort.  You have an unobstructed view of Lake George to the north and all around are the mountains surrounding the lake.

Costs

In order to get into the fort and to view the exhibits and take part in the guided tour, you must pay an admission fee.  In 2008 the fee was $14.95 per person with reduced rates for children and seniors.

I thought this was a bit high, but if you want to see the fort, it's the only way to get in.  In the end I guess it was worth it, but I was still a bit shocked at how much it cost.

Can I see anything without paying?

There isn't much to see if you don't pay.  The entrance to the fort before you get to the ticket counter offers a few small exhibits on the fort and the region's history, but beyond that and a gift shop, you won't really get to experience anything unless you pay the admission fee.

How do I get there?

Fort William Henry is located right off of Route 9 in Lake George.  It's just south of the beginning of the downtown Lake George area and its next to the Fort William Henry Resort.  There's plenty of free parking and it's a short walk from the parking area down to the entrance of the fort.

When's the fort open?

The fort is open daily from May through October from 9am to 6pm.  The tours begin on the hour through 5pm.
Experiences

I had been to Fort William Henry when I was younger but didn't really remember much beyond the loud bang of the cannon firing.  That's why on my last visit with my partner, we decided to spend some time here.  We went in the late afternoon and caught the last tour.  It was a great experience because we were the only two on the tour and really got to see the firearm demonstrations up close and got to speak to the tour guide in a one-on-one manner, which was a lot more interesting than just being part of a large group.

I was a bit taken back by the price.  Almost $15 a person does seem slightly steep, but you do get the guided tour and we spent almost an hour beyond that wandering around the fort taking in all the exhibits and just exploring the fort itself.

It was really interesting and it gave me a better appreciate for the history of the region, which I had known, but this just helped to reinforce it.

In the end I'm glad we sp
ent the money and the time to explore Fort William Henry.  It's an interesting chapter in our Nation's history and its cool that there's a piece of that history right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the Lake George region.

Final Thoughts

If you have a few hours to spare and don't mind spending the admission money, a trip to the Fort William Henry Museum is well worth it in my mind.  You'll get to explore the reconstructed fort, learn about the history of the French and Indian War and learn about the role that this fort played in those battles.

King Tut Musuem at Luxor Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas, Nevada

Probably one of the cheapest ways to spend an hour, the King Tut Museum in the Luxor Hotel and Casino is an interesting tour through a recreation of King Tut’s Tomb.

So it was that on our last trip to Las Vegas we were looking for some non-gambling activities (you really can get gambled out in Las Vegas) and we ended up on the Atrium Level of the Luxor where the King Tut Museum is located. We purchased our tickets and off we went on the museum tour.

Read my full review of the King Tut Museum at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas on Epinions

Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hilo, Hawaii

If you are visiting Hilo on the big island of Hawaii, a stop well worth your time is the Pacific Tsunami Museum right in downtown Hilo. The museum offers stark evidence of the power of tsunamis and discusses the destructive waves that have hit Hilo and the rest of the Pacific Basin.
The Museum is located just across the street from Hilo Bay and a live webcam keeps its electronic eye on the bay to watch for Tsunamis. In addition an evacuation plan is conspicuously posted as you come in, since the Museum is within the tsunami zone in Hilo. However don’t worry too much, with all of the monitoring that occurs within the Pacific, you should have plenty of warning if there is a tsunami and be able to escape to higher ground.

Read the full review here