Adirondack Experience facts for kids
Main entrance of the Adirondack Experience
|
|
| Location | Blue Mountain Lake, New York |
|---|---|
The Adirondack Experience is a cool museum in Blue Mountain Lake, New York. It used to be called the Adirondack Museum. This museum is all about the history of the amazing Adirondacks region.
It's built on the spot of an old summer hotel called the Blue Mountain House. This hotel was built way back in 1876! The museum is huge, with 23 buildings and 121 acres to explore. It has 60,000 square feet of space just for showing off exhibits. A big new exhibit called Life in the Adirondacks opened in July 2017.
You can visit the Adirondack Experience from late May to mid-October.
The museum has tons of interesting things. You'll find old objects, photos, art from local people, and historical papers. These all help tell the story of the Adirondacks. The museum has special events, workshops where you can learn old skills, and demonstrations by artists. Schools in the Adirondack Park can even visit for free! There's also a research library that's open all year. The museum has published over 65 books about the Adirondacks.
Contents
What is the Adirondack Experience?
The Adirondack Experience is a museum that shows what life was like in the Adirondack Mountains. It teaches visitors about the history, nature, and culture of this special region. You can see many different exhibits and learn about the people who lived and worked here.
What Can You See at the Museum?
The museum has many buildings and outdoor spaces. You can explore old buildings and see how people lived long ago. There are also modern galleries with cool displays. It's a great place to learn about the past.
History of the Adirondack Experience
The museum started in 1948 because of a train! A man named Harold K. Hochschild wanted to save a steam locomotive and two train cars. They were left behind near the Marion River. Soon after, the Adirondack Historical Association was formed.
In 1953, they bought the old Blue Mountain House hotel. This became the perfect spot for the museum. After years of hard work, gathering items, and building exhibits, the museum opened on August 3, 1957. In 2017, the museum changed its name. It went from "The Adirondack Museum" to "Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake." This new name helps show what the museum is all about today.
Amazing Collections at the Museum
The museum has many large and unique items. These help tell the story of the Adirondacks.
- A real Pullman railroad car.
- Several guide boats, which are special boats from the region.
- A racing sailboat called an Idem class.
- The steam locomotive that helped start the museum.
- A one-room schoolhouse where kids used to learn.
- The rustic "Sunset Cottage."
- The entire cabin of writer and nature lover Anne LaBastille.
- The Log Hotel, built in 1876, which is an original building on the museum's site. This hotel is even on the National Register of Historic Places.
Other Cool Collections
The museum also has many other interesting things:
- Art Collection: Over 2,500 pieces of art, including paintings, prints, and sketchbooks.
- Watercraft: The biggest collection of old wooden boats from inland waters in the United States.
- Photographs: More than 70,000 old photos. These include works by famous photographers like Seneca Ray Stoddard.
- Rustic Furniture: The largest public collection of rustic furniture in North America. Many pieces were made by local artist Joe Bryere.
- Library: The museum's library has the most complete collection of books, magazines, and maps about the Adirondack region.
A new exhibit called Artists & Inspiration in the Wild opened on July 1, 2023. The museum even received a big grant to help build this exhibit!
-
The engine that started the museum: The Marion River Carry Railroad, at 1,320 yards (1,210 m), the shortest standard-gauge railroad line in the US
-
The Log Hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
-
This Guide boat was built on-site as a demonstration
-
Platform Tent
-
Antique Strip-built Canoes
-
Dog Sled
-
Buck Lake Club, one of several buildings moved on site
-
Adirondack Guides, one of thousands of photographs in the museum's collection
See also
- Adirondack guideboat
- Adirondack Mountains
- Great Camps
- Reynoldston, New York
- The Wild Center
