The State Museum of Pennsylvania is a non-profit history museum at 300 North Street in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. It is run by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to preserve and interpret the Commonwealth's history and culture.
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$$$
I finally visited this museum after months of wanting to go.
Some helpful tips and Reviews: *South Street Garage is probably your best option for parking. It currently (Feb. '19) costs $10 for two hours and $15 for up to four. You'll likely want the close to four if you want to take your time and really absorb everything there is to see in the museum's three levels.
*A useful tip is that the museum is currently participating in the Museums For All program that offers reduced admission to families who get food stamps (Prices vary from free to $3 a person at the discretion of the institution). With your Access card you can get a reduced price for up to four members of your household. If you're a fan of lifelong learning and/or have young ones it's a program worth looking into. I love that this was one of the PA museums that participates.
*You are allowed to take photos in the museum, but absolutely NO flash photography.
The third floor is for natural sciences, featuring taxidermied mammals of the state, lots of fish and birds, dinosaur bones, and a 'coal forest'. That was probably one of my favorite exhibits along with the mammals. But this floor also features geology and the planetarium. You'll need to buy tickets for the planetarium shows separate from your admission.
The Second Floor is probably one of the best if you love history. Here is where you'll see exhibits on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, archaeology, Native Americans, and industry in the state. From the steel and oil industries in the state to a full exhibit on products made in PA. You'll see full size vehicles and carriages. You'll also see replica long homes and walk through what feels like a real Native home. A special section on the Civil War highlights the battle of Gettysburg with a Rothermel painting lining the wall. This floor is also where you'll see the Rover that aided in the clean up at Three Mile Island (it was featured on Travel Channel's "Mysteries at the Museum"!).
The first floor features information on the icons from the state. We all know of Benjamin Franklin and James Buchanan, but I almost guarantee there will be someone here that you weren't familiar with (or weren't as familiar with)! The Village Square features a summer kitchen, which I personally found interesting as I've read a lot of books that mentioned them and I had visualized them quite a bit differently than displayed. The entire village transports you back in time and I felt like I could have been walking down any lane from the revolutionary era colonies.
There was so much to learn and see, so you will definitely want to give yourself plenty of time when you visit. I promise it's...
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We made the State Museum of Pennsylvania a main stop on our Harrisburg visit. We had recently visited the Louisiana's state museum in Baton Rouge which gave us a frame of reference as to what state museums could be. We appreciated the tip to start at the top and make our way down the floors, and it's certainly easy enough to not miss anything as you travel in a circle around the round building...but the museum seemed to lack any kind of linear story of the state of PA. We also felt the entire top floor's focus on the formation of the earth and other similar items would be better suited to a natural history museum than to one which should be focusing more on Pennsylvania's story. (I mean what exactly does Pangea have to do with Pennsylvania?)
I liked the Turnpike exhibit the best, and my wife particularly enjoyed the small exhibit of different products/companies which came out of Pennsylvania.
It was also nice to see the high schoolers temporary art exhibit...there are some very talented young artists in PA!
Overall though, a lot of the exhibits felt old, weren't particularly interactive and didn't leave us with the emotional impact we wanted in learning about the history of the...
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READ IT COMPLETELY BEFORE YOU VISIT THIS PLACE!!
Front Desk lady was super nice and welcoming even though we were expecting an old grumpy lady.
They had lot of old historical stuff which I really don't care it's past let's move forward right?
There is some information about Natives which again I don't get either since we occupied their land and killed them why do we care about them now?
Every thing is about state of Pennsylvania no information about any other state cmon guys!!
They also have some information about land and sea animals but I don't want them in museums I want them on my table nicely cooked though.
Information about solar system and different planets and earth was useless as well. This world is ending soon why to even bother studying it.
They also have a play area for kids on ground floor with lots of activities and if you have kids they would never want to get out of there. So good luck they will make you come back again and again because it's awesome!
In short it was an amazing experience with a lot learning and information.
THANK YOU STATE MUSEUM OF...
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