Museums Massachusetts
Archaeology

Browse Museums

Boston Athenæum
Boston, Massachusetts

Archaeology, Art, Children's, Culture, General, History, Library, Natural History, Science, Specialized

Just as a museum is a place for the muses who inspire art, so an athenæum is a place for Athena, the goddess of wisdom who inspires intellectual pursuits.

Franklin Historical Museum
Franklin, Massachusetts

Archaeology, Culture, History, Historic House, Historical Society, Military

The Franklin Historical Museum is a local museum exhibiting historical photos, documents and artifacts that represent the town and it's rich history.

Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Anthropology, Archaeology, Culture, History

By housing ancient Near Eastern exhibitions, the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East explores a rich history of cultures. Exhibitions include a full-scale replica of an Iron Age home, life-sized casts of famous Mesopotamian monuments, authentic mummy coffins, and tablets containing the earliest forms of writing. Like the artifacts it displays, the museum itself has a rich and nuanced history.

Martha's Vineyard Historical Society
Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts

Anthropology, Archaeology, Art, Children's, Culture, History, Historic House, Historical Society, Natural History

The Martha'a Vineyard Museum is the Island's largest repository of cultural artifacts, historic photographs, archival records, and genealogical records. We strive to broaden awareness and access to the Island's history and shared memory. Come join us and discover our past and present.

Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Anthropology, Archaeology, Culture, History

The Peabody Museum is the region's principle world cultures museum, with vast collections from North America, ancient Mesoamerica, Africa, and Oceania. Changing exhibits explore human societies and culture from prehistory to the present. Experience the Plains Indian wars from the Lakota perspective, marvel at the spectacular wall paintings of the Maya, Moche, and American southwest, and explore the many island cultures of the Pacific.

Scituate Historical Society
Scituate, Massachusetts

Archaeology, General, History, Historic House, Historical Society, Library, Military

The Scituate Historical Society is a South Shore leader in local history. For years it has been in the forefront with its innovative and educational programs. Explore our dynamic historic sites. Visit our Maritime and Irish Mossing Museum and three centuries of South Shore seafaring heritage. Examine our comprehensive photograph and print archives on early Scituate history, or use our extensive genealogical library on 17th century South Shore families. Browse through our gift areas that contain over 30 titles on Scituate's history, lighthouse and maritime museum tee shirts, tote bags, and much more. Finally, if you would like to become part of this endeavor, fill out a membership form today.

Dwight-Derby House
Medfield, Massachusetts

Archaeology, Art, General, History, Historic House

The Dwight-Derby House is about 75% restored. Over the past years we have done structural improvments,restoration, dendrochronology testing for structure dating, and conducted archaeological digs.

Harvard Museum of Natural History
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Anthropology, Archaeology, Culture, History, Library, Natural History, Science, University

With a mission to enhance public understanding and appreciation of the natural world, the Harvard Museum of Natural History presents to the public Harvard’s natural history collections and research of scientists across the University. Its historic displays include the world-famous Blaschka "Glass Flowers"; an extensive collection of minerals and meteorites; fossil, taxidermied, and jarred specimens. New and changing exhibitions highlight current science and address contemporary issues including climate change and new insights in evolutionary biology. The museum offers a wide array of lectures, classes, and programs for learners of all ages from school children to adults. 190,000 annual visitors make the Harvard Museum of Natural History the University's most visited museum.

Harvard Semitic Museum
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Archaeology, Culture, Specialized, University

This museum has been renamed as the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East. You can find it by browsing museums in Cambridge or using this link: http://www.museumsusa.org/museums/info/24410

Peabody Essex Museum
Salem, Massachusetts

Archaeology, Art, Culture, History, Historic House, Library, Science

As the first major step in PEM’s expansion, some galleries are closed for renovation until fall 2013. The refurbished spaces will reopen with the highest level of environmental controls and a steady program of changing exhibitions. Later in 2013, select artworks from the galleries that closed will be on view elsewhere in the museum. Please consult the Gallery Updates below, and the exhibitions and collection pages when planning your visit. Stay tuned for more exciting expansion project news.

Plimoth Plantation, Inc.
Plymouth, Massachusetts

Archaeology, Botanical Garden, Cemetery, Children's, Culture, General, History, Historic House, Historical Society, Library

Plimoth Plantation, a bicultural museum, offers powerful personal encounters with history built on thorough research about the Wampanoag People and the Colonial English community in the 1600s. Our exhibits, programs, live interpreters, and historic settings encourage a new level of understanding about present-day issues affecting communities around the world.

Sudbury Historical Society, Inc.
Sudbury, Massachusetts

Archaeology, Art, History, Historical Society

Museum & offices are located on the Second Floor of the Sudbury Town Hall. We try to have one exhibit a year on the auditorium floor. Call ahead to ascertain what & when it is.

MUSEUM CONFERENCES

Small Museum Association 41st Annual Conference 2025

February 17 - 19, 2025

Gaithersburg, Maryland

Small Museum Association 41st Annual Conference 2025

Monday, February 17 - Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center

Gaithersburg, Maryland

Hosted by: Small Museum Association

The annual SMA conference attracts more than 300 museum professionals, board members, and volunteers from a wide variety of small museums. They attend sessions on topics ranging from collections and education to staffing and board issues.

We offer a large Museum Resource Hall and plenty of informal networking opportunities for you to talk with (and get ideas from!) other small museum professionals and volunteers

Theme for 2025: Make It Happen!!!

Is there an exhibit, program, or fundraiser that you've been talking about doing for years? Do you feel stuck because of procrastination, lack of board support, or insufficient funds? It's time to take action

At SMA 2025, small museum professionals will share their tips and tricks of how they made it happen!

2025 California Association of Museums Conference

February 18 - 22, 2025

San Fransico, California

2025 California Association of Museums Conference

Tuesday, February 18 - Saturday, February 22, 2025

San Fransico, California

Hosted by: California Association of Museums

CAM is hard at work planning for the 2025 conference, set to take place from February 18–22, 2025 in San Francisco. We look forward to highlighting best practices and innovative ideas from California's museum community

The California Association of Museums is excited to continue offering in-person programming for 2025. We will not be requiring proof of COVID vaccination/s, but highly encourage vaccination and boosters. For the health and safety of our colleagues, masks are also encouraged (but not required). Capacity and spaces will be thoughtfully considered in the planning of this event.

For more information, please email [email protected].

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

March 15 - 18, 2025

Blacksburg, Virginia

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

Saturday, March 15 - Tuesday, March 18, 2025

The Inn at Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia

Hosted by: Virginia Association of Museums

2025 Conference Theme: Looking Back to the Future For the past several years, many museums have been deeply involved in planning programs and events to observe the 250th birthday of the United States of America. While this is certainly an occasion to celebrate, this anniversary also forces us as a society to reckon with ongoing inequities and challenges within the US that go back to its inception. As museums ask their audiences to look to the past to understand the present and shape a better future, perhaps now is a good moment in time for Virginia’s museum community to take pause and look back at its own history. We are excited to see you in Blacksburg in March 2025 as we take a moment in our hectic schedules to take pause and visit our diverse pasts. Let’s uncover and share our histories to build a more resilient Virginia museum community.

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

September 10 - 13, 2025

Cincinnati, Ohio

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

Wednesday, September 10 - Saturday, September 13, 2025

TBD

Cincinnati, Ohio

Hosted by: American Association for State and Local History

The 2025 AASLH Annual Conference, in partnership with Ohio Local History Alliance, will take place as the history field makes the final preparations to kickoff off the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States.

The 2025 conference theme, inspired by AASLH’s Making History at 250: The Field Guide for Semiquincentennial, is an opportunity to broadly explore one of the guide’s themes, The American Experiment. For many in the American colonies in 1776, independence from Britain represented a “leap into the dark” into an unknown future

We are excited for you to join us in Cincinnati as we encourage discussion about our democracy and civic institutions and how they can help strengthen understanding, inspire action, and reveal ways that all of us can participate in and shape the ongoing American experiment.

For more information, please call 615-320-3203 or email [email protected].

view all conferences
RECENT UPDATES

Museums

03/07 Pointe Coupee Parish Museum

New Roads, Louisiana

03/07 Uintah County Heritage Museum

Vernal, Utah

Museum Vendors

03/07 Digiscura

Encino, California

Museum Associations

03/07 Oregon Museums Association

Portland, Oregon

03/07 Virginia Association of Museums

Richmond, Virginia

03/07 American Association for State and Local History

Nashville, Tennessee

03/07 Small Museum Association

Dover, Delaware