Founded by an eccentric millionaire with a taste for romantic sagas, the Higgins Armory Museum (100 Barber Ave., 508/853-6015, www.higgins.org [1], 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tues.–Sat., 12–4 p.m. Sun., $10 adults, $7 seniors and children 4–16, free children under 6) draws fans of King Arthur to wow over a vast collection of weapons and armor. The museum has hundreds of suits of armor, including a rare Roman gladiator helmet, and features demonstrations on weapon-making and wielding.
The Worcester Art Museum [2] was founded by Stephen Salisbury, a leading industrialist whose home is now on display as Salisbury Mansion (40 Highland St., 508/753-8278, www.worcesterhistory.org [3], 1–4 p.m. Thurs.–Sat., $5 adults, free children under 18). Period 1830s furnishings and changing exhibits bring Worcester’s [4] manufacturing heyday to life.
More than just a zoo, the EcoTarium (222 Harrington Way, 508/929-2700, www.ecotarium.org [5], 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tues.–Sat., 12–5 p.m. Sun., $10 adults, $8 seniors and students, $8 children 3–18, free children under 3) bills itself as an indoor-outdoor nature center, with polar bears, foxes, and other wildlife on the grounds. Among its more unusual experiences is a tree-canopy walkway 40 feet above the ground.
Links:
[1] http://www.higgins.org
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/new-england/massachusetts/eastern-massachusetts/worcester-and-vicinity/worcester/worcester-art-museum
[3] http://www.worcesterhistory.org
[4] http://www.moon.com/destinations/new-england/massachusetts/eastern-massachusetts/worcester-and-vicinity/worcester
[5] http://www.ecotarium.org