Off Beat Museums of Western New York

The Jell-O Museum

 Are planning a road trip to Niagara Falls?      

The Kazoo Factory

Everyone knows the best part of road trips are stopping along the way to check out a small town’s “claim to fame.”  On our way to and from Canada last year, we visited some outstanding museums.  Here are my picks next time you are in Western New York State.

  • The Jello Museum, LeRoy, NY:  Here you can reminisce with the old commercials from Bill Cosby, check out mementos and merchandise from years past and learn the history of “America’s favorite dessert.”  The kids will love the brain mold made out of Jell-O too.
  • The Kazoo Factory, Eden, NY:  Here you can visit the only metal kazoo factory in North America.  On display are kazoos of all shapes and sizes.  Not only will you learn about the history of the kazoo, but you will have an opportunity to make your own!
  • Lucy-Desi Museum, Jamestown, NY:  Who doesn’t love Lucy?  Jamestown does since it is the birthplace of Lucille Ball.   The museum has memorabilia from costumes to awards.  The living room set from the TV show was also really cool to see.  Of course, you can take a break while you are there and watch an episode of Lucy’s sitcom in black in white.  It was neat to see my eleven-year-old laugh at shows I use to watch when I was young.
  • Corning Glass Museum, Corning, NY:  We became artisans, and it was a blast!  The kids picked up a book to do a scavenger hunt through the museum which made looking at the glass sculptures a learning experience.  We did two workshops.  The boys made Christmas ornaments in the glass blowing and glass forming class.    We also learned how to create frosted cups in the sand blasting class.  We spent the entire day here, and it was one of the highlights of our road trip!

I Love Lucy!

Corning Glass Museum

Comments

  1. Lisa Wood says:

    Wow – so much to see!! Sometimes its the little out of the way places that makes all the differences.

    I like the sound of what your kids got to make – the christmas ornaments in the glass blowing and glass forming class – that sounds like so much fun!

    Cheers
    Lisa

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