Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Pioneer Valley
It was Springfield where, in 1891, a young Canadian physical education instructor called James Naismith first invented basketball. The game is celebrated…
Must-see attractions in Pioneer Valley
Pioneer Valley
This innovative museum is dedicated to the life and work of Springfield native Theodore Geisel, aka Dr Seuss. On the 1st floor, interactive exhibits use…
Pioneer Valley
During her lifetime, Emily Dickinson (1830–86) published only seven poems, but more than 1000 were discovered and published posthumously, and her verses…
Pioneer Valley
This mountaintop park, at the summit of Mt Holyoke, peaks out at a rather modest-sounding height of 942ft. But that's high enough to earn the visitor…
Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
Pioneer Valley
Co-founded by the author and illustrator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, this superb museum celebrates book illustrations from around the world with…
Pioneer Valley
For a peek at Amherst's colorful past, make your way to the West Cemetery, between Triangle St and N Pleasant St. Here you'll find the graves of Amherst's…
Pioneer Valley
The nation's oldest women's college, founded in 1837, is in the center of South Hadley, the southernmost and sleepiest of the Five College towns. The…
Pioneer Valley
The world can always do with a little more peace. A group of monks, nuns and volunteers are doing their part in an unexpected spot in the woods near the…
Pioneer Valley
Stones trapped swirling in the roiling Deerfield River have been grinding into the rock bed at this location ever since the ice age. The result: 50 near…
Pioneer Valley
The main street of Historic Deerfield Village escaped the ravages of time and now presents a noble prospect: a dozen houses dating from the 1700s and…
Northfield Mountain Recreation & Environmental Center
Pioneer Valley
Stretching 7 miles along the Connecticut River, this attractive recreation area is maintained by the hydroelectric company that dammed the river (as per…
Pioneer Valley
The 20 galleries of this art deco–style building are filled with lesser paintings of the great European masters and better works of lesser masters. The…
Pioneer Valley
Founded in 1821, Amherst College has retained its character and quality partly by maintaining its small size (1850 students). The scenic campus lies just…
Dr Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden
Pioneer Valley
Life-size bronze sculptures of the Cat in the Hat and other wonky characters look beseechingly at passers-by at the Dr Seuss National Memorial Sculpture…
Pioneer Valley
Around 190 million years ago, the Pioneer Valley area was a subtropical swamp inhabited by carnivorous, two-legged dinosaurs, and a large cluster of their…
Pioneer Valley
This impressive campus museum boasts a 25,000-piece collection. The collection is particularly strong in 19th- and 20th-century European and North…
Pioneer Valley
Founded 'for the education of the intelligent gentlewoman' in 1875, Smith College is one of the largest women's colleges in the country, with 2600…
Pioneer Valley
Showcasing the city's distant heyday, this museum is home to the Esta Mantos Indian Motocycle collection (the world's largest). There's also a huge…
Pioneer Valley
This museum has exterior windows designed by Tiffany Studios and a fine collection of 19th-century American and European paintings, textiles, ceramics and…
Pioneer Valley
The Springfield Museums surround Museum Quadrangle, two blocks northeast of Court Sq. Out front, look for the Augustus Saint-Gaudens statue The Puritan…
Pioneer Valley
A small but scintillating collection of art works that span the globe, ranging from American and European paintings to Mexican pottery to West African…
Pioneer Valley
Since 1929, volunteers have maintained this bridge of blooms over the Deerfield River. It's one photogenic civic centerpiece. More than 500 varieties of…
Beneski Museum of Natural History
Pioneer Valley
Kids will dig the enormous woolly mammoth and dinosaur skeletons at this museum on the campus of Amherst College. Exhibits focus on the geological history…
Springfield Armory National Historic Site
Pioneer Valley
This National Historic Site preserves what remains of the USA's greatest federal armory, built under the command of General George Washington during the…
Pioneer Valley
Here's the original building of Deerfield Academy (1798), the prestigious preparatory school in town. It's now a museum of Pocumtuck Valley life and…
Pioneer Valley
The region's most innovative center of learning is Hampshire College, 3 miles south of Amherst center on MA 116. Students here don't pick a major in the…
Pioneer Valley
The enormous University of Massachusetts at Amherst illustrates the distinction between public and private higher education in the US. Founded in 1863 as…
Pioneer Valley
Visitors are welcome to explore Smith College's collection of Victorian greenhouses, set opposite Paradise Pond, which are packed to the brim with odd…
Pioneer Valley
This museum possesses a respectable, if slightly outdated, range of natural history and science exhibits. The Dinosaur Hall has a full-size replica of a…
Pioneer Valley
At the summit of Mt Holyoke, a former hotel dating from 1861 is now a museum and visitor center. Old photographs show Summit House as it was in its heyday…