For Museum Goers

The world of art is alive in Johnny Appleseed territory. If you’re looking for a chance to experience the culture and art of the Shakers and American Indians of New England, as well as the one-time farmhouse of the famous Alcott family and later utopian commune, Fruitlands Museum (www.fruitlands.org) in Harvard, located just off Rte. 2, is your destination of choice. Not only is Fruitlands one of the first “outdoor museums” in America, with its breathtaking vistas and walking trails, and outdoor summer concerts at dusk, but it also offers the visitor a rare look into the life of the Alcotts with their Transcendentalist vision, the Shakers, utopians, artists and Native peoples. Four galleries are home to collections of Native American art and artifacts, the Hudson River School landscapes, a Shaker collection, and a gallery of American vernacular portraits. Dine in the tearoom and shop the Gift Shop of this most American of museums.

Twenty-five miles down the Johnny Appleseed Trail of Rte. 2 lies another world, the Fitchburg Art Museum (www.fitchburgartmuseum.org), located in Fitchburg on Merriam Parkway. Fourteen galleries house a rich collection of American and European painting, prints, drawings, ceramics and decorative arts a, as well as Greek, Roman, Asian and pre-Columbian antiquities. Exhibitions of works from other museums and private collections, as well as from both emerging and established contemporary artists make this treasured institution a must-see!

In nearby Leominster, the birthplace of the plastics industry, you’ll find the National Plastics Center and Museum (www.plasticsmuseum.org), dedicated to acquiring objects and archives relating to plastics and the plastics industry. Housed in the museum are natural plastics such as horn and tortoiseshell; semi-synthetic plastics such as celluloid (making the first silent motion pictures possible); and fully synthetic, such as Bakelite® and Ace combs, originally manufactured in Leominster. There’s even a Plastics Hall of Fame and a gallery celebrating the many uses of recycled plastics.