Travel the Cape’s Museum Trail

If it’s too cold or you don’t feel like dressing for the wind, dive into the Cape’s past instead, by visiting one of our many museums.

Our history dates back to the 1800s, so of course, there are some incredible stories here! Learn all about them and see incredible art, cultural exhibits, nature, and more at 75 plus nature centers, art and cultural centers, museums, and historical societies on the Cape Cod Museum Trail. We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorites here in the lower Cape, but it’s worth planning head to ensure they’re open. Double check museum hours since they’ll often differ during the offseason.

First, a note about the Cape Cod Museum Trail:
It’s a digital initiative as much as it is a physical journey that connects the dozens of museums across the Cape. Established in October 2015, the idea ultimately aimed to unite museum directors, share resources, and promote tourism from Woods Hole, Bourne, and Sandwich in the Upper Cape to Brewster and Chatham in the Lower Cape to Provincetown at the tip of the Outer Cape. There are many ways to plan your visit to the best museums on the Cape Cod Museum Trail, but we suggest getting started close to home.

We’ll start with Brewster Historical Society Museum & Windmill Village.
Founded in 1964, the Brewster Historical Society preserves local history and artifacts, specifically the restored Cobb House Museum and Windmill Village. Cobb House dates back to 1799 and has five permanent galleries. During warmer months, when the house isn’t open for tours, you can enjoy the grounds and garden. Windmill Village next to Drummer Boy Park is home to Higgins Farm Windmill, Harris-Black House, and Hopkins Blacksmith Shop. Again, the buildings are open to explore from late June through Labor Day Weekend, including blacksmith demos every weekend, but will have limited hours during the off-season. Check their website for any events scheduling and for regular visiting hours.

Next, is the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, also in Brewster. When it comes to exploring nature, there’s plenty to do here. Established in 1954, the museum is located in a 17,000-square-foot building on 80 acres of land next to 320 acres of conservation and town land. It’s certainly easy to spend an entire day here! We don’t have room to list all of the exhibits and attractions, but here are a few to give you an idea of how much there is to explore:

• Nature Trails
• Aquarium
• Preserved Bird Collection
• Guided Archaeology Walks
• Guided Family Field Walks
• Butterfly House & Pollinator Path (including butterfly feeding)
• Honey Bee Observation Hive
• Moon Adventure Game & Interstellar Explorations
• People of the Land: The Wampanoag

Of course, some of these will not be open or available during the off-season, but some that celebrate the winter will be! All the details can be found of their respective websites. While we’re at it, the following few museums won’t open again until spring, but we think they’re worth planning ahead for, so have detailed them here.

Brooks Academy Museum & A. Crowell Barn Museum is in Harwich is third on our list. Maintained by the Harwich Historical Society, the Brooks Academy Museum is housed in the old Pine Grove Seminary where Sydney Brooks oversaw a two-room high school for boys and girls. Today, it houses exhibits about the town’s history. Also on the museum grounds is the A. Elmer Crowell Barn Museum, which highlights the story of the world-famous bird carver. You can watch real video footage of Crowell in his workshop and carving demonstrations.

Get ready to travel back in time at the Atwood House & Museum in Chatham. Home to the Chatham Historical Society, The Atwood House was built by Captain Joseph Atwood in the 1750s. On the ground floor, you can explore eight rooms that contain items from the 1700s to the 1900s, encompassing three centuries of Cape Cod family life. Unlike most museums of this nature, the Atwood House has remained unchanged since its original structure, except for the Marjorie’s kitchen addition in the 1830s plus the addition of electricity. It’s even furnished like it was during the 1700s and 1800s. Also on the grounds are a lighthouse turret and the Nickerson North Beach Camp.

While you’re in Chatham, make time to visit the Caleb Nickerson Homestead. The circa 1829 home features an Antique Cape design with a working beehive and three hearths. Also on the property are a reproduction of a post-and-beam outhouse, heirloom kitchen garden, archaeology dig site, and memorial monument. All is open for guided tours from June to September. Additionally, this historic landmark is located where English settlers made their first home in Chatham in 1664.

Back to the present day– in a way– The Centers for Culture and History in Orleans is open during the off-season and is definitely worth a visit. Bringing Cape Cod culture and history to life, The Centers for Culture and History in Orleans has three interesting historic sites for activities and learning with public-facing events all year long. The Meetinghouse is an 1834 Greek Revival structure that was once the meeting house for the Universalist Church of Orleans. Now, it houses a museum with special exhibits and cultural programs. See the ‘CG36500 Motor Lifeboat’ while you’re here, famous for its nighttime rescue of 32 crew from the Pendleton tanker in 1952 during a fierce winter storm. The boat is the center of the book “The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue” and the 2016 film “The Finest Hours.” The Hurd Chapel is a newer addition to the property with plans to make it a place for research, meetings, and storage for artifacts and archives.

Plan for winter; plan for spring! There’s no time like the present to learn about Cape Cod’s past. We’ll be happy to host you at Ocean Edge whenever you plan your visit.