Visiting Vermont? You might want to stop in to the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium. A quirky little museum in St. Johnsbury, it’s filled with something for everyone.
When I was planning our Spring Break trip to Vermont, I scouted Groupon and LivingSocial, looking for hotel deals to save a bit of money. After that, I started looking for deals on places we could visit and things we could do while we were there.
Which is exactly how I came to find the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury.
Started by Franklin Fairbanks in 1889, it originally housed just his collection of historical artifacts and animal trophies that he had collected over the years. And as his friends traveled the world, they added to his collection, and the end result is a unique museum that has something for everyone in the family. Over 175,000 items to check out!
Animals. Rocks and minerals. Bugs galore. Civil War artifacts. Bits of St. Johnsbury history.
The building’s structure itself was unusual enough that I asked about it, and it was actually built specifically to house Mr. Fairbanks’ collection.
In addition to all the items in the museum, this place also houses the only public planetarium in Vermont (be sure to check the show schedule if you plan on visiting) and has a cute gift shop filled with all sorts of scientific and historic must-haves … and much better items available than the usual junk you typically find in gift stores. Nick was pleased to add a few more rocks to his growing collection.
1302 Main Street
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
The Museum is open every day from 9 AM – 5 PM.
The Museum is CLOSED on New Year’s Day, Easter, July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
Hungry for more to do in Vermont?
Our visit to the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury was a delicious way to start the day.
The Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks in Montpelier was a fun visit for all things maple.
Also in Waterbury, the Cabot cheese shop is right down the street and worth checking out.
The Vermont Country Store was an awesome stop and the last thing we did before heading home.
Our trip kicked off with a stop at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory.
Random photo dump of our week in Vermont.
Leave a Reply