Top Rated Attractions in Providence

Edna Lawrence Nature Lab is a natural history museum for the students of Rhode Island School of Design. Outsiders are allowed only with prior permission from the museum curator. It boasts at least hundred thousand artifacts such as shells, skeletons, fossils and slide mounts of micro organisms. It also houses a collection of more than 1000 rare herbs and plants, as well as mounted mammals and birds. There are a few living animals like turtles, gerbils, birds and fishes as well. The museum allows students to appreciate art and design found in nature and draw parallels with man-made design. The lab is equipped with digital cameras, dissecting and compound microscopes, X-ray photography machines and scanners to help students study the specimens. By exploring intricate patterns occurring in nature, students learn to build three-dimensional models and apply the knowledge to their own designs. Edna Lawrence Nature Lab also acts as a library and lends some of the natural specimens to students.

The Rhode Island School of Design is one of the country's leading art schools and it has a museum to match this lauded reputation. Located on colonial Benefit Street, RISD museum traces the history of art from antiquity to the present day through more than 85,000 works of art from all over the world. There are also collections showing Providence's history as a manufacturing center for silver, but the main galleries are categorized as follows: The Grand Gallery, Early Renaissance & Medieval, Ancient Greek & Roman, Contemporary & Modern and Decorative Arts & Design.

Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology is located within the premises of Brown University and has more than one million items on display. The museum serves as a teaching museum and is used for extensive research and also conducts various seminars and other educational programs. The museum consists of displays mainly from North America and has various archaeological and ethnological collectibles from almost all the continents in the World. The museum also showcases various photographs and artifacts.

The Main Green on the campus of Brown University in Providence is a popular hangout place for students when the weather is fine. The Green is one of the many greens on the sprawling campus. Main Greens is used for university events like convocations, parades and festivals. It is also available for use, to host social events. But be warned, if the weather is fine you are sure to have abundant ambient noise provided by the students around the place.

Annmary Brown Memorial is located within the premises of Brown University and is an art gallery and library. It also serves as a mausoleum and is housed in a 1903 building. The museum library is one of the six libraries within the university and also was home to 450 incunabula collection until it was moved to another museum. The museum holds a great collection of art and has a separate collection of Rush Hawkins on display.

This commanding three-floor mansion sits along the aptly named Power Street in historic College Hill. The house was built in 1786 for the premier Providence merchant of his day and early trustee of the nearby university, John Brown. Now, under the purview of the Rhode Island Historical Society, this mansion preserves original furnishings and decorations from the 18th Century, which includes a nine-shell desk and bookcase as a couple of great examples. As with many historical attractions in Providence, this one offers a glimpse into the life of Colonial America after the Revolutionary War.