Located within the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Mullins Center is a multi-purpose event space. Aside from hosting cultural events, plays, concerts and conferences, the Mullins Center also hosts matches and practice sessions for the University of Massachusetts' sports teams. The arena includes two buildings, one of which has a basketball court, a permanent ice rink, racquetball courts and other sports facilities. Check the website for more details.
With a congregation founded in 1636, the Center Church is the fourth meeting house to reside on its current location with the present church built in 1807. The Center Church has always maintained itself as not just a religious icon of the city, but as a cultural one as well. Today, there are concerts and important city events, such as First Night, which are held on the grounds of the church. Also on the site of the church is Hartford's oldest cemetery, the Ancient Burial Ground, where its citizens were interred from 1640 to 1802. "Our Church is 375 years old; our thinking is not" is the motto of the 375 year-old house of worship and is one of the most progressive congregations in the state.
Come visit the birthplace of one of America's best-loved authors, Emily Dickinson, who was born here in December 1830. The famed poet spent most of her life here composing over 1800 poems. The property consists of two different residences that are open to the public: The Evergreens, home to Emily's brother Austin, and The Homestead, where she lived and where her numerous unpublished poems were found after her death. Visitors can see both houses through special guided and audio tours.
The Springfield Science Museum and Seymour Planetarium is dedicated to the natural sciences and artifacts found throughout New England. Children can explore and learn about the habitats of the Amazon rainforest, African savanna, a coral reef or the New England coastal areas. If a trip through time is more their thing, the Dinosaur Hall has replicas of Tyrannosaurus Rex as well as some dinosaurs native to the Connecticut River Valley. Tickets to the Seymour Planetarium (the nation's oldest) can be purchased separately, so sit back and check out over 7000 stars from our solar system.
One of the region's great authors of children's books is Eric Carle, author and artist of the beloved classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art consists of three galleries dedicated to picture book art and children's books. The museum also has a reading room, art center, and cafe. The Eric Carle Museum is a great place to introduce children to art via their favorite pictures and story books.
The Titanic Historical Society Museum in Indian Orchard features a collection of artifacts owned by the Titanic Historical Society. The artifacts and works were mainly donated to the society's president, Edward S. Kamuda by survivors of the tragedy. The range of memorabilia is wide, and includes the original blueprints of the ship's tank top, Madeleine Astor's life jacket, dinner menus, crew communications, furniture, and more. One exhibit also examines the role the Titanic has played in popular media since the 1950s, featuring sheet music and movie posters.