Museums

Pittsburgh is Going to the Moon at the Moonshot Museum

Finally, Pittsburgh has a space museum!

If you follow space news at all, odds are good that you know Pittsburgh's robotics companies are at the forefront of innovations for upcoming missions off-planet. One such company, Astrobotic in the North Side, is designing many new technologies that can be used for upcoming missions to the moon in particular.

To showcase their work and the goals of these missions at large, the company has opened a modest educational museum, aptly named the Moonshot Museum, at their North Side production facility in late 2022.

We got the chance to visit this one just before it opened to the public and share a bit more about what you can expect when visiting!

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Wood Street Galleries is One of Downtown’s Premier Galleries

Pittsburgh has a thriving arts scene, and no matter what neighborhood you are in odds are good you're not too far away from a world-class museum, independent art gallery, mural, and everything in between.

This is especially true in downtown Pittsburgh as the Cultural District hosts numerous galleries worth visiting. Wood Street Galleries is one such spot, located in the T Station of the same name, and is managed by Cultural Trust with frequently rotating exhibits throughout the year. 

After visiting this one dozens of times over the years, we have to admit, it is one of our favorite galleries in the city!

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The Pittsburgh Tattoo Art Museum is Shadyside’s Hidden Gem

You know we are fans of unusual museums in Pittsburgh, and when the one-room Pittsburgh Tattoo Art Museum in Shadyside opened in early 2022, we had to go straight away.

This small museum in a somewhat hidden tattoo parlor is everything we look for in offbeat exhibits- namely a wonderfully curated selection on a topic we don't know much about managed by extremely passionate Pittsburghers.

So if you want to take a dive into the world of tattoos, this one is for you.

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The Carnegie Trees & Neapolitan Presepio Are A Holiday Gem

We love it when local museums decorate for Christmas in Pittsburgh as it always gives us an excuse to visit one more time before the end of the holiday season.

The Carnegie Museum of Art gets into the holiday fun with two annual exhibits worth checking out- the Carnegie Trees and the Neapolitan Presepio. While both of these exhibits are on the smaller side compared to other exhibits we've been to, they pack in a lot of detail that will have you lingering for quite some time.

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Lincoln Highway Experience – America’s First Cross-Country Road

The Lincoln Highway is America's first transcontinental highway and runs from New York City all the way to San Francisco. 

It was dedicated in 1913 and over the last 100+ years has had a pretty incredible history. To say that this road helped connect the country and opened accessibility to hundreds upon hundreds of small towns and boroughs is not an exaggeration- this one really changed the way Americans work, play, and travel.

While we weren't around to be able to enjoy the Lincoln Highway in its prime, we can get the next best thing in learning all about it at the Lincoln Highway Experience just outside of Latrobe. Next time you're in the area, you'll do well to stop and check this great little museum out!

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Latrobe Area Historical Society Shines a Light on the City’s Past

We really love going to historical societies when we visit nearby cities and boroughs. These small, often one or two-room museums offer fascinating displays and artifacts that highlight a large cross-section of the region's history.

This is no different in Latrobe, where the Latrobe Area Historical Society operates a modest exhibit where you can learn more about the city's past!

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Boarding a Tench Class Submarine at the USS Requin

Not every city can boast that they have their own submarine, which makes the USS Requin at the Carnegie Science Center one of Pittsburgh's most unusual attractions (and a personal favorite).

Visitors to this one can explore the submarine as either part of the Carnegie Science Center ticket or with an a la carte ticket in order to learn more about what life was like on a mid-20th century submarine!

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Experience Village Life in the 1800s at Depreciation Lands in Allison Park

The history of the Depreciation Lands is a fascinating one and was a novel solution to a problem that the early United States had after the Revolutionary War.

While the living history museum of the same name in Allison Park covers this unique history, it also takes a look at what life was like in the region in the early 1800s- a time when southwest PA was the wild frontier.

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The Compass Inn Museum Preserves the 1800s in the Laurel Highlands

You may know a lot of what life was like during the early days of Pittsburgh's history thanks to the forts found nearby and famous battles that took place leading up to the Revolutionary War.

But the period after the war quiets down a fair bit (apart from the brief Whiskey Rebellion) until a few decades later due to the War of 1812. This triggered a rapid increase in iron production, which subsequently became the steel industry, and ultimately modern Pittsburgh as we know it.

One spot in the Laurel Highlands, the Compass Inn Museum, captures the history from this rather calm period, around the turn of the 19th century, and showcases what life was like for those living in (and more appropriately, passing through) southwest Pennsylvania around this time!

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