West End Creamery, Sutton, MA

Just down the road from Purgatory Chasm, a visit to this creamery/entertainment center was a nice ending to our day.

We ate ice cream on the deck overlooking a beautiful lazy river, varied fields, a mini golf course that looked really nice from a distance.

I didn't see the "Farmyard" or the mini golf because I didn't want to open that can of worms when we were worn out from hiking. We steered clear. The barn houses various farm animals. According to another patron there it's not exactly a petting zoo, but you can visit with cows, horses, sheep, etc.

Before becoming an entertainment center/ice cream shop, this establishment was the milk purveyor for the area. My father grew up nearby, and remembers the half pint bottles of West End Creamery milk that he drank during snack time at school. Somehow it lent our ice cream an "authentic" taste - we learned that authenticity is creamy and delicious, and sometimes comes in a cute little mini cone.

West End Creamery

Purgatory Chasm

Purgatory Chasm (my post)

Purgatory Chasm, Sutton, MA

Our first visit here was a great success. We hiked the short but challenging chasm, then circled back on a one mile loop. The trails were well-blazed. The "hike" through the chasm involves mostly climbing, some precarious. The kids needed help in one or two places. The only injury to our party, a severely skinned knee, happened on the sidewalk my oldest was hurtling down, so eager to show me that he had just safely descended a slab of rock two stories high. The second part of our walk was a more traditional hike through woodland with really cool, huge rocks scattered about.

The parking area was clean and new, as was the pavillion where we ate our sandwiches. The trails were very well blazed. The visitor center looked very kid friendly and hosts a lot of programs.

If the natural wonder of the place were not enough, they've built a fantastic playground in a clearing surrounded by incredibly tall pine trees. Swingset, climbing structure, climbing rocks, even a spinning, climbing thingy. The playground was so well situated it seemed to have grown there.

Picnic spots dot the playground area and the areas near the parking lots. The spots have barbecues and picnic tables. The restrooms were clean.

We'll definitely go back to explore some of the overlooks and special features.

There is an ice cream place down the road, if you're into that sort of thing!

Purgatory Chasm

Ecotarium, Worcester, MA (Update)

Our recent visit (June 2009) was a lot of fun. I found that exhibits had been changed/renewed since our last visit, sometime in the midwinter of 2008-2009.

We got to see the polar bear. The tree canopy was still not open. The person I spoke with said that there are pretty strict weight and height limits so my kids might not be eligible to do that yet anyways. We'll be back there soon - after several visits I am even more convinced of it's lasting interest. The boys played on the pirate ship in the toddler area for a good 45 minutes, a feature that had barely caught their eyes previously. There are plenty of corners to discover here.

Original Post:
We are very happy to have discovered the Ecotarium. Our admission is free with our membership pass to the Springfield Museums. After gaining admission at the front gate, the parking is free.

The museum itself is an interesting building with an eclectic array of exhibits. You'll enter at the top level, right by the gift shop. The shop is nice and they do have some smaller items. When we get our kids a treat we tend to want to spend $1 or so.

Walk down a curved staircase to the second level. More animal stuff, some dino stuff, a presentation area - on our first visit we saw an excellent owl presentation.

On the ground floor, there are live animals in the aquarium/terrarium area, lots of fun weather related exhibits. My husband's favorite feature is a tidal pool camera; by turning a dial you can watch hours of sea activity in mere moments. It is really cool to see the starfish and sea urchins moving in time lapse.

From the ground floor you exit to the grounds. This is the reason that the compound is such a wonderful destination. There are more animals in small, self contained buildings and environments throughout the grounds. We haven't seen the polar bear (!) but it has been fun to explore the trails.

The playground is fine - the rope ladder is an interesting feature & the sandbox is large.

There is a train - tickets are several dollars. We haven't gone yet.

The snack bar that is open only a few hours a day, so bring your food.

Ecotarium

Higgins Armory, Worcester, MA

Parking is ample, and free. Admission is on the pricier side. The exhibits were fantastic, many many full suits of armor, weaponry, a large and fun kids room, stained glass windows, and more. The museum is even designed to look like a castle inside.

The children's area was a large open room. My sons spent most of their time at a model castle, using a myriad of toy horses and knights. There was a large dress up area - I wore the "queeniest" thing my oldest could find. An oversized chess board was surrounded by smaller gaming tables, set with checkers or chess. Other features were a puppet theater, a reading area, crayon rubbings, real helmets to try on.

I was disappointed that they were asking an additional $5 for the kids to make a cardboard shield. I peeked in, to decide whether I wanted to pay that much, and it was a very easy decision. We did not participate in that project. Just a few months ago we made much more impressive shields at home with a diaper box and some hot glue. For free.

There was a gift shop downstairs with several small tables adjacent to it. There was a vending machine with soda and juice.

Higgins Armory