Pittsburgh is well-known for its museums and we have a good selection of them too. The Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, founded by industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1895, is a system of four museums of various topics - with natural history, science, and art. The Natural History museum in Oakland contains various local geology, local and non-local gems and minerals with some of the most beautiful artifacts of any museum in Pittsburgh, a bird hall, dinosaur hall with real and cast fossils which most were found as a result of Andrew Carnegie's research, among other exhibits. The Science Center in the Chateau neighborhood has a lot of interactive exhibits geared towards a younger demographic where it encourages exploration of how things work, including space, robots, the human body, electricity, meteorology, and more, but some exhibits and events can cater towards older demographics as well, especially some of the traveling exhibits, and events involving science and alcohol (which are of course 21+). There's a separate smaller building right next to the main building as well that shows the science of sports and interactive opportunities too, with some of the sports there being themed/related to Pittsburgh. Finally, there are two separate art museums. One being a general art museum connected to the Natural History museum with a mix of older and more modern art, some local art and some non-local art. The other is in the old Frick & Lindsay building in the North Shore, and dedicated entirely to the works of well-known Pittsburgh artist Andy Warhol, whom was involved in the pop art movement in the 1960s. The museum contains works from other artists involved in that movement as well. I've been to and enjoyed going to all four of these museums throughout my childhood and still enjoy them today.

The Heinz History Center is a Smithsonian affiliated institution and has some of the largest collection of Pittsburgh history, with new items constantly being added. It contains history about life in the 18th through 20th centuries, wars, sports, and rare collections. The museum is named after Sen. John Heinz, and contains information and artifacts about the Heinz family's contributions to the city as well, with their most notable contribution being ketchup that you see all over the U.S. There's also a library open to the public with various books and artifacts - my favorite being the plat maps in a span of many years you can view to see how things of the city has changed in over 100 years. Quite a unique fact is on display in the special collections area, there is this 1870s-era model funicular built by my great-great grandfather that my dad used to play with! My great grandmother donated it in the 1970s. There also used to have trolleys running throughout the city and pictured below is an old PCC trolley car they have on display that you can go inside. Apart of the Smithsonian Pittsburgh division there is also the Ft. Pitt Museum, a war museum at Point State Park showing the history of Fort Pitt and Fort Duquesne, and Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village in Washington County, an archeology site re-created to show what 19th century life was like.

Pittsburgh also has its fair share of interesting and quirky museums. The Mattress Factory in the Northside is an art museum that shows temporary and permanent exhibits in a vertically-oriented mattress warehouse plus two other buildings. It is not a conventional white box art museum, here everything is different with each floor having progressively-oriented modern art taking up entire rooms or even an entire floor. Sometimes it'll be bright, other times it'll be pitch black. It never gets old and you get a new experience during each visit. Some people might find it creepy and unsettling but I personally really like it.

One of the most unique museums in Pittsburgh is Bicycle Heaven in Chateau, located in an old warehouse. It is the largest museum in the world dedicated entirely to bicycles. There are over 3,500 bicycles display, and over 25,000 in the owner's personal collection. The bikes come from a variety of sources, from the owner buying bikes to acquiring them. A large inventory of the bikes come from various movies and TV shows (Wikipedia, 2024). For example, the bike used in Pee-wee's Big Adventure is on display at Bicycle Heaven. In addition the business also repairs  bikes, which includes people's personal bikes. It's not just the bikes however. The entire museum has such a strange and quirky atmosphere with the layout constantly changing and looking different and random objects everywhere you go, but similar to the Mattress Factory it's something I really enjoy.

Erie has multiple museums that contribute to anyone’s interests. We have a Maritime Museum, an Art Museum, and a Children’s Museum all located in downtown Erie. 

The Maritime Museum features exhibits about the history of PENELEC, the War of 1812, the Battle of Lake Erie, and the restored US Brig Niagara. It has lots of information about how Erie was a contributing factor to the War of 1812. I had gone on a tour there with school once and they told us about how the sailors and soliders lived while on board the ships. They had shown us where the sleeping quarters were and where the people who now go on tour with the boats will sleep while living on board. The museum also has information about the lake in general about fishing and the lighthouses that are located on Presque Isle. 

Another great museum is the Art Museum. The museum tries to feature more local artists and their work. Like any art museum, the pieces within will make you think about what the artist is trying to voice out and what the purpose behind the piece was. Last time I was there, there was an exhibit that had many pictures of what Erie and the surrounding areas had looked like a while ago and it was an interesting sight to see how much has changed and how much has stayed the same in the areas. The art museum hosts events throughout the year such as classes for people to learn how to create different things and Art After Dark, which is an event that happens on the first Thursday of every month and they will bring in a local musician or band and people can have drinks and roam the museum. 

         The last major museum in Erie is the ExpERIEnce Children’s Museum. They have recently gone through extensive renovations to rebuild the entire museum and give it a fresh look. Since the renovations, the museum has brought in new types of technologies to create a fun experience for people of all ages. One of their new additions was an indoor interactive experience that allows kids to learn about the lake while also climbing aboard a ship that is styled like the US Brig Niagara. In addition, they have also created spaces to recreate a grocery store, exhibits that create a community, and exhibits that challenge kids to use their creative side to create objects that fly. Overall, a trip to the Children’s Museum is a fun experience for anyone, no matter what their ages are.