Bountiful Bogs: The Massachusetts Cranberry Story
Whether covering our local bogs or garnishing our cocktails, cranberries have held an ever-present role in Cape Cod life for generations. Come explore the rise of this humble berry through Cape Cod’s history, from its historic use by the Wampanoag people to its modern sale worldwide by companies like Ocean Spray. This exhibition marks the debut of Heritage’s newly acquired cranberry collection, the largest museum collection of cranberry history in the country. READ MORE.
David Rogers’ Big Bugs
Big Bugs is back! For the first time since 2014, massive insects constructed from forest material will take over the Heritage grounds, offering a chance to connect with the miniscule world of bugs on a massive scale. Several former favorites will return, along with a new series of pollinator sculptures. READ MORE.
The Willy’s MB Jeep: Celebrating the End of WWII
Come celebrate the 80-year anniversary of the end of World War II by viewing the Heritage Museums & Gardens’ newest automobile acquisition: the 1942 Willys MB Jeep. Though today known as a popular civilian car brand, the Jeep actually emerged during World War II as a battle-turning, anti-tank vehicle. With their light frames and sturdy four-wheel drive, Willys MB Jeeps helped turn the tide of the Second World War across Africa, Asia, and Europe. This brand-new exhibit explores the history of this iconic wartime vehicle, showcasing what US General George Marshall called “America’s greatest contribution to modern warfare.” READ MORE.
From Carriage to Classic: How Automobiles Transformed America
Discover the origin story of the American automobile through 27 cars from Heritage’s collection. Come along for a ride from the late 1800s to the 1960s as the car evolves from a horseless carriage to a streamlined symbol of freedom and independence. READ MORE.
Heritage Highlights
Did you know that Heritage has a collection of over 18,000 museum objects? Heritage Highlights offers a yearly rotating display of exciting items from this collection. This year, come by to see a selection of artifacts from Cape Cod’s naval history and windmill memorabilia to celebrate the 225th birthday of Heritage’s Old East Mill. READ MORE.
1908 Looff Carousel
The carousel is one of the most popular attractions at Heritage Museums & Gardens. Made by Charles Looff in 1908, the hand-carved carousel has been thrilling riders for over a hundred years. READ MORE.
Wampanoag Wetu, Three Sisters-style Garden & Mush8n
Throughout the grounds, a Wampanoag wetu, a Three-Sisters-style garden, and a mush8n (pronounced mish-oon) illustrate how the land that is now Heritage Museums & Gardens was likely used as summer planting fields by local Wampanoag tribes for thousands of years. READ MORE.
Online Exhibits
The Old East Mill
The Old East Mill, originally located in Orleans, has been a centerpiece at Heritage for over fifty years. Here is the story of its building and operation, as well as how it came to the grounds of the museum in 1967. READ MORE
Impressionist New England: Four Seasons of Color and Light – 2024
What is it about New England—as both setting and a subject—that has captured Impressionist painters’ attention for over a century? This exhibition presents both historical and contemporary Impressionist paintings inspired by New England: its natural beauty, its people, its charming towns, and its glorious light. Includes work by Childe Hassam, Charles Hawthorne, John Twachtman and many more. READ MORE
Alfred Glover in the Garden – 2024
This solo show brings Cataumet artist Alfie Glover’s bold, colorful depictions of animals, trees, and other wildlife to Heritage’s grounds and gardens. Frequent visitors to Heritage may recognize his whimsical work, as one of his sculptures, “Garden Gate,” has been on display in the McInnes Garden. READ MORE
Charging Ahead: Early Electric Cars in America – 2024
Electric vehicles are growing in popularity as part of greener solution for automobiles. But they are not a recent innovation. View examples of early electric vehicle chargers and Heritage’s 1917 Milburn Electric. READ MORE
Creating Cape Cod – 2022, 2023
How did Cape Cod move from the “Yankee backwater” that Henry David Thoreau described in 1855 to a destination that more than 5 million people visit each year? This story is revealed in Creating Cape Cod.
Over a hundred years ago, Cape Cod was plagued with a faltering economy and a dropping population. Community leaders decided on tourism as the answer to the region’s woes. Marketing the Cape as a place where history lived on through rugged sea captains and hard-working fishermen, and historic windmills and lighthouses, their efforts to draw tourists were more successful than anyone could have imagined. In the past two centuries, what’s been gained? And what has been lost? This exhibit has been re-imagined for the 2023 Regular Season with new and exciting additions! READ MORE
Otherworldly – 2023
What is more human than to dream? For as long as we’ve existed, humans have told stories of the fantastical, the mythical, and the unreal. We fantasize, imagine realms different from our own, and share stories that we wish were true. Art has always been a portal to delve into the cracks of our imaginations—whether that be through words or paint or stone. With the sculptures in this exhibition, artists have brought their fantasies, myths, and dreams to life in three-dimensions. Explore them! Dream with them! And then, imagine your own. READ MORE
Treasured Trash – 2022
This exhibition brought together six artists from the Northeast region of the United States who all created work from recycled and repurposed materials. Made from salvaged fishing gear, cardboard, plastic bags and bottles, beach trash and more, these large-scale outdoor sculptures and installations shone a light on the challenges of waste management and pollution—two major issues facing our coastal communities. This exhibit, which ended in October of 2022, featured the work of Michelle Lougee, Gin Stone, Nicolas Nobili, Cindy Pease Roe, Sue Beardsley, and Dylan Gauthier. READ MORE
Let’s Play! New England Toy Stories – 2020, 2021
Toys and games—from the handmade to the mass-produced—factor large in this region’s cultural history. Come learn about the local roots of many of America’s most beloved toys and games. READ MORE
Bugs, Birds & Bricks – 2020, 2021
Placed within the grounds and gardens, these sculptures highlight the interconnected relationships between the plants and animals that we see at Heritage. READ MORE
