Berkshire Museum and Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary

By Tom O’Grady

In summer vacation season, there are plenty of opportunities to combine education and exercise for a fun day with the family. For those who have never been, or for those who have not been in some time, someplace to consider visiting is the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Mass. Heading east towards Boston on I-90, you will then take Exit 11 to US Route 20 east, for the remainder of a 45-mile trip from Albany. The entire drive takes an hour while passing Lebanon Valley Speedway and Hancock Shaker Village along the way. 

The Berkshire Museum – We arrived at the museum around 11am. With our map in hand, I was interested in the amount of time it would take to go through all of the exhibits at a comfortable pace. My goal was to have fun, not feel rushed, but have the kids maintain their attention and enjoy the museum. We decided to head to the basement level first, which contains a 35-tank aquarium, and a Discovery Room of Reptiles and More. This was a great decision. 

Despite being smaller than many aquariums the first tank was full of various poison dart frogs! Such a small and colorful creature that is also incredibility poisonous really captures the attention of young boys. The two that created the most discussion among us were the golden and Phantasmal poison frogs. Living in Columbia and barely larger than a couple of paper clips, the endangered golden poison dart is the most poisonous of dart frogs, and this also makes it one of the most toxic animals on Earth. The phantasmal dart frog was about one-third to half the size of the golden dart frog and its dull red color and white stripes caused it to blend in with the environment. The phantasmal’s toxic compounds have been used to help create a synthetic compound with medicinal purposes, related to morphine, but much stronger. One of the drawbacks is dosing. 

Beyond the frog tank there are a number of other animals to see, before reaching the reptile room. If you visit on a Saturday you will be able to take part in the hands-on preparation of meals for the creatures during “Chow Time.”

After finishing with the aquarium and reptile room we headed upstairs to the first floor. We spent a little time in the first room, which had some attractions aimed at younger children, and a few primer pieces related to a current attraction – Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion. 

The next room was Berkshire Backyard. This longstanding exhibit is set up to demonstrate all of the animals that you would encounter in the Berkshires. When entering the first-thing that’s noticeable is the sheer number of birds, beetles, and butterflies that are cataloged. During this visit, the birds command much of the attention – particularly the birds of prey such as the hawk and peregrine falcon, although the different sized herons also garner discussion. After looking over the birds, we move on to the interactive area where the kids enjoy looking over the animal tracks, listening to bird calls, and examining rubber scat!

Making our way to the middle section of the first floor we first enter the Rocks & Minerals. This exhibit dates back over 100 years to Daniel Clark, a rock and mineral enthusiast from Massachusetts, who amassed a giant collection in his 83-year lifespan. The kids are more excited about the exhibit than I expect, so we look at the different types of rocks and minerals, as well as naming schemes and coloring of the minerals. The most notable piece to the kids is the 143-pound iron and nickel meteorite that dates back approximately 50,000 years ago, and is a piece of the larger meteorite that impacted in northern Arizona, at what is now called Meteor Crater. From the rock and mineral room, we enter Animals of the World and finally the Feigenbaum Hall of Innovation. 

Once on the second floor we spend a majority of our remaining time in Machines in Motion. This larger exhibit is partitioned into four sections corresponding to the four elements: fire, water, earth and air. Each area is truly fascinating and da Vinci’s genius is obvious. The fire section is dedicated to machines with military purpose. Commanding the attention of the entire room is a giant wooden battle tank that you can step inside of and examine. The water section shows inventions that paved the way for humans to move more efficiently through water, including flippers, webbed gloves, and a prototype of an invention meant to allow people to walk on water. 

Earth inventions include a crane, printing press and oil press. Air inventions have models of da Vinci’s various ideas for flying machines, porotypes of mechanical wings, a hang glider and more. For the athlete’s reading this story, save time for the Objects and their Stories: Shoes exhibit. We spend less time in the remaining exhibits, but enjoy what the museum has to offer, including an Egyptian mummy. It’s about 2pm, so we were able to spend almost three hours, without rushing – and learned a lot!

Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary – If you are in a rush and cannot make it to the sanctuary, or for those who simply want to walk more, you can take a stroll on Pittsfield’s Downtown Loop. From the Berkshire Museum, it requires no extra driving, as it’s a two-mile loop that is well-marked with green signs to guide pedestrians. The entire circuit travels past the Colonial Theatre, Park Square, and Berkshire Medical Center. The well-intentioned loop was designed to get people walking for approximately 30 minutes, and has periodic signs with encouragement, such as “Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness” –Earl of Derby.

From the Berkshire Museum, Canoe Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary is less than a two-mile drive. There are over three miles of trails at Canoe Meadows and they are sectioned into two main areas. The first is the Sacred Way Trail – this is the shorter of the two and is designed to take 30-45 minutes to walk. It travels along the Housatonic River and past the Oxbow and West ponds. The website warns the trail can be flooded due to beaver activity but we don’t encounter much wetness. We do see a good deal of wildlife. 

The second longer section is the Wolf Pine Trail – this area was designed to take 45-60 minutes to walk. It should be noted at Mass Audubon runs Canoe Meadows. As such, this sanctuary was designed with the intention of being a prime bird viewing area. For those who are interested, they provide a checklist of birds that you may spot. Another attraction you may be interested in is the community garden that grows various vegetables, herbs and flowers, and has been described as “The most scenic location to plant a garden in Berkshire County.”

More info on Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary can be found at massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/canoe-meadows. We finish our adventure a little after 4pm and arrived home around dinnertime!

Tom O’Grady, PhD, MPH (thomas.james.ogrady@gmail.com) of Slingerlands is an avid runner, hiker and lover of the outdoors.