peabody essex museum

I've been around almost as long as the PEM, but unless I went by horse and buggy for a school trip, I have never been. Went to see The Fine Art of Wood from the Montalto Bohlen Collection, which was very cool as I like to play with exotic woods, but after that, there were several other exhibit halls with eclectic collections, starting with the original (?) hall with a bunch of maritime effluvia such as a sawtooth shark rostrum (yes, it's an extension of the nose, and those aren't teeth) and a host of figureheads, gathered by the founders and housed in the museum because their wives would not let them store them at home. (I have no hard evidence for this claim, but decades of empirical evidence).At the opposite end of the spectrum was a multi-theater exhibit of AV interviews of child actors which was interesting but did not draw a lot of spectators. In between were numerous educational exhibits. with a strong leaning towards Chinese and Japanese trade, where the Salem merchants appeared to have many of their 19th century playdates.I was a little disappointed to find that the gift shop had sold all the ceramic figurines of "Mr. Nobody(?)" at the exhibit "Asian Export Art: China," which was supposed to have been finished off a year ago; I say sell the 100-200 that are still in the exhibit, and that should go a long way towards paying for a new or updated exhibit. Or at least take down the sign saying they are for sale. Plenty of beautiful boxes in the Gift Shop for less than $200...Snack bar and more formal dining smelled good and looked fine, but Passage to India had already claimed our appetite.

Very interesting and had a great time there. Definitely worth the visit. A lot of wonderful exhibits and within walking distance of our hotel.

Very friendly staff. Wood exhibition was interactive and really interesting. Extra $5 to visit the China House was worthwhile but not on top of the $18 admission charge. Some exhibits were "odd". Shop OK to look at but the $1200 price tag on a wooden box was surprising, although the box was lovely.

I've been to this museum several times, and they always do a wonderful job with activities of interest to kids, and interesting exhibits that will interest adults. Yin Yu Tan (the Chinese house) is well worth the extra fee to visit. We recently went to the Chinese New Year event at the museum; the performances and special exhibits were absolutely wonderful.

This is a wonderful museum, featuring art, furniture, etc. It has been expanding its offerings for many years now, so is always improving. Definitely worth a visit on any trip to Salem. Of course the various "witch" sites are fun, but for those who enjoy a good museum - this is the #1 site.

Not too much going on in this museum., nothing facinating, but some good local pieces and I liked the ship/american portion of the museum.

This world class museum covers the local history of shipping, trading, architecture and so much more. PEM offers top exhibitions of art that rival the most well known museums. The Chinese house is spectacular. There are many special events held here as well. The PEM is worthy of being your focal point for a visit to Salem.

I love museums, especially art museums but everything in this museum seems single-minded. The most interesting thing was the Chinese merchants house they actually brought over from China and reconstructed.

This museum is really wonderful and perfectly sized, with some, if not the best collections I've ever seen (including European museums). I especially like the collection of furniture with its rich history. Lovely staff. Great building. Quite expensive to get in but I do think it was worth it.

Rotating exhibits are always quite interesting. The most interactive one I've witnessed is the current 'Trees'. A lot of fun and interest for all ages. Peaceful yet lively, overall. Great gift shop and cafe, too. Fascinating Chinese house is a permanent exhibit.We hope to tour the nearby historic houses on our next visit.

We enjoyed the special exhibit on furniture, a private tour of historic houses, the maritime paintings and a delightful little restaurant in the back of it.

We didn't attend when they were having a special exhibit and wish we had, because we just seemed to wander around in the museum and not "learn or see" anything special in my optionFor older children...teens, but not younger...They do have some great "showing" but again, we didn't plan it too good.

Many pieces of art from different corners of the world. There was a lot of little kids there (toddler age) on the day of our visit. Later we saw why. There is a huge playroom for kids. All in all, I would probably not visit here again but it is worth one visit. Many restaurants nearby in historic Salem within walking distance. Good thing because the cafe in the museum has very limited food.

I went to Salem for the same reason everyone else does:To go on a live witch hunt, see the four o'clock burning and maybe witness a spontaneous stoning or two.After checking out the sights and historical specificities, we had a moment to spare and thought we might as well scoff at the small town museum (it's pronounced like the Disney "bippity boppity boo" pibbidy pobbidity... well sort of. Essex at least is pronounced in a literate manner).This museum is actually a rare treat! All innuendo, sarcasm and stereotyping about Salem and the consequent inhabitants aside, this is a truly well curated building. There is an interesting conjunction of early Euro-American seafaring artifacts with Art Deco prominence. There are significant exhibits from asian heritage and interesting collections showing benefactors from diverse backgrounds. While we were there, they had an exhibit of Calder sculpture coupled with performance art that made the whole experience seem colored by Andy Warhol.As odd as the experience was, and unfortunately not really my cup of tea, it was easy to see that the museum is a standout - and not just for the area but for anywhere.One note: use of available space shared the Art Deco theme and flew in the face of New England's reputation for austerity and efficiency. Kind of a PEM slap in the face of their elders keeping with the 60's thematics. Whoa dude. Fast forward is okay now.

After wandering the huge museums of Boston, come up the coast a bit, get some fresh air and enjoy a human scale museum that is just beautifully done. We visited here with the kids, and the interactive exhibits kept complaints to a minimum. The variety for such a small museum is amazing. Nothing of the witch history of Salem, but lots of the maritime legacy of the area. The Calder exhibit was neat, and the open feel of the museum on a less crowded day was a nice antidote to ever-busy Boston.