Mount Washington Museum
Summit Museum Entrance
The Observatory's Mount Washington Museum had its roots in the 1940's, when visitors to the Observatory wanted to learn more about the mountain, life and work on the summit, and the natural history and human history of Mount Washington. For many years the Observatory maintained a small display room, so tiny that only a handful of people could squeeze into it at a time, and from which a long line of waiting visitors often stretched outside. The eagerness of visitors to view a few photographs and simple exhibits outweighed the inconvenience of standing in the cold and wind, and provided telling evidence of the public need for further information about the mountain.
From that simple display room in the Observatory, the first real Mount Washington Museum blossomed, opening in 1973. The Museum gained new quarters in the Sherman Adams Summit Building in 1981. It has since served hundreds of thousands of visitors, illustrating through its exhibits the rich natural history and the fascinating human history of Mount Washington.
Museum Display
The visitor will find displays about the weather on the mountain - which ranks with the worst in the world - and the reasons for the severity of Mount Washington's meteorological conditions. There are exhibits on the geological history of the Presidential Range, with rock strata which date back 400,000,000 million years, and, more visible, the effects of continental icesheets which scoured the landscape several times over the last million years. There is a unique exhibit of alpine flowers preserved in synthetic resin, which hint at the variety of adaptations to the mountain's different habitats. The types of wildlife on the mountain are also considered, as well as the impact of the most common animal observed on the mountain -- man.
The Mount Washington Museum is located on the summit of Mount Washington, and thus is accessible by the Mount Washington Auto Road, by the Mount Washington Cog Railway, and – for the fit, experienced, and well-prepared – by rugged hiking trail. The Museum is open from approximately mid-May to mid-October, weather permitting. Hours are daily from 9 AM to 6 PM, weather permitting.
Museum admission is free for Observatory members; adult (13 years of age and up), non-member admission is $3.00. Children 6 through 12 are admitted at a reduced rate of $1.00; children under 6 are admitted free of charge.
If your plans include a trip to the summit of Mount Washington, your visit will be richer by far if you include a trip to the Mount Washington Museum.