These posts will catch you up on some trips to Western MA. First batch is Mass MOCA which R and I thought was amazing in both a weird and a good way.
The difference between a museum in a big city and a museum like this outside of the city is the huge amount of space you get to play with. These are football fields worth of exhibition space. 
Our favorites were the little jars that you had to categorize, the video footage of the miner's strike in England, and the mustering exhibit combining elements of civil war re-enactments with civil rights. We also liked the shopping cart in the canal. Our brains were pretty full by the end of wandering around this place. For me, a successful art trip makes the whole world look like art, and Mass MOCA definitely has that effect.
It's definitely worth a visit -- a beautiful drive and an amazing site. Pack a picnic! After looking at art all day, I highly recommend two things to follow all of that cultural stimulation. First, Natural Bridge State Park is just one of the most unexpectedly pretty things you could ever stumble across. If you follow that by dinner at a local BBQ joint with every table holding pig shaped salt and pepper shakers, well, I'd call that a perfect day.
