Berkshire Museum to Offer Community Programming During Renovations

08:02AM / Tuesday, December 10, 2024Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Museum will close for major renovations to its first-floor spaces and galleries starting January 6, 2025.

While the museum undergoes construction, it will produce a lineup of off-site events and educational programs across the Berkshires, utilizing partnerships with local organizations.

This includes the museum's outreach efforts will be its Mobile Museum Units (MoMUs), a series of 11 portable, STEAM-focused displays featuring elements of science, technology, engineering, art, and math. These "mini-exhibitions," already popular in schools and community spaces, will continue to bring curated collections to audiences throughout the region.

"MoMUs have been at the forefront of the Berkshire Museum’s education philosophy since re-opening from the pandemic three years ago, and we continue to expand their reach," said Berkshire Museum Curriculum Developer Joseph Mastronardi. "As they were designed to offer engaging and differentiated field-trip experiences outside the museum walls, we are thrilled to be able to partner with locales throughout the Berkshires to continue showcasing our collection while our building gets its exciting upgrade."

The renovations, set to be completed in 2026, will include a new lobby, gift shop, family activity center, lecture hall, conference room, and reimagined first-floor galleries showcasing art, natural history, and historical objects. A centerpiece of the project will be a new aquarium featuring aquatic and terrestrial life, designed to appeal to visitors of all ages.

"After years of preparation, we are ready to launch the final component of planned upgrades to the 1903 building, focusing on all the first-floor spaces, as well as unveiling a new aquarium," said Kimberley Bush Tomio, Berkshire Museum Executive Director. "The outcome will be a fresh look at the museum’s treasures and opportunities for programs and exhibitions for people of all ages."

Community members can track renovation updates and access programming schedules through the museum's website, berkshiremuseum.org.

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Scenic Vistas, Open Spaces Central to Berkshire's Rural Character

By John TownesSpecial to iBerkshires
05:19AM / Thursday, August 27, 2026

This is the first of a two-part series looking at types of land trusts, their missions and their place within the Berkshires.

Land is an essential resource for life. We all spend the vast majority of our lives directly connected to the land or in structures built on it. Land is also a central core of the global ecosystem that makes the earth sustainable for all lifeforms.

The landscape has special significance in the Berkshires. It is a central element in the region's scenic rural character and quality of life, as well an economic resource that is a basis of tourism.

Access to land, and control of its use, is largely based on ownership. This system enables people to own homes, build businesses, establish communities, and pursue other goals and activities.

However, the private use and control of land can also be a source of contention and conflict — from debates about development at local planning boards to international wars over territory.

Traditionally, local and regional planning policies and regulations such as zoning have been used to balance the concepts of private ownership with shared public goals and needs. In addition government ownership provides land for schools, roads, infrastructure, parks and nature preserves, and other public purposes.

In recent decades another form of land ownership and control has gained increasing visibility and prominence. This concept is often known as land trusts.

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