Visiting the Finger Lakes Museum Trail

Take to the Trail!

“No matter where you are in the Finger Lakes region, you will find someone or something that has impacted our nation,” observes Cynthia Kimble, President of the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance (FLTA). “We are the home of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and women’s rights. Film began here with George Eastman; Mark Twain wrote epic novels here and Glenn Curtiss invented here.” She elaborates, “Our museums teach us about what’s in our backyards and why it’s important to everyone, not just those who live here.”

What’s a Museum Trail?

FLTA, one of the oldest destination marketing organizations in the nation, is currently running a “beta test,” the Finger Lakes Museum Trail. From January 2015 to June 15, 2015, nine diverse Finger Lakes museums, located in urban and rural areas, are participating in this endeavor which is designed to increase both the number of visitors to the individual museums and the length of overnight stays in the region. The Finger Lakes (FL) Museum Trail is the result of a partnership between FLTA in Penn Yan and the Steuben County Conference and Visitors Bureau in Corning and, according to Cindy, the response has been positive thus far.  

Family Benefits

The “connectivity” of the Finger Lakes Museum Trail makes it easy for families to use. Not only that, but visiting the places they’ve learned about during the school year, in a museum setting, deepens children’s understanding of their country’s history and gives them the chance to learn more about topics they’re interested in. Traversing the Trail also gives families the opportunity to explore the natural beauty and interesting geography of the Finger Lakes Region in ways they might not have before. “It’s a great way to shake off the winter we’ve had,” Cindy says. “What family couldn’t use a quick get-away before the pressures of the end of the school year, with all its exams and activities, rushes in on them?” If these reasons haven’t convinced you, then here’s mine. Making time to check out as many of the Finger Lakes museums that you can now will give you plenty of ideas for rainy days or when friends and family are visiting during the summer months.

What the Museums  are Saying

The Strong Museum of Play was invited into the FL Museum Trail as one of the core partners of the Rochester-metro area and Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Suzanne Seldes, couldn’t be happier. “We’re a ‘strong’ anchor to bring people to the region,” she observes. As upstate New York’s largest cultural attraction, Suzanne explains that The Strong likes to be collaborative and lend support by helping to drive visitors to the smaller museums. “We have over half a million guests every year,” she notes. “This [the Museum Trail] is a great idea because there are so many tourism opportunities associated with it.” Additionally she believes that a trail like this invites domestic and international visitors as well as residentsto spend more than a single day in the different parts of the Finger Lakes Region. “We are providing a quality experience for the traveler,” she asserts.

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Click Here for Our Complete Roundup of the Museum Trail Locations

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The Museum Trail hopes to offer a shared learning experience among all age groups and The Strong definitely fits the bill. “The Strong used to be called a kids’ or children’s museum, but we’re a lot more than that,” Suzanne says. “Play is ubiquitous!” She adds that The Strong’s interactive exhibits encourage different generations to reminisce together and to talk about play, games, and toys from various perspectives, putting visitors from birth to 99 years old on a level playing field. “Are we intergenerational? Absolutely!” she declares. When asked why local families might want to take advantage of this Museum Trail pilot program, Suzanne notes, “I think families will be curious about where they live and excited to learn more about the environment they live in. Now is a great time to take a road trip, either close to home or a little further away. You can see the back roads of the Finger Lakes but still be home in time to meet all your responsibilities at the end of the school year.”

There’s more! “If the pilot is effective, folks from the Southern Tier part of the region may also realize that they can head north and see what museums are there, ultimately stopping in Rochester,” Suzanne says. For Suzanne, the Trail doesn’t only offer exposure to the museums, though they are clearly the focal point. Collaborating around the “richness of the region” is a natural partnership for educational organizations, she maintains, adding that a regional trail like this is powerful for New York State as a whole. Not only does it introduce people to the unique nonprofit museums in our area, but it showcases Finger Lakes vineyards, parks, and overnight accommodations too.

South of Rochester you’ll find Harris Hill in Elmira, home to another Finger Lakes Museum Trail member. The National Soaring Museum (NSM) is one of only two museums in the United States (and four or five in the world!) devoted to motorless flight and the history, science, and technique of soaring. When Ron Ogden, Director of Marketing and Development, was approached by FLTA to be a part of the beta test, his response was, “Yes please!” He notes that the museum tries to take advantage of every strategic opportunity offered, particularly those that allow it to leverage its small budget and limited services. “We can’t compete but we can collaborate to some extent,” he notes, adding that there’s nothing more diverse than a museum highlighting this type of aviation. The low-stress nature of gliding makes it a perfect fit for this part of the state, where the attitudes and pursuits tend to be more relaxed, Ron contends, observing that being associated with the Finger Lakes name, now recognized worldwide, will greatly benefit NSM. “It’s good for us because, try as we might, it’s hard to get the word out about what we offer. We’re located on a hill, away from everything,” he explains. He’d like to see more attention to expanding the Canadian market down to the Southern Tier and feels that an ongoing partnership with a Museum Trail would facilitate this. Canadian tourists could stop in Rochester and then make their way south, Ron says, touring the rural areas to experience “all our charms.”

NSM is a wonderful resource for families because it gets kids’ attention off of their electronic devices. “I hope young people will visit us and see that there’s something beyond the Twitterverse,” Ron says. “Many of our sailplanes were built by dedicated individuals and are a combination of science, technology, and engineering, combined with human expression.” NSM has lots of fun and educational programs for youth, including overnight visits and summer camp, and many kids, ages 14-17, are actively involved in learning to fly. May and June are an especially good time to visit Harris Hill because the gliders resume flying again in April. Young people can see their peers of both genders in flight while learning more about the history of aviation, which can be inspiring for all ages.

How to Participate

Passports are available in the brochures which can be found at each museum location. Visitors who make it to at least five of the museums by mid-June can submit a stamped passport to any museum or mail it to FLTA. This will enter you in a drawing for an overnight stay for two in a local bed and breakfast, a definite incentive for busy parents! Once the pilot program has ended, organizers will count things like the number of brochures picked up from the racks and the number of discounts asked for. Given this, if upstate families would like to see this type of trail continue on into the future, then this spring is the perfect time to go to as many of the museums as you can. “It’s a unique experience that’s only available for one and a half more months,” Cindy emphasizes. 

Sue Henninger is a contributing writer to Rochester & Genesee Valley Parent Magazine. Contact her at www.fingerlakeswriter.com