Bay State museums make great winter excursions

It’s cold and gray and the idea of heading outside is literally chilling. You need beauty, history, intrigue and warmth.

Fortunately the Bay State is blessed with fantastic museums, both major institutions and small, unique versions.

Consider adding these museums to your cold winter venture list.

The One With the Heist

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston (https://www.gardnermuseum.org) is worth a winter visit for its beautiful indoor courtyard, lovely café and intimate art display rooms.

But there’s so much more. First, the story behind how the museum was founded is told via photos and written word along one wall of the museum. It’s a great story with a female lead: Isabella herself commissioned it all after the art collector inherited just under $2 million back in the late 1800s.

But then there’s The Heist: the largest and still-unsolved art theft that went down in the wee hours of March 18, 1990 is the stuff of legend – and documentaries. Read up – or watch up – on it before a visit.

The One With the Murder Mystery

Did Lizzie Borden take an ax? Head down to Fall River and spend some time in the home where the infamous murders took place on Aug. 4, 1892. The Lizzie Borden House (https://lizzie-borden.com) offers property tours, ghost tours, cemetery tours and even a 10 p.m. -midnight ghost hunt.

The day tours are the only time you get access to every room, including the one that Abby Borden, Lizzie’s stepmother, was murdered in.

You can stay overnight should you wish, sleeping (or staying awake listening for ghostly creaks) where it all happened.

Hosts share facts and encourage opinion and speculation about the murders, the existence of ghosts and more.

“The Trial of Lizzie Borden” by Cara Robinson is a perfect fireside read, and will get you up to speed on all the nuances of the case before you visit.

The One with the Cat in the Hat

You never grow out of Dr. Seuss, and a winter visit to The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum in Springfield (https://seussinspringfield.org) is a great place to celebrate Theodor Geisel – his childhood in Springfield, creativity, success and more.

There are family friendly games, amazing displays and a setting that warms your heart. You’re treated to kid-friendly biographical information, and a Seuss trivia quiz.

The One With the Heroes

The Hull Lifesaving Museum isn’t big, but it packs a huge and amazing story.

Located in the former Point Allerton US Lifesaving Station on Nantasket Avenue (https://www.hulllifesavingmuseum.org) which opened in 1889 under the leadership of Joshua James who is considered a “father” of the US Coast Guard, the museum celebrates not just the founding of the Coast Guard, but “skills, courage and caring,” the hallmarks of sea lifesaving programs,

You’ll learn about the history of these lifesaving skills, the people who helped innovate those programs and more about the sea, ships and more.

The Museum has a standing collection as well as special exhibits and is open year-round. Before your visit, read up on the deadly Great Blizzard of 1888 in which more than 200 ships were either grounded or wrecked on the East Coast.