Explore, see, and experience our Historic Village. We invite you to tour spaces and buildings representing home, civic, social, economic, farm, and religious life throughout the 1800s.
Join us for an afternoon outing on our guided trolley tour, followed by a light lunch. We are offering individual tickets for our popular guided tour around the Museum in our open-air trolley, which has previously only been available for larger group reservations. This tour is enjoyed by visitors of all ages! An interpreter will accompany you on the ride, highlighting favorite points of interest as you explore the village.
As part of Blue Star Museums, the RMSC is extending its gratitude to those currently serving in the United States Military and up to five of their family members, by offering free admission to all three of its locations from Armed Forces Day, May 16, 2026, through Labor Day, September 7, 2026. Qualified members must show a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), DD Form 1173 ID card (dependent ID), DD Form 1173-1 ID card or the Next Generation Uniformed Services (Real) ID card for entrance into a participating Blue Star Museum.
World Premiere! The Golden Girls are back by popular demand, get ready to take an unforgettable trip "Over the Rainbow" in this uproarious brand-new musical parody!
Opening Friday, May 8 and continuing Thursdays - Sundays through May 24: The acclaimed Tony-Award winning musical based on the real-life 1914 trial of Leo Frank. Alfred Uhry’s award-winning book and Jason Robert Brown’s rousing, colorful and haunting score illuminate a circus of conflicting accounts, false testimony and mishandled evidence in a country reeling with racial tension and sensationalized media.
On view this spring in the museum's community gallery, the Gallery Obscura, are photographs and writings by members of the 2025–2026 Studio 678 Photo Club at the Flower City Arts Center, reflecting the students’ unique visions of the world around them.
Over a professional life spanning seven decades, Edward Steichen (1879–1973) established himself as one of the most important figures in the history of photography. What is less known is that for much of that time Steichen also devoted himself to the nurturing of plants and gardens, an activity that sustained him and through which he developed ardently held beliefs regarding the relationship among art, nature, and creativity.
In the Project Gallery, the interrelated series Patterns and Fabrications show Baum's recent explorations of the visual and material culture of fashion and craft. In Patterns, the artist activates the lines, forms, patterns, colors, and texts found in the abstract world of mid-century sewing patterns. Fabrications continues from Patterns by opening into a broader visual culture of magazines, catalogs, and books related to fashion and craft, as well as the advertisements and coupons found within. Together, these series reframe the domestic imaginary present in the printed materials Baum recontextualizes. Engaging in textual and visual play, Baum invites us to experience what was once familiar in unexpected new ways.
In his seven-minute video, The Hikers (2019), Rashid Johnson presents a chance encounter between two Black men in an environment where they never expected to see each other. Two masked men—one ascending, the other descending—come upon each other in the mountains in Aspen, Colorado. They dance, and in an exquisite moment of recognition, they remove their masks that manifest anxiety. What unfolds is a narrative of connection, an exchange of platonic love, and independence.
American values take shape in the objects we make, desire, cherish, and discard. A table laden with ripe fruit, a meal served up at a luncheonette, the inside of a medicine cabinet—ordinary materials around us chronicle our lives. The still life, a genre of art that dates back to the ancient world, captures those objects of everyday life while often conveying deeper meanings and hidden messages.
Discover the incredible work of African American artist John Rhoden (1916–2001), one of the most prolific sculptors of the twentieth century. His first retrospective exhibition, Determined to Be: The Sculpture of John Rhoden, offers insights into his diverse creativity as well as his personal story.
Highlighting three significant prints—Portrait of a Young Woman after Cranach the Younger II, Pique II, and Bacchanal with Kid Goat and Onlooker—along with their various proofs, Picasso and the Progressive Proof: Linocuts from a Private Collection is an intimate exhibition that reveals how these works and subjects developed in the latter part of his career and his groundbreaking contributions to the medium.
Sip ’n Sail cruises feature local businesses that have a passion for providing great libations. Enjoy featured wine, beer, or liquor tastings; a food pairing; and a presentation by a libation educator while cruising on the scenic Genesee River and historic Erie Canal. Culminate the evening with a spectacular view of the Rochester skyline as you’ve never seen it before. 5/21 features Rohrbach Brewing; all other dates feature Flight Wine Bar.
Savor the lush landscapes of the Genesee River as you cruise south past the University of Rochester, through Genesee Valley Park, and onto the Erie Canal. As you relax on the water, live narration will reveal the stories of how these historic waterways shaped our community. Your journey ends with a spectacular view of Rochester’s skyline as you’ve never seen it before.
Step back in time as you cruise along the historic Erie Canal. Live narration brings to life the bold vision that transformed a hare-brained idea into an engineering marvel that opened the American West. Travel through a working lock, soak in the scenery, and relax as history unfolds around you.
Looking for an adventure that gets everyone thinking, laughing, and working together? Dark Matter Escape Rooms is Rochester’s newest escape games experience, offering both VR escape rooms and a high-tech physical escape room for groups of friends, families, and puzzle-solvers. Located at 4430 Dewey Avenue in Rochester, NY, inside the Dark Matter Scream Works space. Get 25% off your total booking by using the discount code: GRAND25. For all information on booking please go to darkmatterescaperooms.com.
