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Families love Cooperstown, New York -- a tripleheader for grandparents, parents and kids because of its variety of contemporary and historic amusements.

There are not many family destinations which pride themselves on a lack of fast food restaurants. Not many towns which can lure young people with promises of showing "America the way it used to be". Not many villages -- population 2,200 -- able to thrill one generation with world-class opera and golf, another with baseball heroes and trading cards, and a younger generation with museums and animals. But that's Cooperstown, a walkable, colonial-era village of gentlemen farms located in central New York's Leatherstocking region about 1½ hours' drive from Albany. The opera buffs, baseball fans, and families who mob sightseeing trolleys each summer to pursue their own interests (locals refer to the Cabernet Sauvignons vs. the Budweiser Crowd) soon fall under its small-town spell. 

Museums of America Past

Our favorite part of a recent long weekend in the village was spent at The Farmer's Museum (607/547-1450, 888/547-1450). Set up as an 1845 Village, costumed guides use the collection of historic buildings and tools to illustrate the region's agricultural and handcrafts history.  We had the chance to milk a cow, and watch adorable piglets frolic playfully.  There's an indoor display about hops production and cottages where wallpaper, the town newspaper and horseshoes are being made. Some children will be fascinated by these demonstrations. We found them to be very informative, and the knowledgeable staff seems to delight in taking questions about their work. The museum runs frequent workshops for families on subjects such as blacksmithing, butter making, bee keeping, and 19^th century farm chores. We loved riding the old fashioned Empire State Carousel, which is billed as folk art that you can ride on.  It took 100 volunteers 20 years to build this gem, which let's you saddle up on one of 24 different animals, all of them indigenous to New York State.  At only 50 cents per ride, we were able to go for multiple whirls.

A sister institution across the little trafficked main road is the Fenimore Art Museum (607/547-1400, 888/547-1450; closed Monday) whose collection of American folk art and Native American crafts is very impressive. Both stories of this large mansion, built on what was once the estate of writer James Fenimore Cooper (author of "Last of the Mohicans" and son of the village's founder), have pleasant work rooms where children can sit and draw if they are too restless to contemplate the art.  We spent a good chunk of time at the collection of Native American art, which explains how natural resources were used to create art and functional objects. I was impressed that the collection was respectfully divided by region, bringing home the point that a Native American from the Southwest had a very different existence than one from the Plains, Prairie and Plateau region. The kids loved examining the parka made from seal intestine and we marveled that it was 100% waterproof!  There is a nice collection of Kachina dolls too, that proved popular with our group.

2009 brings a special exhibit to The Fenimore, "America's Rome: Artist's in the Eternal City, 1800-1900".  Set to open Memorial Day weekend this show will examine the Hudson River School Artists who journeyed to Rome, placing them within the timeless backdrop of the ancient city.  Over 100 paintings will be on view, including works by Childe Hassam and Thomas Cole.  A full program of lectures and events is set to accompany this highly anticipated show. Older children and teens with in interest in art or Rome should not miss this event.

These museums engage kids by mixing looking and admiring, with touching and examining. Make time for their fine restaurants: the Farmers Museum has an inexpensive counter which serves burgers and grilled portobello mushroom sandwiches; the Fenimore has a lovely veranda overlooking the glimmerglass of Lake Otsego. Having the museums across from each other makes it very convenient for different generations to indulge their preferences in art or cuisine.