A great day trip to St. Johnsbury, Vermont: A museum, a planetarium, and a fish shack!

 

Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, St. Johnsbury, VT

My wife and I have been visiting museums more frequently ever since we said our final goodbyes to our beloved Toby, a Pomeranian, in March of 2022.  Because we no longer have to worry about leaving him alone in our AirBnB rental, we certainly feel more free, and more spontaneous with our decisions to do cultural activities, like visiting museums or catching a live music act.

During our stay in northern Vermont for the month of August, we were again looking forward to visiting a museum.  It just so happened that there was one about 60 miles south of us, in the town of St. Johnsbury, called Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium.

Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium is a combination natural science museum, history museum, and a planetarium.  It was founded in 1890 by Franklin Fairbanks, a noted businessman, politician, and naturalist.  

Prior to leaving for the museum, I had done an extensive search for a suitable place for lunch in the town of St. Johnsbury.  I was really hoping to find a good restaurant as we didn’t have such luck up until that point.  

We had tried a local Italian place and a local Mexican place, but both left much to be desired.  They weren’t very good, not even average at best.  We were disappointed by our bad choices, but at the same time, we were really surprised the Google ratings were wrong for both places.  Both restaurants’ reviews were stellar (both over 4 stars), but honestly, they really should’ve gotten a 2.5 stars or so, and not over 4 stars.

Oh, well.  We made the decision to go there and no one made us go there…

We were secretly hoping our third choice was our third time charm.  We found a local seafood place called Riley’s Fish Shack in the same town, and directly on the way to the museum.  It was perfect, location wise.  We were hoping it was also the perfect choice, taste wise.

We were right, and the third time was indeed the charm!  

We took off via VT Route 114 going south, on a rather cloudy August morning.  It was a nice leisurely drive in the northern part of Vermont.  We loved the tall pine trees poking the skies, and a bog to the left of the road, revealing a swamp-like environment.  

We counted multiple signs cautioning drivers of moose crossings and of moose sightings. Slightly amused by the signs for moose, which we’ve yet to encounter during our three months long trip to Maine and Vermont, we arrived at the restaurant after about an hour or so.  

Immediately, we saw bunch of cars parked on the roadside restaurant with bunch of people sitting on picnic tables.  It was a perfect summertime scene in America, full of weary travelers looking to get some good food at a local joint.  

We perused the menu, then ordered from the counter a lobster roll, haddock sandwich, and fried mushrooms.  They came out within 10 minutes, and we took them to go, to be eaten near the museum.

On our way over to the museum, which is a short 5 minute drive, we ate some fried mushrooms.  We were hungry, and we were hungry for some tasty foods!  We made it to the museum in less than 10 minutes, and we found parking across the street from the museum. 

We ate our sandwiches, and to our delight, everything tasted great!  Prior to sampling the food, I was praying to the food gods, to let us find at least one good restaurant during our stay in Vermont!  My prayers were definitely answered.  

We took our time eating our lunch, savoring every bite.  They were so good, we decided to pick up the same food on our way back home.  With that decision over, we walked across the street to enter the museum.

The museum looked like a converted church from the outside, with its stained glass and a steeple.  We walked inside to pay our entrance fee of $19 which include admission fee and a planetarium show.  Note:  Admission fee only is $12.

When we arrived, we found out the next planetarium show was to begin at 12:30 p.m., which gave us about 15 minutes to use the restroom.  We went downstairs for that, and while we were there, we saw an old analog scale, which we had to try.

Museum map

The old, analog scale

Our planetarium show tickets 

We amused ourselves by weighing ourselves.  It worked well, as my weight was pretty spot on.  Sometimes, oldies are goodies, and not everything new is good!

We walked up to the second floor, and sat down on one of the small benches.  There already were several people waiting for the show to start.  We looked around, acclimating ourselves to a new environment, which was cool.  I especially liked the profound Plato quote about space (see below).  

Planetarium

Great quote about space

Right at 12:30 p.m., the door opened, and we all filed inside to take a seat.  Although the space wasn’t big, like my favorite planetarium, the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, it was just about the right size for that area.  

The show started, and like all space related shows, I was mesmerized.  There’s just something about space, that makes me ponder how really little we are in relation to the vastness of space.  All the little (and big) struggles we have down here on Earth, is but a minuscule thing in the grand scheme of things.  Perhaps this is why I was always fascinated by space…

The show was short, but to the point.  I never get enough of watching space unfold in a dome theater.   It reminds me of my childhood when I would look up to the sky to see stars and be awed by the sight.  The planetarium shows always remind me of those innocent times…

After the show, we walked downstairs to tour the museum.  We started on our right to see all kinds of bird species, then continued on to see mammals.  It was a sight to behold!  We saw plenty of bears, a moose, a fox, and others.

We made a circle around the ground floor, completing the tour.  We then used a tiny and narrow staircase to go upstairs.  We saw plenty of insects, various minerals, and indigenous cultures displayed beautifully.

We marveled at all the variety of things to see at the museum, despite its relatively small footprint.  We certainly enjoyed our trip!

In conclusion:

St. Johnsbury may not be a popular tourist destination in Vermont, but it really deserves a second look just for the museum/planetarium.  It is a great day trip idea when visiting the northern Vermont area, and for families with little ones especially, you’ll have a great time.  We know we did.

Riley’s Fish Shack also made the experience that much better for us, especially after eating at back to back disappointing restaurants prior to our visit there.  We also recommend the restaurant as well.

Note:  As of November 2022, Riley’s Fish Shack has been renamed to Papa Tirozzi’s Bakery & Pizza and Riley’s Fish.  Please be sure to research online for more up to date information on the new restaurant.  

Thank you all for reading and happy trails!

Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

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