DeCordova Museum in Lincoln Massachusetts

The museum's European style, castle-like building sits atop a hill overlooking Flint Pond and houses a variety of traveling modern art exhibitions, but it's the 35-acre sculpture park that is the property's main attraction for over 125,000 people each year.

You'll encounter about 75 modern art sculptures at any given time throughout the park's picturesque rolling hills, gardens, and woodlands. Some are meant to amuse or inspire and others blend in with their natural surroundings. On my last visit, a sculpture called "Three Lines" featured three moving metal rods that seesawed up and down to the slightest breeze, and children played with "The Musical Fence", a series of aluminum pipes that echoed melodic tones when struck. Although the museum opened in 1950, the outdoor sculpture collection didn't really take off until the 1960s when the museum decided to introduce the art of large-scale Modernist sculpture to the public. During the 1960s, the museum featured the sculpture works of notable artists such as Alexander Calder, George Rickey, Max Bill, and Alexander Liberman.

The museum's property was originally comprised of 22 acres and formerly served as the summer estate of Julian de Cordova, a tea broker, merchant, and investor whose passions included art and travel. He married Elizabeth Dana and together they shared the treasures they collected while traveling by opening up their Lincoln estate to the public. When DeCordova died in 1945, he left his property to the town of Lincoln with the bequest that his estate would become a public museum of art following his death. In 1950, the DeCordova Museum opened to the public.

During your visit, you can grab a snack at the museum's cafateria and check out the store that carries a wide variety of artistic merchandise and gifts. Dogs are allowed in the park as long as they're leashed, and picnicking sans alcoholic beverages and grills - is permitted (although there are no picnic tables available, so bring a blanket or chairs.)

Admission to the DeCordova Campus is $12 for adults and $8 for seniors, students, and children ages 6-12. Children 5 and under are admitted free, as well as DeCordova Members, Lincoln residents, and Active Duty Military Personnel and their dependents.

Admission is charged during Museum Gallery operating hours only (Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm, and on selected Monday holidays). Outside of these times, access to the Sculpture Park is free. Public tours of the Sculpture Park are given on Saturday and Sunday at 1 pm from May to October.

For more information on the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, call 781-259-8692 or visit their website at http://www.decordova.org.

By Pamela Sosnowski