wright museum of wwii history

Family day here is real cool. Tickets include: admittance into the museum, 2 passes to ride around Wolfeboro on American vehicles (duece and half, jeeps and armored scout cars), gift shop, ask questions to volunteers dressed in time period garb, tanks and weapons and much more. For a few extra bucks you can have food from the bbq stand. We have gone the last two years and the year before it was the best year they had. Highly recommend to bring your family here, especially on family day.

I visited the Wright Museum by accident -- went there for a Christmas tree event and had the opportunity to tour the museum. I did not expect it to be as large and well displayed collection as it it. I had the opportunity to tour the very impressive World War II Museum in New Orleans several years ago, and this competes with it, although on a smaller scale. I will be back to see it during the summer when vehicles are on display. A museum that is well worth visiting.

Wright Museum offers a walk back into history of the WW II years not only about the war but the home front way of living. Displays are updated with special events such as the recent D-Day and Ann Frank review. This is important to be seen by the younger generation so that this period of American history will not be forgotten.

It's a step back into America from 1939 to 1945 with added military vehicles, and a changing exhibit. It's delightful!

The Wright Museum of WW II History is devoted exclusively to the war years of 1939 to 1945. Besides having a permanent collection with dozens of outstanding exhibits, it features at least one special exhibit each year. The M3A1 Stuart tank that appears to have broken out through the building's front wall is an attention-getter.This seasonal museum is open May 1st – October 31st.Admission fees:$10.00 - Adults$8.00 - Military and Seniors age 60 + up$6.00 - Students ages 5-17Free - Children 4 & under)Special rates for groups10% AAA discount available on normal adult admissionNotable permanent exhibits include M26 Pershing heavy tank, a Halftrack, M3 Stuart Light Tank, WW II Jeep, several military motorcycles, and a 35-ton M4 Sherman tank named “Alligator Alice” after the museum founder’s aunt. Suspended from the ceiling above the tanks is a Piper L-4 Grasshopper, a model used as a trainer for military pilots, an observer aircraft, and a battlefield workhorse. There is the Time Tunnel with a room for each of the seven years of the war. There is a 1942 Shell gas station and Mario’s Soda Fountain. Other exhibits depict citizen support for the war with purchases of war bonds and planting victory gardens to supplement food supplies cut by rationing, life of children in the 1940’s, gas rationing, and advancements in the fields of science and technology. On my most-recent visit, I concentrated on exhibits about the roles of women in support of the war effort on the Home Front, a well-done 28-minute film about Anne Frank, and the special exhibit titled “Anne Frank: A History for Today.” In an upstairs corner, there was a video about the WAFs and WASPs. It had interviews with several WASPs. Irene Englund, a former WASP, was from nearby Tuftonboro. One particularly interesting segment of the video was about delivering planes to Alaska to the Soviet female combat pilots, called Night Witches by the Germans, who flew night bombing missions over Germany. Most of my time on this visit was spent upstairs in the Art Gallery viewing this fall’s special exhibit titled “Anne Frank: A History for Today” which was brought me to revisit this small but exceptional museum. On 34 display panels, the exhibit chronicled her life from her birth June 12, 1929 Frankfurt, Germany to her family’s relocation to Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1933 when the Nazis came to power and controlled Germany to the deaths of Anne and her sister Margot from a typhus epidemic in March 1945 just before Bergen-Belsen, the concentration camp they were in, was liberated by British troops on April 15, 1945. It was sad that only Otto Frank survived the Holocaust. The three Frank women, all three members of the Van Pels Family, and Fritz Pfeffer---all of whom shared the Secret Annex hideaway in Amsterdam---died in the concentration camps. I was amazed at the number of Frank Family photos that had survived after the family was betrayed, arrested, and sent to a series of concentration camps. The local police had ransacked their Secret Annex. It was fortunate that Miep Gies, an employee of his company who had helped with hiding the Franks in the Secret Annex, rescued and hid Anne’s diary and papers before the Nazis came and cleared everything out of the Secret Annex. The exhibit combined photos and information on the various stages of the Nazi movement and the German occupation of European countries. When Otto Frank returned to Amsterdam, Miep Gies gave Otto Frank Anne’s papers and diary and said, “This is your daughter’s legacy.” The result was the publication of “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl” which I read soon after its 1952 publication in the United States. Her intellectual maturity at ages 13 to 15 was very apparent. Hers was a very forceful voice for speaking out about the hardships suffered at the hands of the Nazis. Both floors of the museum are wheelchair accessible. There are a number of places to sit in the upstairs exhibit areas. If you found this review helpful, kindly click YES below.

We didn't expect to find such a wonderful place in the lakes region known more for its outdoor attractions. The museum is dedicated to WW2 and the years 1939 to 1945. The people who operate it were friendly and helpful. The short movie is a good start, and then you see Americana presented in many displays. After this you proceed through the time tunnel filled with lots of military related items as well as homefront items. The room at the end of the tunnel contains WW2 iconic vehichles as well a Piper spotter along with more models and displays. Don't miss the balcony either. (It gives you a great view of the plane as well as a good place to take pictures of the vehichles.) Also, don't miss the photo op in the front of the building.

We've been to the Wright Museum at least 6 times and we always see something new, as they have interesting changing exhibits. They now have an movie on the life of Ann Frank and a comprehensive display on her life in the gallery on the second floor. Allow plenty of time if you want to see it thoroughly and start with the short movie to the right of the front desk, We can easily spend 4 hours there each time we go, and have also enjoyed their once a week special evening speakers and programs. Check their web-site. The displays on life in the period of the second world war are very interesting for people of all ages. I am not too interested in the vehicles and armament, but find plenty to see in the other areas. This museum is a treasure for a small town like Wolfeboro.

My husband and I enjoyed it very much. They had the Anne Frank Exhibit! I also enjoyed the film they showed.Love all the 1930-1945 era..I will say if you read everything you would be there all day!!

This museum is dedicated to the WWII years 1939-1945, telling not only what happened on the front, but also on the home front. My 91 year old Mom and I had such a good time, as it brought back many memories that she shared with me. While we were there, a very moving visiting exhibit on Anne Frank was there.

Very unique to visit. The museum not only has many, many vehicles from WWII, but also has a lot of memorabilia from the era. What the homes looked like, a soda shop, and what life was like during the time. Took my father-in-law, a veteran of the war, and he was so impressed with the displays. Well worth the trip when in the area.

Very well organized, detailed exhibits shows what it was like for soldiers and those on the home front 1939-1945. How often we forget or overlook the contributions every citizen made for the war effort. Very clean...very well done. A must see!!!

Many museums will focus on dry facts, but here you immediately are immersed in feeling and learning what life was like as the US entered World War II. Following the video you enter the Home Front exhibit showing all aspects of life from inside the home to ration stickers, scrap drives and how to lay out your Victory Garden. Next you go through the Time Tunnel and learn the popular culture and events of each year from 1939-1945. It is not until leaving the tunnel that you get to see the military equipment which rotates from time to time. In the art gallery upstairs I was able to see the rare D-Day photos, and listened to a WWII visitor, who at 88 years old still has shrapnel in his body that took him down 15 minutes after hitting the beach 70 years ago. Next exhibit will be an Anne Frank exhibit, opening in September. It is worth going out of your way to Wolfeboro to visit The Wright Museum

For those of us who grew up after WWII, visiting the Wright Museum was a great place to see what America was like during the 'war years'. I thought it would be more of a military museum, stuffed with all sorts of war making material; but both my wife and myself found the Wright Museum to be a wonderful reminder what this country was like and what it went through during those years between 1939 to 1941. I liked stepping into the first main room, which had all of the paraphernalia from those years - the kind of toys kids played with - the kind of devices we used for home entertainment - and all the rest. I especially liked the 'sets' of the typical living room and kitchen found in homes during those years. We also liked the Time Tunnel: the displays of what life was like during each year of that period, from the type of movies watched, the kind of music listened to, and the key events during each year. The military aspect was nice, being able to see tanks and half tracks up close. But the whole experience was more than we thought it would be and we were glad we went. The typical soda fountain set was fun to walk through. I just wished they actually served ice cream.

Terrific memorabilia and my husband and I were amazed to get a chance to touch a Sherman and a Pershing tank....only wish we could have looked inside too

This museum is Definetly worth a visit. The exhibits are informative and engaging. I really enjoyed looking at and reading the history of the modes of transportation and the military vehicles. At the time of our visit the museum had 60+ photos from the D-Day invasion, some never seen before. They were very emotional to view and read the stories behind each one.