Higgins Armory Museum

Founded by an eccentric millionaire with a taste for romantic sagas, the Higgins Armory Museum (100 Barber Ave., 508/853-6015, www.higgins.org, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tues.–Sat., 12–4 p.m. Sun., $10 adults, $7 seniors and children 4–16, free children under 6) draws fans of King Arthur to wow over a vast collection of weapons and armor. The museum has hundreds of suits of armor, including a rare Roman gladiator helmet, and features demonstrations on weapon-making and wielding.

Salisbury Mansion

The Worcester Art Museum was founded by Stephen Salisbury, a leading industrialist whose home is now on display as Salisbury Mansion (40 Highland St., 508/753-8278, www.worcesterhistory.org, 1–4 p.m. Thurs.–Sat., $5 adults, free children under 18). Period 1830s furnishings and changing exhibits bring Worcester’s manufacturing heyday to life.

EcoTarium

More than just a zoo, the EcoTarium (222 Harrington Way, 508/929-2700, www.ecotarium.org, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tues.–Sat., 12–5 p.m. Sun., $10 adults, $8 seniors and students, $8 children 3–18, free children under 3) bills itself as an indoor-outdoor nature center, with polar bears, foxes, and other wildlife on the grounds. Among its more unusual experiences is a tree-canopy walkway 40 feet above the ground.