Slater Mill

Arguably the starting point for the Industrial Revolution in America, Pawtucket’s [1] interactive Slater Mill (67 Roosevelt Ave., 401/725-8638, www.slatermill.org [2], 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tue.–Sun. May–Oct., $9 adults, $8 seniors, $7 children 6–12, free children under 6) is housed in original 18th- and 19th-century buildings.

Costumed interpreters at the colonial-era Sylvanus Brown House demonstrate the enormous amount of work it took to produce clothing and food by hand—contrasted with the hulking Old Slater Mill, its industrial counterpart, which demonstrates how clothing and tool production became increasingly mechanized. You’ll leave treating your cotton shirt with newfound respect.