Behind the Scenes Tours: Step Into Our Vaults 🔓
Schedule
Thu Jun 25 2026 at 06:00 pm to 07:30 pm
UTC-04:00Location
657 East Ave, Rochester, NY, United States, New York 14607 | Rochester, NY
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*These tours are catered to an adult audience (18+)Like many museums, the majority of our collections are not on public display. As the steward of over 1.2 million objects, there are a lot of unique, interesting, and just plain odd objects within our collections vaults—and this is your chance to get a look at some of them!
Your tour options for June:
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Tour: Rochester Revealed–Exploring Local Inventions & Innovators
đź“Ť Location: 3rd Floor "Old Rochester" + History Vault
🪻 Theme: You may know Rochester for its iconic contributions like Kodak, Xerox, the Garbage Plate, and Genesee Beer. But there’s so much more to uncover! Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour that dives into the fascinating and often-overlooked stories behind Rochester’s inventions and innovations. Explore how the city shaped democracy, birthed the idea of franchising, fueled the spiritualist movement, inspired a common craft item, and even played a part in creating a galaxy far, far away. Don’t miss this exciting journey into Rochester’s inventive spirit!
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Tour: The Douglass Fanily–In 10 Artifacts
📍 Location: Flight to Freedom: Rochester’s Underground Railroad + History Vault
🖼️ Theme: What can historic artifacts from the RMSC Collection tell us about one of the most important families of the 19th century? Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass and their children Rosetta, Lewis Henry, Frederick Jr., Charles Remond, and Annie were a Rochester-based freedom-fighting collective whose impacts still ripple across the globe. From the gavel that opened Rochester’s 1848 women’s rights convention to rare photos of Douglass family members, discover how lesser-known primary sources can be helpful clues to understanding this well-known family.
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Tour: Photographing Rochester–Views through the Lens of Albert Stone
đź“Ť Location: Media Vault + 2nd Floor "Changemakers" exhibit
🎞️ Theme: Travel back in time and explore Rochester through the lens of renowned photographer Albert R. Stone, Rochester’s first staff newspaper photographer. Over 14,000 images taken by Stone tell us the stories of everyday Rochesterians in the early 1900s: natural disasters, crime, prohibition, women’s suffrage, sports, and much more. Get up close and personal with the prints and glass plate negatives that preserve so much of Rochester’s important history.
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Where is it happening?
657 East Ave, Rochester, NY, United States, New York 14607Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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