It’s August, it’s steamy outside, your more fortunate friends are summering (or at least weekending) on the Cape or at the Vineyard, and it seems like there’s not a whole lot going on. But whether you’re looking for escape, stimulation, a history refresher course, a good laugh, a new perspective on an old favorite, or incitement to rebel, New England’s museums have something for you.

Click on the photo gallery at left for a few of our favorite current museum shows.