Always a good thing! The museum preserves and displays historical memorabilia, photos, and stories…read morefrom Wapello County, Iowa. I appreciate the grand effort made by the society to preserve and share information. My grandparents lived in Wapello County their entire lives and I grew up spending summers at the farm. I would love to see the Military Room receive a renovation with greater emphasis on Wapello County veterans.

From the owner: The Iowa Heartland History Connection is a southeastern Iowa history museum with so much to offer!…read more- museum exhibits that rotate regularly with new things to see - view items from our own collection, from private collections, and other museums - dedicated kids room for learning and exploration - gift shop that features Iowa themed gifts and hand-made goods from local small businesses - rooms for rent for meetings, classes, lectures, presentations, and parties - a research library for National History Day research and genealogy - you can also ask a volunteer here to do research for you (for a fee)

Museum was closed when we were driving through but what was available outside was fun to see and…read moreread about the Doodlebug.

There really is something for everyone, especially people with a fascination for trains - that…read morecovers most of the population. My favorite car has always been the caboose, love the idea of looking out the back where you are and where you've been. The museum has limited hours during the week, join the volunteers for coffee 7:00-9:00am. Merle is available to schedule personal tours. The depot has been beautifully restored and the displays are thorough and very organized. Don't miss the stroll out back to the river - gorgeous view.

This was our second time here now with grandma and also youngest one too. This place is the best…read morechildren's museum in central Iowa. Des Moines tried with a newer one but we love this one inside the coralridge mall. It is super convenient to have lunch or grab soda or coffee to recharge. Admission was half off with ACM reciprocal children's museum membership. Gift shop is a bit overpriced and lacking toys. Our kids loved the grocery and bank. Also upstairs has toddler and also quiet room for baby nursing or just peace and quiet.

It was torrentially down pouring and time to take a stop on our cross country road trip, we got off…read morethe exit to walk around a target since a playground was out and saw signs for The Iowa Children's Museum. So glad we saw the signs this place was amazing it was just what our 2 year olds need to burn off some energy after 2ish hours in the car with many more to go. It was surprisingly large, has so many different rooms with different themes for the kids to explore. We let the kids play for close to 2 hours than grabbed food at the mall food court and went back on our way.

Grant Wood! This is THE house from the iconic painting…read more Everyone knows the painting of the dude with the pitchfork and the girl standing next to him in front of a white house. This is the white house! Whoa. Coming here is like stepping into the painting. They have the perfect vantage point set up where you can stand and get the perfect selfie. They've even got a statue of the folks from the painting where you can get the selfie- the farmer's glasses even have a reflection of farms of Iowa. The center is free, as far as I could tell. There's free parking. I showed up after it had closed, but was still able to go right up to the house. Apparently, they offer tours of the interior of the house, but since it was the exterior of the house that was painted, I had little interest in going inside. They also seem to have a gift shop, but that was closed when I went. The house is located off the main road, off another road, and off that road. It's not really close to anything, but it's a scenic drive through the corn rows to get to Eldon.

I went by there last year, and it was on a day where it was not open. So I wasn't able to go in the…read morehouse or museum. But that's okay, as there are lots to see on the exterior part of the place. At least you can take a selfie there, and there are a lot of historical markers that explain the true significance of the American Gothic House. My advice to anyone who wants to come here, be sure to call or check online for their hours.

Great way to spend a bit of time walking around the historic village. There are 20 buildings all…read moreconnected with an outdoor courtyard. Wyatt Erp house, mill, carving shop, bakery, museum, and forge. For just a bit of money it's a great way to spend an hour or so. Then you get to take a guided tour through the windmill and miniature Dutch village. It was amazing to go up inside the windmill and see the process of how they grind the flour. You can purchase bags of the stone ground flour in the mill's gift shop or you can go to Jarsema bakery and get mill ground wheat rolls. It's a great tour and really interesting!! I will be back during the tulip festival to see the shops working!!!

My family and I absolutely loved our experience here. It starts with a guided tour of the windmill…read more During the tour you learn about the Netherlands, see a wonderful miniature village setup, and then go into the mill and see the windmill in action. Our two daughters (5 and 7) got a little bit bored when the guide was talking about the mill but they absolutely lived the miniature village (it really is magnificent). After the guided part of the tower you can go through the little village of out buildings at your own pace. We loved this! We spent several hours here and thought it was well worth the money ($10 for adults and $2 for kids).

The museum starts you off with a 15 minute video on the history of the Amana Colonies (you may need…read moreto wait for the previous group to finish; you have to walk through the room to get to the rest of the museum). The museum is made up of three buildings: the gift shop/video is in the old schoolhouse; there is a small house with special exhibits; and then another attached two-story house with the history of the colonies, featuring what appear to be some original documents dating back to 1716. The museum starts a bit dry with the exhibits about the colony's founding, but becomes much more interesting as the people there come to life. There are plenty of items from daily life (little tickets to use at the General Store for a society that didn't use money; children's toys including handmade dollhouses and Victorian era paper dolls; greeting cards to send to your soldier Over There; a board game about gas rationing during WW2). There are fabric samples from the General Store and stamps used to make calico (with explanations on how they were used). There is even a cabinet that invites you to open it "and see our old books" - if you've ever thought it would be neat to try out your high school German on a hundred year-old German New Testament written in fancy Gothic fraktur type, or puzzle through some of the godly pronouncements the Amanaites carefully documented, you can. There are one or two rooms dedicated to The Great Change, when the community went from communal living to non- in 1932; and a room dedicated to what Amana has done since, including the prototype Amana RadarRange microwave oven. It's an interesting glimpse into a way of life gone forever, and a little taste of the community that remains.

What a treasure. Great info about the amanas. Love to see the history. I really appreciate the…read moreinfo and antiques

First off, our 8- & 10-year-olds had a blast. The whole place is hands-on and they were busy the…read moreentire time, never bored. There was some super interesting stuff in the engineering/Lego room that kept us parents engaged as well. You could bring a toddler all the way up to an early teen and they can all be engaged the whole time. The planetarium doesn't have a ton of seats & they don't lean back, and the kids were a little creeped out by the black hole presentation. The bathrooms are kind of rough, and a lot of the activities are showing age. Kind of dirty throughout, which surprised us (we're frequent flyers at museums, so we know they don't have to be this dirty). We appreciated that they took our ASTC membership - highly recommend if you travel and love science centers!

Nice, family friendly museum located in downtown Des Moines, but there are way too many screaming…read morekids running around. Why do people bring children under 8 to these types of places? It's not like they will even know or comprehend any of these things, much less be able to sit still during demonstrations or when viewing exhibits. It was nice to see that all science demonstrations and shows in the planetarium are included in your ticket price. If you check out a few of those, then it is well worth the admission even as an adult!

I know NOTHING of ballooning barring that one trip I took up 20 years ago for my mothers fortieth…read more Girlfriend and I passed this on a road trip, shimmied up to the counter, and paid the $3 each. The volunteer docent had a wealth of knowledge on the.... hobby? Activity? Sport? Either way, he answered any and all questions before we took off throughout the museum. There were plenty of baskets, balloons, different types of capsule (even a styofoam one,) material samples, medals, trophies, etc. It could have been overwhelming, but everything was properly labeled, and easily explained to the clueless. There was a library in the back chock full of books and dvds. A small area for children's activities and a cute little gift shop await you at the end of loop, as well as clean bathrooms and more non-pushy, friendly staff. Look, I went in here knowing nothing and left with a nice overview and new respect for the science and work that goes in to this activity, which is what any small specialty museum should do. It's most definitely worth the entry fee, enter with an open mind, leave an hour later with a new appreciation.

What a treasure for Indianola. Such a treasure of information about ballooning. If you can make it…read moreto the area, it's worth seeing.

I was last there in 2005, a sad fact because many happenings have taken place since then. The…read moreDowning House is only a part of the museum complex, which has so many amazing exhibits and interesting features. It is in a small town with diligent volunteers who were able to host a 2026 spring presentation featuring Ella Ewing, a resident of the area, known as the Missouri Giantess. She died long ago, but her fascinating life is well remembered at the Downing House. A visit to the museum is worth the trip just to learn about her, but there is much more. Make sure to plan ahead to a time when the museum will be open!

Love, love, love this museum. Nestled right on the Pentacrest of The University of Iowa campus, we…read morereally do have an amazing resource in our own backyard (for those of us who live in the Eastern Iowa corridor area, at least). The museum hasn't changed much since I last visited 10+ years ago, but that's okay. Rusty the Sloth and the polar bear in the gift shop are staples. Macbride Hall houses the Department of Anthropology at U of I. Wouldn't it be cool to see these artifacts every day as a student? The pair of lions in Mammal Hall were placed in an enclosed case in 202 (previously not enclosed) and a nice mural was painted behind them. From what I could tell, that's the most recent update to one of the museum's exhibits. Museum is free, but a donation is suggested. Please don't skip the donation box located near the guestbook in the gift shop. As indicated in a previous review, some of the exhibits have become quite 'well-loved.' Interactive features no longer work, particularly in the Hall of Birds. Mammal Hall is my most favorite, but there's so much to learn from each area of the museum. The museum covers 3 floors of Macbride Hall. Take the stairs and work those quads! Elevator available as well. Due to the summer season museum hours are a little different, so I'd call ahead or check the website for details. Parking during the summer on the street is easy to find. $1.50/hour. Highly recommend!

Great spot to walk around and explore with kids. Staff was friendly, fun scavenger hunt.read more