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

We dropped in to expand our knowledge on the Amana Colonies. The first area is a room with cook…read morebooks and small displays. To go beyond , you agree to the 20 minute Video and a museum visit. The hitch is 8.00 per person to go deeper. I just couldn't see the value for 16.00. He was very nice and explained the process to the next people arriving after us. But we decided to hold on to our cash. I would have done it for half. I was already inside. I learned more in the woolen store later from the sales ladies. They loved to tell the history.

I went on a date with my boyfriend to visit the National Czech and Slovak Museum. Staff at the…read morefront desk was very friendly and helpful about the exhibit. It turned out to be a really neat exhibit, with lots of interesting information provided everywhere you turned. I liked seeing the rotating mannequins displaying the different outfits worn by the Czech and Slovak people. I also liked reading about their different foods associated with their culture. We both enjoyed our time there very much! The gift shop at the end of the exhibit was filled with all sorts of neat traditional items of the Czech and Slovak culture. All Very Cool! I definitely recommend for everyone to visit this museum at least once in your life!

Interesting and full of unique information. Must see the video of moving the Museum. The collection…read moreof beaded headdresses and clothing - so intricate.

A wonderful day at the museum. The sloth is definitely our favorite. This museum is wonderfully…read morekept up and we always enjoy our visits.

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!

Not sure where the other reviewers got their information, but the museum is NOT closed. We just…read morevisited the Pioneer heritage Museum and did photo ops with their restored 1920s era gas station the weekend of Friday August 23rd, 2013.

Amazing time, quant, peaceful & informative(: The Roman…read moreEmpire exhibit was super unexpected & exciting in my opinion w/the coin collection & history of empresses. Honestly really good exhibits. Love the landscape of Iowa w/amazing security around the facility & front desk

I'll go ahead and give them five stars because it was free the day/time I went, and they don't…read moreforce you to exit thru the gift shop. Otherwise it's a bit small but since I don't know what they charge even I won't judge them for that. What they did have was generally pretty impressive, the Grant Wood collection was surprisingly beautiful. The Roman section had some great historic items as well. There's as a large focus on local Iowa artists, and a lot of landscape works at the moment at least. Plenty of free parking in the area on weekdays, I saw a garage too but don't know the situation. Staff is friendly and helpful. Definitely worth checking out. Building is old and pretty cool.

We drove 5 hours from Illinois to come to this museum and aquariam…read more It was worth the time and costs. A ticket gains you admission for the day and the next day also. The museum exhibits were very interesting. The signage explained each exhibit very well. We purchased tickets for the 45 minute 4D film about the story of a mother whale and her baby whale's journey from Austraila to the Antartic. Spoiler Alert: The 4D effect was getting sprayed from above 5 or 6 times during the film. We are going to return tomorrow for day 2 of our admission.

We came on a Wednesday and explored before check in to our hotel. We got lucky and it was not…read morecrowded. Got to see the otter (we only saw one bu better than none!) and only a few exhibits were under construction/rehabilitation. I would recommend seeking out the hidden spots like the cave, mini movies, and the tower through out the expansive site. So many animals to encounter, tactile spaces for kids to touch and the newest ice dinosaur exhibit was epic for my son. All for one price and yes, it did take us two days to get through it all. Facilities are clean, many places to sit inside and outside were plenty of benches and shade in the outdoor areas.

Herbert Hoover was our 31st president, in which he served from 1929- 1933. He served right when the…read moreUS went into the Great Depression. He only served one term and lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt when he tried to run for office a second time. Herbert Hoover was born in West Branch, Iowa. He was born into a religious Quaker family. Unfortunately he became an orphan at only 9 years old, but was raised by his uncle in Oregon. After he graduated from Stanford, he went into mining. He actually ended up becoming a mining engineer, working in Australia, where he made most of his fortune in mining. He was one of the first presidents to forgo his presidential salary and donate most of it to his charity. Herbert Hoover met his wife at Stanford, while she was perusing a teaching degree. They got married the day before they left for China. He was under contract to the Chinese government in which he investigated the conditions in Chinese mines and would make his recommendations for improvement. They ended up living in Tientsin. Lou Hoover learned how to speak and write Chinese during their stay. Over the next 14 years, they ended up traveling all over the world. Lou Hoover gave birth to two sons. This presidential library does have a national historical site, in which you can view Herbert Hoover's birthplace cottage, his school house, the blacksmith shop his father owned and worked at, and also can visit the visitor center. The historical site is free. However the presidential library, which is right around the corner, does charge for admission ($10 for adults aged 16 and older, $3 for children aged 3- 15, $5 for seniors, military and college students). After you are done visiting the library, you should head out to the gravesite of Herbert Hoover and his wife. This presidential library is my 12th of 13 libraries that I have already visited (although there are 14 presidential libraries, please note that Obama's is not currently ready and open to the public to visit yet). I really enjoy presidential history and found that this library seems to have less information than the other presidential libraries that I have visited. There is not as much about the president himself growing up and the first wife. Also there is very little information about his children. So it may not take as long to visit this library if you read everything, my husband and I were here about 90 minutes, which includes watching the introductory video near the lobby of the library. Herbert Hoover's youngest Son, Allan Hoover, purchased his father's birthplace cottage and restored it. This eventually lead to the national historical site that I had mentioned earlier and the construction of this presidential library. Overall, I really enjoyed our visit. I especially enjoyed the flour sacks exhibit. This exhibit covered Herbert Hoover's initiative to help provide food relief to children in Belgium and also aid prisoners of war. Part of this program helped to raise funds by selling empty flour sacks that were made of cotton. The flour sacks were made into clothing, accessors, pillows, bags, etc. Some had embroider, some were painted on or stenciled on the fabric. Herbert Hoover was given several hundred of these special decorated flour sacks as gifts, in which you can see some on display in this exhibit. This exhibit has one of the largest collection of WWI flour sacks in the world.

Although I haven't been here since I was a fifth grader in elementary school, when your family from…read moreNew York City comes out and wants some Iowa culture this is obvious a spot in the area after you've run out of bars, bars, and football. The museum is pretty thorough, interactive, clean, and modern and also has rotating exhibits. If you for some reason wanted to go more than once a decade. Always nice to be able to tour inside the nearby original house and other time era structures on your own, which is a very cool and trusting thing. The price is normal for Iowa. I think it was between 10 and $15 a person for entrance but these days it always changes so make sure to check if that's an issue. I do remember that they have discounts for students and children.

Well it's just a stone marker, but it's a cute idea. Worth the visit for the selfie if you're a…read morefan. The marker has been moved from where a lot of maps show it, but there are directional signs. It is near the city hall at 2022 on Greene St. The Voyage Home museum and shop is a few blocks away, across from the statue of Kirk, in Railroad Park off of first street.

We were in Coralville, Iowa, so had to drive down here (30 minutes each way) to check out this…read morequirky feature. In the last few years, they've moved things around, but are also better at pointing them out. The "future birthplace marker" is near the post office and city hall as of 2022 on Greene St. The statue of Kirk is across the street from the museum, in Railroad Park off of first street. Not much else to see here, but if you want a bit of quirky fun, and are close, then it is a strange/fun picture opportunity.

Great way to spend a couple hours. Cool museum. Not a whole lot to say about it though, $5 dollars…read moregets you in, walk around, look at old cars, take pictures, go somewhere and get a cocktail. The Johnson County side was cool, but I came for the cars. Not so sure why someone would complain about there being a donation box in the museum in addition to the admission price.... first time at a museum, son?

It was very interesting with a great selection of vehicles for viewing. The staff was excellentread more