There is truly something for everyone here! Came on a Wednesday which is apparently discount day so…read moretickets were $20. This is an incredibly accessible experience. Mobility scooters available to borrow at the entrance, and also more in the back for those who might change their mind. Benches are located throughout. Maps are available at the front, and in several places throughout. Even though it's a huge building, it is really well organized and easy to navigate through. It's very close to the highway and worth the hour or so stop if you want to see something quirky and different!

The price to get in was definitely worth it. The historical expert named Tony is an expert and has…read morea story about everthing and most people could listen to him for hours. Thank you Tony for your prsentation on the Kennedy assasination in Dallas Texas in 1963.

What an unexpected delight! A well-designed, kid-friendly museum that cleverly teaches history…read more Free to the public. Byron should be proud of this gem.

From the owner: Tours, Rentals…read more Services: Exhibits, School and Private Tours, Field Trips, Free Admissions, Reception Hall, Banquet Facility, Gift Shop. Location Facts: Across from McDonalds. Route 2 and 72

Recommended for anyone that has a little bit of time, and needs to stretch their legs, and has an…read moreinterest in history, This is a nice respite. Located in Dixon Illinois (Grand Detour), the John Deere home offers free admission and even a guided tour if your time it right. Checked their website for operating hours because it appears they can change. The guided tour takes a little over an hour so we had to step out because we could not spare that much time but they were very kind and recognizing that not everyone could stay for the full tour. Located inside a white picket fence is a little museum that has the timeline of John Deere's life, and an archaeological site that marks the origins of his blacksmith shop and basically the birthplace of international John Deere industry as we know it today. Additionally, his home, which was not open to the public when we were there, but you can peek in the windows, is also located on the property. A cute little gift shop with John Deere shirts, hats, etc. is available as well as some really cool items for sale that are fabricated from the blacksmith on site providing demonstrations.

Visited during the 75th Grand Detour Arts Festival. The art fair is one of the oldest in Illinois…read moreand had a nice selection of local artists. The John Deere historic sites has buildings to go in and tour. There was a blacksmith demonstration and several audio tours. If in the area, it is worth stopping by,

Excellent place to visit with or without kids. I really enjoyed traveling through the entire…read moremuseum. Downstairs they have a temporary exhibit highlighting fossils they are finding in the Green River Shale in Utah. From the large bones to the tiny buds of plants. The dinosaur exhibit on the first floor will particularly appeal to kids and vertebrate fossil fans. While I was drawn to the very nice collection of Mazon Creek concretions and my first in person view of a Tully Monster (which is the Illinois State Fossil). 2nd floor is more geology focused than paleontology and the 3rd floor is Biological. I spent some time looking at the different birds they had on display as well as the live reptiles in the education room. Plus a little fox at floor level where young children could Ben down and look eye to eye was a nice touch. We will definitely return. Rockford is close.

This museum is amazing! The amount of dinosaur fossils to view is incredible for being a smaller…read moremuseum and the staff is wonderful! We didn't realize it but the director actually showed us all the reptiles and let us hold/ pet them. She was so kind, patient and knowledgable! We will go back and highly recommend the trip!

Great museum. We'd…read morevisited here last, about 20 years ago. Memory fades and it was time to revisit on this trip. All exhibits are housed inside on 2.5 floors. There is also a gift shop and restrooms. I found no elevator. We paid (senior rate saves $1 each) and went into a seating room where there used to be a video projection (no longer working). The staff member there today, Les, led everyone into this room to be seated. Les spoke about the rich history of Galena and he was quite detailed. We found this worthwhile. After the speech, we looked around this room at mostly US Grant artifacts, then we headed to a very large back room that has many displays, dioramas etc. on Galena. Lead mining had a rich history here for a few decades, so there was a lot of mining history on display. When we were done downstairs, we walked upstairs where there is a smallish room on the 2nd floor and a much larger room on what I'd call floor 2.5. Floor 2.5 had mostly wartime history while floor 2 had a variety of history on display. Note that the stairs are fairly steep. The first set also has a 90 degree turn near the top. There is a low, wooden banister-style handrail on one side. To access floor 2.5, there are another 6 or 8 steps to get up to it and there's a metal handrail for them. All in all - it's a pretty well done history museum for a small community and it was worth the time. I'd recommend this useful to anyone who wonders, "why does this town exist, how was it formed and what does its evolution look like". We enjoy museums like this.

What a great little museum! We didn't know what to expect, but I can honestly say we were blown…read moreaway! The ladies that welcomed us were so friendly and knowledgeable about the museum! There was so much packed in! It wasn't only about Grant but about the whole settling of Galena and all the way back to the ice age! I have to say this is a gem of a place and definitely a must see! It's clean and reasonably priced! We will definitely come back when we come to visit again.

Located upstairs at Conover. My son loves to come here and watch the trains. The gentlemen are…read morealways very nice to him and answer any questions he has about these trains or trains in general.

Free but donations asked so it's a kind place. $5 per adult suggested. Beautiful 3000 square foot…read morehome and a beautiful time nearby also bc there are surrounding homes and the general store. Tours are so interesting about who he was and how they lived. This home was kept very well and we enjoyed the visit. They even have an exhibit of the presidents animals.

I had an absolutely wonderful tour here yesterday. I arrived in the middle of the snowstorm and…read moreyou're supposed to wait on the porch til the next tour but one of the people running the tours saw me waiting out there and let me in early, which was beyond nice of them. The lady giving our tour was incredibly knowledgeable, and had some very funny dry humored quips that I appreciated. I actually learned some things about Grant that I was unaware of, so it was a very fun and educational tour. Would definitely come back and do it again for sure.

Such a great time! The grandkids loved it almost as much as we did. The owners are such great…read morehosts, and you truly will be amazed by all the fun details! So much to see. Don't forget the train ride!

Such a great place for kids (young and old)! I'd recommend planning to spend about an hour there…read more There's lots of buttons to push for the kids and TONS of details to keep the adults busy.