Truly this little museum was well-done and felt way more personal than the big national museums…read more The guys who work here were all very knowledgable and happy to share all kinds of tidbits about the displays with us. The park outside was cool and we enjoyed the special planes and aircraft in their collection here. This museum is also a Harvest Host.Grissom Air Museum in Peru, IN. We stayed in the parking lot which had 2 entrances, so an easy pull-through with our travel trailer and was mostly flat. A large 5th wheel also stayed the night and there was plenty of room for both of us. It is easy off-on IN Highway 31. There is some highway noise, but it died down in the evening and we slept well. It felt safe, maybe the proximity to the Air Base helped with that feeling. And we loved having the views of the aircraft displays out of our camper windows. We did patronize the Grissom Air Museum. Truly the little museum was well-done and felt way more personal than a big national museum. The guys who work here were all very knowlegable and happy to share all kinds of tidbits about the displays with us. The walk-through park outside was cool and we enjoyed the special planes and aircraft in their collection here.

It has a diverse collection of aircraft and a great value for the price! Definitely recommend…read morevisiting if you're in the area

My husband and I visited the Tippecanoe Battlefield Historical Museum on our travels through…read moreIndiana. The Battle of Tippecanoe was was the event that launched the presidential campaign of Indiana's son William Henry Harrison. Outside you can see the monument to the men and the battle as well as walk on the battleground. Inside the museum, you can learn more about the battle. There is a good video that describes what happened in the battle. There are also plenty of artifacts and exhibits. For history lovers, this is a must visit museum!

I was told that I should set aside about 45 minutes to an hour to explore the Tippecanoe…read moreBattlefield Historical Museum. I'm not one to brag, but I made it out of there in about 10 minutes! Yes, I win! All kidding aside, you can spend as much or as little time as you want in this historical museum, and you'll get something out of it. If you want to read all of the things, then you'll spend more time here, for sure. I'm more of a vibes person when it comes to museums, so I enjoyed wandering through the exhibits, taking in the scenery, and letting my feelings about what I saw wash over me. I wandered out of the main museum to the Wah-ba-shik-a Nature Center, which is on the Tippecanoe Battlefield grounds. It's a small nature center with some interesting things to see. I talked to the friendly docent who had a table at the entrance, and she told me a little about the history of the nature center. In the nature center and the museum, there aren't too many hands-on activities. It's mostly things to see and read, which is great for older kids and adults, but is a little bit of a bummer for younger kids. But if you have younger kids who need physical stimulation, take them outside to explore the rest of Battlefield Park. There are creeks and wide open spaces and woods and bridges and lots of things to explore.

Visited here with my girlfriend in February 2024. It's a neat historic site with signage explaining…read morehow the original fort was built in 1717 as a French trading post on the Wabash River. Its name, "Ouiatenon," is a French rendering of the place name in the Wea language, waayaahtanonki, meaning "place of the whirlpool." The fort was ceded to the British after the French and Indian War. It was later used by Native Americans and destroyed by American militia in 1791 during the Northwest Indian War. Physician Richard Wetherill built the replica blockhouse in 1930, but based it on general British fortifications due to a lack of records about the original structure. Archaeologists rediscovered and confirmed the site in the 1960s. I would be interested to see if this site has historic interpretation or reenactments when the weather's warmer.

Location for Feast of the Hunters Moon. Neat place to visit any time of the year though.read more

I absolutely loved my trip to the Seiberling at Christmas! I found it to be one of my favorite…read moreChristmas experiences so far. Every square inch is decorated. There are 3 floors to this historic mansion to explore for only $10. The architecture is amazing. I got a lot of pictures here. It was worth the hour drive to Kokomo from Indy. Staff and volunteers were friendly and helpful as well.

Kokomo, Indiana's Seiberling Mansion is a rather sublime sight to see during the holiday season…read more Serving as home for the Howard County Historical Society, the Seiberling Mansion was completed in 1891 and owned by Monroe Seiberling. Seiberling was an industrialist and entrepreneur who arrived in Kokomo alongside the late 19th century gas boom. He became wealthy, built several factories in the area, and followed all this up by building a rather remarkable mansion. Subsequent owners included Orange Darby, Rev. William Parr (namesake for Parr Methodist Church), real estate developer Franklin Miller, and George Kingston. Kingston was an inventor who invented the carburetor used in Henry Ford's Model T. When Kingston passed away in 1946, Indiana University bought the home and used it as the home of IU-Kokomo until 1964. For several years, the mansion remained empty. Finally, Howard County began looking for a way to move the county museum out of the courthouse. This ended up being a perfect arrangement and IU signed a long-term agreement to turn over the property for use as a museum. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972, the Seiberling Mansion has both a Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival style. The house has three stories - eight rooms on the first floor, seven on the second floor, and a grand ballroom on the third floor. Parking is free. The parking lot entrance is behind the museum off West Walnut street. The front door is the main entrance, though the accessible entrance is at the rear of the house. It's important to note that only the first floor is actually accessible (there's no elevator), though there is a virtual video available on the first floor for the second and third floors. There are public restrooms on the first and second floors, though it should also be noted these are not wheelchair accessible. The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday from 1-4pm. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for K-12, and free for under age 5. The museum is a Blue Star Museum - this means active military and family members get in free from Memorial Day to Labor Day. They do have periods when they close - so checking their website is always a good idea just to be sure. The Seiberling Mansion can be rented for a maximum of 25 people. Rental rates on the website. The adjacent Elliott House is also available. While I always lament not having full access to places, with historic locations it's understandable and expected that access isn't going to be perfect. This is beautiful to see, though I'm not sure I can give it a full thumbs up for those with mobility issues since entry is $10 and you really only get to access one of three floors. That said, the virtual tour is pretty cool and the building itself is wonderful.

Great facility. Beautifully envisioned and executed…read more Watching the Huey's, flying the Huey's and joining in a reunion of pilots is therapeutic to all these Viet Nam Veterans. - Thank you Johnny and Kay Walker

The Haan Museum houses the largest collection of Indiana art in the world. Most of it is inside a…read morehistoric mansion that was originally built for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, but some art work is dotted around the garden outside. The museum features paintings, Indiana ceramics, sculptures and antique American furniture. Visitors can explore rotating exhibitions with a guided or self-guided tour Wednesdays through Saturdays. Outside, the sculpture garden provides a peaceful space for reflection and creativity. I took a guided tour, and it was about an hour. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the collection, and provided us with details about every single thing. Who knew that I'd find information about a bed frame interesting? After the tour, we were encouraged to spend some time checking out the garden, which has a lot of artwork and pretty plants and flowers everywhere. It was nice to sit on one of the benches and take in the beautiful scenery in the garden.

My husband and I went to the Haan Mansion Museum of Indiana Art on a day when the mansion was…read moreclosed. It was the only time that we could fit it into our schedule. Why bother visiting if the mansion is closed, you ask. There is a cute sculpture garden behind the mansion that is open even when the mansion is closed. There are close to 30 sculptures. It is really fun to take a walk through the garden and see the statues. It will give you something to talk about and plenty of photo opportunities. If the outside is this fun, I can't wait to see the inside!

I stumbled across the Elwood Haynes Museum while traveling on my recent Tenderness Tour in the…read moreKokomo area. While I'd heard about the museum before, I knew very little about it and I can honestly say that visiting it wasn't on my itinerary for my Kokomo visit until we happened to drive by it while searching for our evening dining location. The Elwood Haynes Museum is located in the mansion owned by Elwood Haynes, a Kokomo-based inventor credited with multiple firsts including being the first to produce cars commercially back in 1894. He lived in Kokomo until his death in 1925. Haynes also invented stainless steel. Seriously. Being that the Elwood Haynes Museum was actually a residence, you might guess that wheelchair access is kind of an issue. It definitely is kind of an issue, though kudos must be given for efforts to make the mansion as accessible as possible. You go up a rather narrow, somewhat steep driveway and park in the back of the house. If you have a high vehicle or an RV type vehicle, the odds you're going to achieve this are slim to none. There's only a few parking spots, a likely indicator that visits to the museum tend to be in smaller groups. The guide who was present for our visit acknowledged that the vast majority of visitors are out of towners rather than locals, though they do host local student groups. They've concocted a rather large, wooden ramp designed to provide wheelchair access. It likely meets ADA requirements in terms of grade, though be aware the wood itself feels a little flimsy. For those with limited range of motion or upper body strength, it may be advised to have a companion or assistant with you. You then enter via a side door that leads to your standard residential hallway. As this was a turn of the 19th century house, you can easily guess that hallways are rather narrow. I had zero issues moving into each room on the first floor - a bathroom on the first floor is largely wheelchair friendly with appropriate rails. The second floor would not be accessible to a wheelchair user, while the third floor, a small area, is not open to the public. They also have a basement area that is not open to the public. There's also an attached carriage house that had three of Haynes's vehicles within it along with a safe that had been created from the materials he invented. The Elwood Haynes Museum really is rather fascinating, though it's a rather quick view with a maximum of 1-2 hours needed to enjoy the entire museum. Admission is free, though donations are welcomed and somewhat encouraged in a low pressure sort of way. The exhibit, in addition to the vehicles, includes a wealth of photos, documents, inventions and other items related to Haynes, a figure who contributed greatly to modern motoring yet remains relatively unknown when compared to many others. The volunteer who was present was friendly and knowledgeable about Haynes's history and worked at a comfortable pace in explaining the museum. This was definitely an unexpected gem during my time in Kokomo.

For history buffs, or car buffs, or fans of invention, this is a "must stop" place to visit while…read morein Kokomo. The home of Elwood Haynes is partly a time capsule showing the Haynes residence and all those wonderful antiques you might expect. The other part of the building is the museum tribute to Mr Haynes and some of the other famous inventors/inventions of Kokomo. I hadn't done any research before going, so I was surprised to learn how many incredible inventions were created/discovered by Haynes. What is most commonly related to is that Haynes designed, funded the building of, and drove the first commercially built auto in the country! Local inventors (The Apperson Brothers) owned a shop and were paid by Haynes to build the frame and moving parts of the first auto after Haynes had bought a one horsepower engine that ran on gasoline. At that time, gasoline was considered a waste product from natural gas production and it was another of Haynes' inventions that made gasoline more usable as a fuel. On July 4, 1994, Haynes successfully drove his vehicle for an hour, covering about six miles. But that was just some of what this man accomplished. He discovered a means for making brass at the age of 15. He also invented the small thermostat that is used to regulate home temperature. He also created numerous alloys, including stainless steel and Stellite (used in blading small turbines and numerous other tools/equipment that should not rust.) The museum shows photos throughout the building from Haynes' life. Upstairs, the rooms are not maintained as living spaces, but rather, as tributes to the other inventors and "firsts" that Kokomo is known for. You will see exhibits about the Appersons, the first pneumatic rubber tire, first carburetor, lots of Delco radio inventions, and even some canning innovations. And of course, there are lots of exhibits about alloys and their uses. The staff is friendly and goes the extra mile to make sure you have all the information you desire. Note: Although the garage is off limits, you can still see three of the first cars produced in Kokomo through the windows. Review #2486

The Art Museum of Greater Lafayette is a really fun place to visit. There are galleries on the…read morefirst and second floor. There is also art along the hallway going to the offices and bathrooms. Be sure to check out the art in front of the building and in the lobby. Maybe it was just the time that my husband and I visited but a lot of the art was made by high school students. And wow, are those students talented. There are rotating galleries. The best part is that this museum is free. For a fun afternoon, I highly recommend the Art Gallery of Greater Lafayette!

A short walk from the hotel and centrally located in Lafayette. This free art museum is…read morefamily-friendly. Works by local, national, and international artists are available to view. The retail shop had multiple original prints for sale, along with other items, such as jewelry, journals, and fun crafts for kids. Definitely a must-see if you're in the area.