A fun stop if you are a fan of Judy Garland. Her childhood home was really beautiful and fun to…read morewalk through. The museum itself has a ton of information about Judy Garland and the carriage from the Wizard of Oz was so cool to see in person! There is a gift shop and children's discovery center attached.

Somewhere over the Rainbow . . What a treat to tour the artifacts and photos and memorabilia from…read morethe life of Judy Garland, who lived till four years old in Grand Rapids MN. It was emotionally rewarding to get a glimpse of her amazing talent, yet sensing the tragedy and sadness for many of her years. Five husbands and addictions and early mistreatment by the movie studios tell the story of her short life. I recommend a visit or many visits, as the praises and new items continue to be donated. Well done!

This place is pretty cool and the price is free (donations are accepted though and appreciated)…read more The people running this set up have multiple rooms with the most impressive being the main room when you first walk in. An elaborate set of the northwoods and local ore industry with HO scale trains running throughout (they have all sorts of different scale trains). Not sure what to do on that rainy day or when you need to give the body a break from the sun? Here is that option. The people are knowledgeable and friendly. Perfect for the budding train enthusiast or just to learn something of the area in a cool environment.

We love this place! We live in CA and visit every time we come to MN. My kids talk about it all…read moreyear.

Great place to learn a lot about forestry in Minnesota! Has living history demos of sawing and log…read morerolling. Knowledgeable employees on site to talk about how the loggers operated and lived, cooked, etc. Operating kitchen and even cookies the day we visited! Draft horses snd a wagon that brought us back to visitor center from the logging camp (not a far walk, but a decline to get there, slight incline on way back,. We could have walked back but the ride and offer were there! Thanks to Chuck and Chad, the brother horses, and to their drivers!! We didn't get their names!

This is a small town standby. They have a beautiful building and the older ones are well kept…read more Lots of activities year round here and interesting exhibits inside and out. Attended the critter day which was filled with lots of interesting live animals, presentations, and wings, talons and furs to touch. Very hand's-on. We have also gone in the winter for sleigh rides, also very cool.

This place is one of the best kept secrets of Northern MN. Especially if you have kids that would…read morelove to climb big equipment. But I will honestly say this museum was one of the most interesting I've been in in quite a while even as an adult. It's not just about mining, but walks you through everyday life "back in the day". From the school room, doctor's office, barber shop, washing machines, kitchen, printing press etc etc. So much is here, and so many photos almost all with captions stating where/when. Super interesting. There is SO much stuff here! It really blew me away. And the woman who was working that day was so friendly and knowledgeable (that's you Velma!)... she was an absolute delight. It unfortunately decided to downpour 1/2 way through our first visit which cut it short, but that meant that I was able to go back and meet a friend and her kiddos! Whoever set this up cared a lot and thought it through and the donations of things large and small is incredible. Go here! .... Pull all the way in and drive up to the castle. There are parking spots there and that's where you pay. It's deceptive making you think you park outside the gate but nope.... pull all the way up!

So incredibly frustrating when a website has listed a place as open -you make the effort to attend…read moreand they are closed for the season. Update your website. Grrrrr.

I'm a conniseur of weird tourist attractions. I loved the Tom Sawyer diorama in Hannibal Missouri…read morethe underground tour of Miles, Montana and the worlds most depressing theme park, "Ironworld" in Chilsholm Minnesota. But the Greyhound bus museum beats em all. Last year, our car broke down in Hibbing and we were stuck there for four days with a toddler. I tell you what, he loved this place. He's heavily into buses and the displays allowed him to really, really get his fill of them. We were the only people in the museum so the staff went out of their way to give us the grand tour. They also had live greyhounds and other fun things for kids. If you like kitsch, then don't miss this. My personal favorite, the Bob Dylan sock sculpture wearing a bus driver's uniform in one of the displays.

After having been to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto thisnpast spring, hubs and I said "hey, we…read moreshould really check out thw US one that's basically in our backyard". While it definitely had a MN focus, it was fun to see a lot of the artifacts and displays here. Being a Minnesota kid who grew up on hockey, I recognized most of players and games being depicted. It was even fun to go take a few slapshots, something I am admittedly not good at, since I was a goalie. Staff were friendly. A couple areas that could be improved were the gift shop being a little lackluster and some of the displays just had printed out computer paper, rather tham a nice plaque or something, so made it look a little cheap.

I'm a Wild fan, not a hockey fan, meaning my knowledge of the sport goes little beyond the last 4…read moreyears of the Wild but I enjoyed perusing the Hall of Fame. There is three floors of art and memorabilia. I especially enjoyed the displays on the Miracle Team, 1980 US gold medal winning Olympic hockey team. I also liked seeing some of the history of hockey, such as old uniforms and skates. I was happy to see some female hockey athletes honored as well. I loved the interactive areas where I could shoot a puck with a real stick to check my accuracy as well as shoot to measure puck speed. If you are in the area, for the $8 entry fee, it's worth a stop. It's looking a bit dated but it's clean and the people working there were so nice.

Prison Writings by : Leonard Peltier is a must read. Homeschoolers, the museum makes an excellent…read morefield trip, a fun way to gain an education.

This is much more than a railroad museum. It has displays on the history of the Crosby area…read moreincluding mining, tools, household and business gadgets and clothing of bygone eras. The small park next to the museum is nicely done with lots of plants, flowers and trees. Thanks to the wonderful docents who keep this museum open for everyone's enjoyment!

Downton Abbey era museum right in Crosby! Great historical significance, curious objects and…read moreartifacts from antique dresses, to household objects, to railway paraphernalia and mining history. Lovely staff took the time to walk us through highlights. Donations needed! They can't afford central heat in the museum so please stop by and give what you can!

As you may have noticed, my family and I are definitely adventures even in our own backyard. Today…read moremy family and I decided to take a trip to Tower and visit the old Train Museum. Trains have always been a fascinating thing for me because at one point that was our way for transportation, and the history of the tracks forming from the East to the West is a phenomenal tail. This particular train that sits here permanently in Tower, MN was a former passenger train that ran from Duluth to the Iron Range. Looking inside the the old engineering area is a little eerie looking at all the original speedometers, the compartment for the coals, where a piece of rope once was to help ring the bell on top of the engine. You could almost imagine the puffs of smoke roaring overhead, the whistle blowing, a conductor yelling, "All aboard!" It all feels so real. From Wikipedia it states, "Tower station, often called the Tower Passenger Depot, is a former passenger railroad depot in Tower, Minnesota, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1916 by the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad, it provided passenger train service until 1951." It's a fun place to bring the whole family. Come check it out, you won't be disappointed. Thanks for reading Schroyer Family Daily! #towermn #tower #trainmuseum #museum #trains #historic #history #explore #minnesota #arrenschroyer #cassieschroyer