Another five star review. There are three museums to tour here: the house; the rock and gem museum;…read moreand apparently the farm tools. Figure an hour per museum; I only had time for two. The docent lives on-site and is passionate about the Funk family; there was almost too much information about the family (perhaps as I was touring the house with two Funk family members in town for a reunion). I've toured a lot of Victorian houses, but one of the things that's interesting about this one is the amount of innovation you'll see highlighted here. This starts in the garden, where there is a small power plant (the farm had electricity in the early 1900s, before parts of Chicago), and is continued as you learn to know the family, whether they be inventors of hybrid seeds, or rock afficianados. Unlike many houses, here you can get close to things; there are no velvet ropes or plastic barriers, except one to keep you out of the servants' stairs. So you can look close up at the hat pins or beaded bags on the dressers. Ask questions - you can't stump this docent. (We had a discussion about concrete and its use in the fence and the caretaker's building which was really quite interesting. If you have engineer friends, they will love this tour.) The rock museum features some truly impressive fossils, some of which you might be allowed to touch! There's a dragonfly fossilized in ash; coprolite (look it up), and dinosaur bone (apparently fairly common?). There's a whole wall of different types of calcite; giant gorgeous blue and purple fluorite specimens; lit-from-the-back beautiful agates and rubies in zoisite; and in the NEXT room (!) two or three cabinets of beautiful Chinese carved soapstone, and a collection of sleighs. The finale is a cabinet full of fluorescing rocks, including melted glass from a nuclear reactor. Made me wish this museum had a gift shop, though the docent will be happy to give you recommendations for good local rock shops. This is a really great museum hidden in the cornfields. Worth a trip - I drove two hours to get here, thinking I was coming for the rocks, but the house was almost/ just as good.

Totally recommended - A wonderfully preserved house and grounds and our guide was able to bring the…read morewhole place to life with his insight and knowledge of the Funk family and their incredible history - and then in the Gem Museum we saw further dimensions to him as he walked us through this small fragment ( 20% ) of the massive and impressive collection gathered from all corners of the World.

The Peoria Riverfront Museum is a really neat place that you should check out while you're in…read morePeoria. Right outside the museum, on the southside of the building is the Peoria Holocaust Memorial. This is a touching tribute from the community to those who died in the Holocaust. We lucked into going on a "community day" where there was a large festival outside celebrating Cinqo de Mayo. The advantage was that admission was free on that day. The downside was that the music from outside could be heard inside the museum. It was also very crowded with many children running around unattended. The museum featured an exhibit on American 250 curated by Ken Burns. The planetarium also has a really cool and interactive show explaining where the stars are in our solar system. The museum also features a variety of rotating exhibits. I highly recommend a visit to the Peoria Riverfront Museum.

This is a nice little museum, I particularly enjoyed the Bronzeville to Harlem exhibit. That was…read morespectacular. We also went to the Planetarium and saw the what is in tonight's sky show and it was great. There was also a little concert outside before noon, which must have been a local school's jazz band and maybe small string orchestra. That was fun as well

We've lived here for just over a year, but my husband and I had never visited the KAM…read more We stopped by here on a Saturday afternoon. It was a nice, quiet visit. Museum was well staffed with security. Superbly clean. It took us a little over an hour to walk through the various rooms. Several of the rooms were empty, awaiting new exhibits. I'd probably come back again when the academic year is in full swing. My favorite part of this visit was the Blue and White Ceramics exhibit they have on display. There are many great pieces of art to see, though. Ellnora Krannert was extremely generous and numerous pieces in the museum are thanks to her. I wouldn't recommend this museum to children under 13-14, unless the kids/tweens/teens are really into art, art history, etc. I just think the little ones would be bored. You can visit KAM's online calendar to see if they ever offer children's programming. (Head to the Spurlock Museum if you're on campus with little ones instead.) Highly recommend KAM to anyone else. We're very fortunate to have an art museum of this caliber in our community. Summertime is the perfect opportunity to explore these locations on campus. Checkout my other Champaign-Urbana museum reviews, too!

Great museum on a terrific college campus. I know it doesn't get the attention the sports…read morefacilities do but it should. Check it out next time you are in C-U. It is a great way to recharge your batteries and let the power of art soothe your soul.

These birds have been permanently grounded…read more Every childhood boy likes one of three things: planes, trains, or automobiles. I leaned towards things that could fly, especially at supersonic speeds. So, it came to my surprise that there was a aviation museum within a reasonable driving distance from my home. I have actually been here about 3 times total since my first visit. I think I was with Matt the first time here. I think we explored a bit of Bloomington-Normal before a concert in the evening. The museum itself is just a little ways off the one of the main busy roads that runs through Bloomington. I actually think this up the road from the Bloomington Airport. How fitting! It's not a massive museum by any means. The building itself is probably no larger than your local fast food eateries. But within those small confines is a tremendous amount of history. Each time I've come here, I've signed the guest book and donated a few bucks on top of paying the admission fees. The price is listed on their website. It was $5/each for adults. As I said, the building itself housed a ton of information regarding aviation. They had a section dedicated to NASA. They had tons of props and displays scattered throughout. They had graphs with a ton of information. Suffice to say, I can't put in words what photos do better. While I did supply photos below, due to limited storage space, I couldn't upload nearly enough photos to show everything. While the inside was full of information and relics from aviation's past, the things I was dying to see were outside. The things that flew in another time and in another place. On one of the trips, we lucked upon a volunteer who was giving tours. He gave us a quick tour of the jets, planes, and aircraft outside and then let us explore to our hearts content. A few of my family members were veterans of the military, mostly in the Rangers and Marines. My dad tried to enlist but due to a hearing issue, wasn't allowed in. By the time I was ready to join, my body had too many injuries to even think I could try to enlist (I was a very active kid and while I never broke a bone, I did do a lot of damage to my joints). Matt was also in the Marines for an undetermined about of time. So, suffice to say we all had some interest in the military in some way, shape, or form. Following the path outside winds you around all that there is to see. It was extremely cool to be able to go up to any of the aviation vehicles and see them in person. Some of them had ladders that you could take up and see in to the cockpit. They are locked shut so don't get any wild ideas of hopping in and taking off. I do think they have special events where they open them and allow people to get in and have their photos taken. Check their website for details on that and other events they have. In the end, this place was great to check out. I loved getting to see the jets up close and person. I took one of my favorite photos ever and it's included below. Can you guess which that is? If you have kids that love aircraft or have a general interest yourself, do oneself a favor and check this place out if possible. "Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full."

Great museum for its size Multiple old jets and helicopters. You can actually get in them cool…read moreplace.

I highly recommend this place. The most that games cost is 75 cents. A majority of them cost 50…read morecents. They have the Starwars Trilogy Arcade from the 90's, Ferrari F355 Challenge that uses a lifelike gear box and a clutch pedal, and many more. My kids and I had a blast.

Always a fun time. We love playing all the old school arcade games, bring back so many 80's…read more memories.

The Route 66 Museum is great and close to the other attractions in Atlanta. There is a pride in…read moretheir history that shows. Every one we spoke with at every stop in town was kind and knowledgeable.

It has been celebrated in song, story, poem, and yes, even a Route 66 TV show (1960-1964); historic…read moreU.S. Route 66 was established in 1926 and ran east-west across the central United States. According to the popular song "Route 66" by John Mayer "...it winds from Chicago to LA, more than two thousand miles all the way". 2448 miles or 3,940 KM to be precise. Tourist attractions designed to get a motorist to take a break from their journey (and spend some cash) along "the mother road" or the "main street of America" are scattered here and there among the small towns that are found along Route 66. One of these attractions is the Route 66 Arcade Museum located in the prototypical small town of Atlanta, IL. At the Route 66 Arcade Museum it is possible to misspend your youth all over again; one quarter at a time! The Museum is chock full of vintage pinball and video games from the 1930's-1970's. The Route 66 Arcade Museum is only open during the tourist season April through September. The museum is opened and closed by a third party but is usually open from 9am 4pm in season. Hours are currently impacted by IL state COVID-19 regulations for entertainment businesses so please check before your visit.

This listing is for a specific exhibit within the McLean County history museum. The exhibit itself…read moreis free and has a lot of interesting information! We happened to visit on a Saturday during the farmers market, a time during which the full museum (essentially the whole building) is free as well! (Otherwise adults are $5 and seniors over 65 are $4). We were very impressed by this local museum and would compare it to the museum at the St. Louis Arch. Educational with lots of artifacts and some interactive portions - great for history buffs and families! The building itself is also beautiful architecturally inside and out which we enjoyed. Lots of cool things in the gift shop, including the bean pots that Steak n Shake used to sell baked beans in prior to removing them from their menus during the pandemic (RIP to my favorite fast food restaurant side). They also sell and stamp the Route 66 and National Park passports here. Definitely worth a stop!

From the owner: Cruisin' With Lincoln on 66 is a Route 66 and Abraham Lincoln themed Visitors Center and Gift Shop…read morethat celebrates Bloomington-Normal's rich, historical connection to both Route 66 and Abraham Lincoln through an interpretive exhibit. We also provide tourist assistance for travelers of today, along with many original gifts and souvenirs, often crafted by local artists and craftspeople.