The museum is awesome!! So much to see and learn. The wildlife is incredible to see. We saw a very…read moremajestic bald eagle up close. We experienced the steam engines running and visited with the curator for a bit to learn even more. The movies were very well done. The fact that your tickets are good for two days allows you to take your time. Worth every penny and your time!!! A must see!!

We visited here over Labor Day weekend. Our Reciprocal zoo…read moremembership got us half off admission. Also tickets good for 2 consecutive days. We worked our way backward from neighboring freshwater building with paw patrol special exhibit since our kids needed to get wiggles out. We got to play at opening on Friday morning when it was quiet. Then, we made our way to the maker room where there were hands on water table and toddler area. Afterward we colored sheets at the kids activity table to project their dinosaurs on the screen in diorama. Gift shop at west entrance of freshwater aquarium is smaller so we headed back to 1st building with larger gift shop. It is located just few steps upstairs from entrance which was annoying with stroller wagon needing to go half floor up. I thought the saltwater aquarium on east entrance is a lot better with sting rays and more interesting fishes. Overall we finished in just 3 hours so no need to return the next day. Only complaint is that their restaurant onsite took 30 minutes to get food ready. Overall it was nice experience but we thought paw patrol exhibit could have been a little bigger:

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.

On my way through Iowa, I planned a stop at this museum because I wanted to explore my heritage and…read morelearn more about where my family came from. It's a very well put together museum, not large, but I learned a lot and I spent a good hour going through the exhibits. I think there was a film but I skipped it in the interest of time. I feel a bit bad because I was the only visitor in the place and I hope they get more visitors. It's a very nice museum and considering the contributions that the many Czech and Slovak immigrants have made to America, worthwhile to see.

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!

Great place to stop if you are spending anytime in Galena! Staff was very knowledgeable and kindread more

One of many historical buildings associated with our 18th president, the Ulysses S. Grant home in…read moreGalena, IL, is a good stop for history buffs. Growing up in IL, I had learned about the town of Galena and this home from my school education, but never seemed to find a trip to take me there to check it out. So as my wife and I were heading down the Mississippi River road from Iowa/Wisconsin to Missouri, we made a slight detour to come to Galena to visit. There are two main parking areas (both free): one on the opposite side of the road and one next to the home. There is a large lawn to the left of the house, where one can wander while waiting for the next tour to start. The tours run continuously from 9:00 am to 4:45 pm, and multiple guides will lead multiple small groups of 16 or less through the home. One might need to wait outside for a maximum of 15 minutes, which is how long we ended up waiting. Admission is free, with a donation box (suggested $5 per person) at the end of the tour. This 3,300 square feet, brick home was built and fully furnished as a gift to General Grant and his wife, coming from the citizens of Galena, after the end of the Civil War. The Grant family did live here for a short period of time, before he moved to Washington after being elected president, though they maintained legal residence here for sixteen years. The Widow Grant maintained ownership until her passing in 1902. It was donated to the City of Galena, and then given to the State of Illinois in 1931, which manages it today. More than 90% of the items inside the house were originally owned/used by the Grants. It's a short tour, about 20 minutes in length. Our volunteer guide was good, answering our few questions and guiding us where we needed to move to. After the tour, he suggested we go next door to a replica of a general store during that time. One interesting display was a large diorama of each president and the pets that they had in the White House. There are a lot of open historical museums associated with President Grant: -- He was born (1822) in Point Pleasant, OH, in a small one bedroom cottage which is now a private museum. -- National Historic Site is in St. Louis, MO, in the estate where the Grants from 1854 - 1860. -- rented a small home in Galena from 1860 - 1861. Left to rejoin the army. -- returned to this home in 1865, until becoming president. -- National Landmark is found in Mount McGregor, New York and was his final home, where he finished his memoirs and died in 1885. -- National Memorial (Grant's Tomb) is found in Manhattan, NYC and where he and his wife are buried. -- Presidential library and museum is on the campus of Mississippi State University.

Do not miss this unique experience! What in the wrong hands could have been a dull 15 minute tour…read morebecame a fascinating 1 hour history lesson led by the most enthusiastic, knowledgeable person! 64 year old guy, we forgot his name (Ted? Tim?), but he was AWESOME.

Ya knowwww I question a lot of the facts from this tour but either way, it was very fun and…read moreinformative. I felt claustrophobic at 1 point but it just goes to show the progress in properties from 1800-now. Our tour guide was awesome, she was friendly and kept me focused on what she was saying the entire time. She gives off great energy and is perfect for this position. Well done! Tip - get the combo option as it saves you a few dollars. They do have a 4% service charge if using a CC.

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.

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!

Great spot to walk around and explore with kids. Staff was friendly, fun scavenger hunt.read more

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.

The Herbert Hoover Library and Museum is located on the grounds of the Herbert Hoover National…read moreHistoric Site. It's open daily and has a gift shop! There is admission -- $10 (16+), $5 (seniors, military, college), $3 (6-15) and free otherwise. Additionally, the library and museum is available for meetings, rentals and group trips. (It is fully wheelchair accessible with some available free of charge.) This West Brunch gotta-see has been around over 60 years and has expanded several times. I found it interesting that in1992, former President Ronald Reagan rededicated the Library and Museum due to a renovation project that expanded the library. Which in hindsight, is probably why this 90s kid was driven out here for an elementary school field trip not too long after! The library holds over 300 collections. Come learn from its many collections which include information on: agricultural economics, famine relief, commercial aviation, political journalism, government efficiency and reorganization, isolationism, conservative ideology and U.S. foreign policy. My last visit was in May of 2024, where I chaperoned my daughter's field trip. Don't miss out on the free scavenger hunt that is available to do while in the museum's galleries! I found information about Lou Hoover to be the most interesting, personally. If you find yourself in West Branch and are hankering for some educational content, pop in this Iowan treasure.

I was just in town for the weekend wanted to check out historical sites.. the buildings sign out…read morefront said the jail tours are closed to renovations :/ Looked cool tho

It's a great place to go to: Their is however an Erie felling in the air it was a place for the…read moreworst criminals and a museum of a lot of american history from when you walk through the squealing doors to the raftors above it's a great and scary place to be just think of all the murders

We came here on our Labor Day vacation and weren't sure what to expect for our little one under 1…read more Our ASTC reciprocal membership made it nice for free admission for our family. Not many photos of the children discovery center but we were pleasantly surprised. Actually our other 2 kids loved it more than our baby. The rest of museum is a mashup of science center meets history museum. The temperature throughout the museum varies from each room like crossing equator. Some of the exhibits felt narrow so really difficult to go back when winding paths over bridge and nature scenery. Gift shop was a bit disappointing. Can't say much of the food since it was mostly for cinema. We opted to just head out to subway for better lunch. Most likely this museum will take a couple of hours since the history part will probably bore them.

This is fun place to go, the price is right and you can learn with out feeling you are being…read moretaught. I was in town for a couple days, my daughter loved it. You should plan to spend a couple hours here at least so you can appreciate what they have to offer.