If you are looking for a day-long adventure in the middle of nowhere in Kansas, this is your place!…read more There's plenty of free parking by the visitor center. Start in the visitor center / gift shop to buy tickets. Highly recommend the combo ticket (house tour & library) to save some money. The staff was super helpful in orienting us and making recommendations for how to spend the day. Try to arrive at 15 or 45 minutes after the hour because that's when the 24 minute video begins playing in the visitor center. The video was mostly just hype for Eisenhower and not super educational, but it's a good way to start the experience. The grounds includes the boyhood home, library, museum, place of meditation, and visitor center with gift shop. It's so convenient to have all of this history in one place! Make sure to take a picture with the Eisenhower statue in the middle of the lawn! When you buy your tickets, you are assigned a tour time. I recommend getting there earlier in the day because the tour times will fill up. The boyhood home is very small. You can only enter a few of the rooms, but you can look into all the rooms on the first floor. You cannot go upstairs. So the tour only takes about 20 mins, depending on questions. The tour guide told some good stories about Eisenhower's parents. Eisenhower, his wife Mamie, and one of their sons are buried in the place of meditation. There is only one small exhibit upstairs in the library. Currently it's about women voting for Ike. Don't budget much time for the library because it's quick to breeze through. The museum on the other hand is extensive, so budget several hours! There's a lot to look at and read. You can come and go if you need to take a break for a home tour or lunch. They currently also have a special exhibit on the Cold War. You could spend a whole day in there! There are picnic tables for resting and eating throughout the day. The gift shop has lots of gift options for browsing. Overall, this is a great historical place to spend the day! You will leave exhausted and full of information. Highly recommend checking out the World's Largest Belt Buckle on your way out of town!

Be sure to pay the extra money to see his childhood home. It is very humbling. Most of this museum…read moreis about his service in WW2 pre-presidency. I loved learning about the more personal side of Ike

Constructed in 1905, the Seelye Mansion is a historic piece of Kansas that has some fascinating…read morehistory.. 11,000 Square feet of a century+ of history. The one fact that blew me away was that Thomas Edison himself designed the electrical and lighting plans for the mansion. We saw an Iron that screws into a light socket in order to heat it up. Fascinating. The original furniture was in immaculate condition and you could feel the history. Furniture and decor purchased from the 1905 World Fair in Chicago was intriguing to me. I couldn't imagine moving all that 100+ years ago. The Box Bowling alley in the basement was my favorite. It was in great condition and you get to roll a couple of balls down the lane. Fantastic. The guide was phenomenal and really knew his stuff on the history of the Seelye family. The facts kept you engaged and I really got a feel of how this mansion was way ahead of it's time in the early 1900s. This is a must visit if in the Abilene area. Safe Travels!

Midwest road trip continues. And comes to an abrupt halt in Abilene, Kansas. At the Seelye Mansion…read more I say abrupt because I had my reservations about going here. My friend hasn't steered us wrong except one time she brought me somewhere and tried to get me high ... a story for another day. Anyway. It was the non-food highlight of the entire trip for me. I love history. I love museums. I especially love it when the tour guides are friendly, funny and know their sh*t. And you gotta love it when you're up close and personal with the artifacts to the point where you can sit and play on a Steinway. Listen to music on the Phonographs. Bowl on their old school bowling alley. More on that later. The house and its contents are preserved and well cared for. The current owner even lives on site but other than a few modern touches, you wouldn't be able to tell. See pics of a glimpse of what you'll see. Touch. Smell. Hear. And know that if you're in Abilene - this place is a must. As for bowling. I choked. Hard to follow after someone who rolls a perfect frame. At least it was for me. I rolled two gutters, scored a five.

Great attraction. First floor includes more traditional museum type exhibits and is geared to…read moreadults AND young people. There is a lot of history and information on the tall grass prairie. The 2nd floor includes a lot of interactive exhibits and displays and is geared primarily for kids. Not much for adults. The third level includes an outdoor terrace. The weather today was not conducive to enjoying the outdoor environment. Adults- allow 1-2 hours. Adults with kids - allow more.

There are so many educational displays in this discovery center. They really make it fun to learn…read moreabout tallgrass prairies. I thoroughly loved all of the displays, the view of Manhattan from the rooftop, and the educational and enjoyable immersive theater. Do not miss the 15 minute theater experience where they engage all of your senses to learn about the Flint Hills. It's worth visiting Manhattan just to explore this place.

The good: There is a huge amount of information on a lesser known topic, and you can see actual…read moreretired racing greyhounds on the premises! The museum staff are friendly and helpful, and you can tell they like dogs. The bad: The sport is controversial now due to animal rights and the rise of other legal sports betting. The museum feels a bit dated and behind the times, but it's also a deep glance into this sport that was once more popular than horse racing. You can easily spend an hour here learning about the origins of greyhound breed, as they show up in ancient Egyptian art and in Arabian stories! They also have lots of trophies and racing paraphernalia. However it can be a little tough seeing how the dogs were kept and maintained to race. It was an interesting look into racing's past when these dogs were celebrities of sport. We are still digesting the exhibits and how we feel about it!

One of a kind! Two beautiful greyhounds greeted us as we walked into the door. Everything and…read moreanything you want to learn about greyhounds.

If you're in town, check this place out, and ask for a free tour. The tour was amazing.read more

What a great experience! The Salina Art Center has rotating art exhibits featuring amazing artists…read morewith works that create exchanges between the artist and the audience that promote conversation and thought. They focus on art that reveals life and dialog. The center also has the Art Center Cinema that offers Indie films, and off the beaten path films. Anything that is shown here is not seen at a mainstream theater. The cinema is very provides Salina with an alternative to movies being shown. Often their movies are on the Golden Globe or Oscar list of movies. The center is also very focused on education and offers families and children numerous options for art classes. Their schedule can be found online.

If you're in the area, this museum is well-worth a visit. Very extensive history of the Salina…read morearea. I learned a lot.

Great museum right off the main downtown strip. It's free (request donations) which is always a…read moreplus. Lots of historical information with a replica of a cabin from the settlement days. I enjoyed the industrial section related to flour mills. There are old stone grinding wheels and sacks from the different manufacturers. The gift shop is full of made in Kansas items, soap, honey, candles, marbles (news to me that marbles are made in Kansas) BBQ sauce and lots of books about Kansas. If you find yourself in Salina, Kansas definitely check out this museum.

What a great little car museum! We spent about two hours seeing the "Oddities" exhibition…read moreyesterday and had a blast. Lots of interesting cars--the Batmobile, a Wankel motorcycle, a DeLorean, bunches of custom hot rods, etc. You don't need to be a car enthusiast to enjoy this museum. They introduce a new exhibit every quarter, so there's always something fresh to see.

In town for my nephew's graduation for KWU and he informed us about this new muscle car garage…read moremussuem.. The staff was friendly and accommodating. They have a bar station where you can pour yourself a nice cold beer or wine to take with you as you tour the museum. Perfect pairing. The muscle cars, hot rods and custom cars were in immaculate condition. I appreciated the display signs in front of each car that gives a one paragraph history. The perfect summary size in my opinion. There's plenty of interactive displays throughout this museum. Touch Screen quizzes complete with visuals. Simulators: A welding, car painting and race car simulator were fun to check out. They had a Boy Scout PInewood Derby track that brought me back to my Junior High School days. There's tons of toy play stations throughout the museum that keeps the kids busy while the parents are exploring. I saw a coloring station, lego station and toy race tracks and garage complete with cars to play with. There was a mini-theater that had an informative muscle car movie playing and a library/reading area to relax and check out some car books. There was so much to see and do throughout this muscle car museum. It's absolutely social media friendly as well as educational. This is a definite must visit if you have the time while in Salina. Buckle Up!