I want to give this place a higher rating as the staff are friendly and the pirate ship room is…read morequite fun, but several of the areas had things that were broken or not functional. The xray lightbox didn't turn on, the cash registers in the supermarket didn't open, several of the toys were quite old, run down, and no longer working...the microscope plugged into the computer but the computer was not accessible. I'd say that the libraries in the area are stocked with comparable construction and train equipment, and those are free, so for needing to pay entrance for myself and my 3 year old, I was expecting the displays and equipment to be in better working condition.

My 3 year old son had a great time during the 2.5 hours we spent here. He could have stayed longer…read morebut we did not have the time. I really liked several of their available activities such as the PVC "organ", the topographic sand table, and the laser wall. My son was most impressed with the sandbox room, and we nearly had a meltdown getting him out of it! However, I was disappointed that several items in the creative play areas were broken or missing. For example, the scanner was broken off of the cash register in the grocery store, and some of the wooden trains were in sad condition. The x-ray equipment in the animal hospital was not working either. The woman staffing the museum was also very friendly and helpful.

Today was my first time taking the kids here and I'm surprised I did not come sooner. The space was…read morewell used. There's a lot of room to run around play and explore. The parking was not bad. There was several bathrooms. I like they had a snacking area snacks that you can also buy there. The staff was walking around cleaning and organizing the whole 2 1/2 hours we were there sometimes it was a little chaotic but overall this was a great experience.

We took our kids this weekend. They are 2.5 and almost 5. They both had so much fun running…read morearound, playing dress up, doing crafts. It is a great sensory experience. We will definitely be back!!!

We visited the museum as the Flood Museum was, ironically, closed due to water damage. The change…read morein itinerary ended up being a good thing as the Center was surprisingly informative, interactive as we toured the Center as a particular immigrant, and the staff were super helpful! Barb guided us through the flood exhibit on the third floor & recommended other places in town to visit & eat at. We also hope to bring our grandkids back to visit the children's area.

This is well worth visiting if you're in the Johnstown area, or even coming out from Pittsburgh if…read moreyou're looking for a good children's experience. It embraces the town's heritage while keeping it fun for the kids. Sadly, most of the negative reviews on here are out of date and don't really apply anymore. We became members and took our kid here every day for the last three days and he never tired of it! He loved all the interactive experiences and toys, but especially going up through the coal mine and slide. He loved the kitchen area and the DJ booth. The other kids there seemed to all be really enjoying themselves there, too. We have been to about a dozen kids' discovery centers in two different countries in the past two years and this is one of the better ones, if not the best. The employees do an excellent job keeping the place clean and tidy, and are friendly, too. Previous old reviews seemed to complain that several things were broken or worn out, but that wasn't the case now.

We visited the Lewisburg Children's Museum on a Saturday and had a great experience, especially…read morewith their dinosaur-themed STEAM Saturday activity. The museum was easy to find, and while the parking lot isn't very large, we didn't have any issues. There are both stairs and an elevator to access the museum upstairs. The layout is simple and easy to navigate, with one main entry point into the space. Inside, there are multiple themed rooms including space, farming, mining, a body-focused area, a dress-up theater, and a grocery store modeled after Weis Markets, which was a fun and realistic touch. There are also ride-on cars in the hallway that were a big hit with my kids. We stayed about 2.5 hours and could have stayed longer. Even with other families there, it never felt overcrowded kids seemed to rotate naturally between rooms. Overall, it's a well-designed, hands-on children's museum that keeps kids engaged and moving. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.

This is a great place to take younger children for some fun and education. Make sure to call ahead…read moreto schedule an appointment. Due to Covid they are selling tickets for entry for timeslots. You can make a day of it, there are many great places to eat in the surrounding area.

This place was very cool. You have to call to arrange a tour. It was $15 for 2 hours, which you…read moredefinitely need in this place. It is cash only! Miss Pamela is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her collection. There are 2 floors filled with Halloween and witch paraphernalia. Each room has a story to it- this includes a witch room (and the Salem witch trial), a Harry Potter room, a nightmare before Christmas room, a costume room, a games room, and much much more. She doesn't do bloody, gory things but delves more into the history of the eras, especially the artwork. This place is amazing and definitely the place to go when you're near Altoona.

Miss Pamela has the most extensive collection of Halloween memorabilia; showcased in her very own…read morebeautiful Victorian home. She has been collecting for over 50 years. Starting with the Victorian era, and working her way up to 2020. She does not believe in blood, and guts...so her pieces actually tell stories of old fables from around the world. She is a wealth of knowledge, and values each one of her pieces as if they were her children. She is truly dedicated to finding someone who will take over when she is no longer with us, and deem her house a public museum once and for all. You need to call ahead for appointments. Her tours are either one hour, or two hours long. And believe me I thought one hour would be plenty...In reality I could have spent the whole day. It's all based on donations, but no less then $10 per person for the hour tour, $15 per person for two hour tour. However, in the end you will want to give her so much more, including a hug if it weren't for Covid times. Please wear a mask the whole time. She is touring you through her private home...Be respectful. Pamela, I hope your goals are meet, and your home becomes a permanent part of this world. We definitely need more people like you. Thank you for sharing your passion with us.

Never realized the history behind railroading, and how important the railroad industry shaped…read moreAltoona, PA. If you enjoy knowledge, trains and interactive displays, and learning this is the museum to check out. Great staff, reasonable gift shop, be sure to check out the Horseshoe Curve as well. There are even old models in the rail yards, and a current train their working on that moment. Perfect for travelers, locals, and everyone be sure to check it out.

This place is great I wouldn't bring kids nine and over because this place is a little boring for a…read morelittle kids and there's a lot to read and all the stuff other than that. It's really cool and don't forget when you're done checking out all the floors to go outside to the round house and check out the round house.

We took my 3 preteen cousins here as part of a fun little Saturday adventure. With them being teens…read moreI wasn't sure if they would enjoy it but they really did! The activities were great and really insightful into history. They also LOVED the reenactment on the lawn.

We arrived with a group of 6 Cub Scouts (First Graders). We were denied entry because we hadn't…read moremade a reservation in advance. Super unhelpful staff

It has been a while since I have visited The Little Museum so a few weeks ago I decided to stop…read moreback down and take a tour. I hear grumbles all the time from people all the time that aren't native to the area that there is nothing to do around the area. No brain food or nothing culturally important. I find it strange that the back bone of our nation, the little industrial towns that helped build this country are so often forgotten. The Little Museum has a wealth of information about Cameron County's little slice of Americana. The Little Museum can be a easy to miss if you are driving down 120, but if you are looking it should be easy enough to find. The museum itself is an old school house painted a stereotypical white. After parking I was greeted by one of the Museum's Guides who was quick to welcome me and offered to guide me through the exhibits. Admission appeared to be free, but I placed a $5 bill in a large glass jar with a donations sign on it anyway. The Museum consists of 3 main rooms all of which are nearly packed with old artifacts of the of the area. The first room on the tour mainly deals with work and industry. Everything from the factory worker to the farmer is covered in the well persevered products and tools of their trades. The second room is mostly about the daily home life of the people from the 1800s up to the mid 1900s. Everything from school desks to a curling iron that would cause half the people working at the under writer laboratories to have a panic attack. You can look at some of the objects for quite a while and have no idea what it is until the tour guide explains what it is and why it was so important. This room also contains posters and a bit of information about the Western movie star Tom Mix, who was born nearby. The last room is a Military room. It was much darker than the rest of the museum and as you step into the room you know this room is different. Pictures, models, medals, and weapons of war fill the walls and display cases. Like most little towns Emporium and its satellite towns they are very proud of those who served. The collection was very well preserved and maintained in a dignified manner. After the tour was over I brought up my phone and tried to check into The Little Museum on yelp and noticed there was no information on it. After talking with the people at the museum they agreed to let me take a few pictures (not normally allowed) so I could let the world know that such an amazing chunk of history existed out in the middle of no where. Staffed and maintained by volunteers and sustained by donations there is no place I have ever visited like The Little Museum. When I walked out of those old school house doors I wanted to world to know that it was here, it has been for a long time, and hopefully always will be to help preserve and protect the history of Pennsylvania.

Absolutely love, I've been here a dozen times and can't wait to visit again! So much to see!read more

First thing you should know about this place is that it is a rather small museum. The next thing…read moreyou should know about this place is that it is aimed towards children. With those two things you should be well prepared to visit this place. The cool about this place is that it is housed in a historically recognized building that used to be the town's post office. They did an excellent job restoring the building and even kept the vault to place an exhibit in on how to use a shelter in case of a weather emergency. The museum has a small fee to enter, $8 for an adult. Each entry fee goes directly to the museum for maintaining what they have to offer. The sweet lady that was working the day I visited was very forthcoming with information about this place and knew all the details. The museum is was rather empty when I was here, but that is probably because I visited on a weekday while schools where all in and it was between holidays. This did allow me to see and interact with all of the museum without interruption. There is a lot of interaction in this museum, almost every exhibit is one where you have to interact with. The newest interactive exhibit is the one where you can mold the sand to change the elevation on the table to understand how elevation plays in the placement of water. There are many other exhibits to play with here. You can try your shot at doing the weather with a green screen. Produce the winds for a thunderstorm. Slide down the slide to the sounds of a tornado. Honestly there are so many interactive exhibits that tell you about the weather. With Punxsutawney claiming to be the Weather Capitol of the World, this is a fitting museum. They also have a meteorologist hall of fame with some local meteorologist from the Johnstown, Altoona, and Pittsburgh area. Most notable in this is Jim Cantrone from The Weather Channel. He gifted the museum one of his jackets that he signed. Overall, a great place to pass some time, and not a bad place to take some kids. Definitely worth a try if in the area.

The target market for the weather discovery center would be small children. It was interesting…read morethat it used to be an old post office and you could see how the postmaster used to spy on workers to make sure they weren't stealing things from the mail. The day we went they were upgrading the green screen so the lady gave us a $1 off our tickets. I was bummed we couldn't pretend to predict the weather. The other stations that the weather discovery center has are childish but if that is what you are looking for then it is fantastic! You could spend hours here with children. They have free parking to the right of the discovery center, but it is difficult to pull out of the parking lot.

We've always wanted to walk through the Palmer Museum but finally had an opportunity to do so when…read moreit started raining during our summer visit. Palmer is free although you do have to pay for parking which was still inexpensive. The Palmer has a wide variety of art. It's comprehensive without feeling overwhelming. The docents are also very knowledgeable and told us about the history of the museum. (Thank you, Dottie!) The building is only a few years old, and the architecture takes advantage of the adjacent arboretum which is also free and worth a stroll. Leave yourself 60-90 minutes to enjoy all the exhibits.

Palmer Museum of Art…read more I happened upon the Palmer Museum of Art while on a work trip and, to be honest, I wasn't expecting much more than a small university gallery. Instead, I found a surprisingly thoughtful and well-curated collection that easily rivals many regional museums. The museum itself is beautifully designed, bright, modern, and inviting without feeling overwhelming. The galleries flow naturally, making it easy to wander from room to room and spend more time than you originally planned. What struck me most was the range of the collection. From American paintings to contemporary works, the pieces are presented with care and clear interpretation, making the experience enjoyable whether you're a serious art lover or just a curious visitor with an hour to spare. For a museum located on a university campus, the quality of the collection is impressive. Several pieces made me stop longer than expected, and the curation feels intentional rather than simply academic. It's the kind of place where you go in thinking you'll do a quick walk-through and end up lingering. If you happen to be in the area, even for work, it's absolutely worth a visit. The Palmer Museum of Art is a reminder that sometimes the most rewarding cultural experiences are the ones you discover by accident. Topped the museum with a visit at the Creameryas recommended by the docent.