Excellent museum, packed with interesting exhibits…read more Even old museum standbys get an interesting update. Gift shop is shockingly cheap, and full of great souvenirs and books. Its easy to spend at least a couple hours here, plus they have interactive planetarium shows and seasonal events. Definitely worth the admission fee!

I'll admit that the only thing about this museum that I experience was the basement, which to most…read morepeople is the most interesting part. What I'm talking about is the history of Kool Aid! Kool Aid is a brand we don't hear very much about anymore, unless we're talking about cults. But the town of Hastings does take pride that the founder of Kool Aid is from there. There is a huge detailed display about the evolution of Kool Aid, and its very cool to learn about. Remember the Kool Aid toys and collectibles we all grew up with, regardless of generation? They're all there. And you can also watch a montage of classic Kool Aid commercials while there. There's a statue of the Kool Aid Man outside the museum as well. I feel really bad that I didn't check out other parts of the museum (I think there are 3 floors...) as it talks about the natural history as well as the agriculture and cultural part of the town. But maybe for another time....

What an amazing haven of automotive history! So many interesting cars to see and take me back to…read moremy high school days when I first fell in love with Corvairs. They even have an Air B&B that's really nice. I'm told that they are just beginning and have plans to make this a world-class venue with all kinds of interactive exhibits. I know this will be a destination I will visit often.

Pretty good at showing what early settler life in the area was like in a variety of ways. The…read moremuseum exhibits -- in two separate buildings -- are slightly dated collections of objects and info about aspects of typical life. Then the Railroad Town gives depth to that experience, with relocated historic buildings staffed with living history. Considering the size of the town and daily operations, it makes sense that every building can't always be staffed -- and if they were, it'd sure take a long time to get through. The main exhibit building itself is a bit ridiculously grand: why is it surrounded by a moat and have fountains in the middle? That design would make more sense for an art museum maybe.

A huge amount of buildings and cool old things to see and touch! Our three and five year old…read moreenjoyed it and we stopped for lunch at the cafe which was very tasty. A worthwhile visit for sure! Friendly and fun workers there as well.

I've driven past The Archway more times than I can count, and every single time it's a moment of…read more"I've made it to Kearney!" It's one of those landmarks that immediately catches your eye and gives you that sense of arrival. Even though I haven't had the chance to go inside yet, the view of the arch from the highway is absolutely stunning, especially when the light hits it just right. I can already tell that the next time I'm in town, I'll definitely be stopping in to explore what's inside. If the exterior is this impressive, I can only imagine what the inside has to offer.

We visited The Archway and came away with mixed feelings--mostly because this just isn't a great…read morefit for families with very young kids. Ours are aged 8 and 2. When you enter, you're given a handheld device to scan exhibit numbers and listen to narration. In theory, it's a cool idea. In reality, it was tough to manage while chasing kids who were already 10-15 steps ahead. The device didn't always work smoothly, and trying to troubleshoot it mid-visit was frustrating. I eventually gave up and just narrated what I could myself. I expected we'd move through quickly because of the kids' ages, but the bigger issue is that the museum really isn't designed for younger audiences. Lots of stuff to read, pictures, very few artifacts, and of course, the handheld narration. That said--the displays themselves are beautifully done. You start by riding a very tall escalator "up a mountain" into the exhibit, which is a memorable entrance. I also went in thinking it would focus mostly on pioneers, but it's actually a broader (and well-done) journey through transportation history--pioneers, the railroad, automobiles, road trips, and more. One of the coolest features is that the museum spans over Interstate 80, and there are windows where you can look out over the traffic below. Where it fell short for me was in representation and storytelling. There was very little inclusion of Black history--only a brief mention of a Black pioneer. When covering the rise of car travel, it felt like a missed opportunity not to include the history of the Green Book. The exhibits often present travel as carefree and joyful, but that wasn't the reality for everyone. There's also a mining activity area (the typical "buy a bag and wash rocks" setup), which felt overpriced. One unexpected highlight: seeing people fishing outside the building. You can actually buy poles and bait inside, which my son was very interested in (we skipped it this time, but maybe next visit).

This place is hard to rate because I would give it a 10 on the content. And I would probably give…read moreit a 2 on the upkeep. I came here as a kid and I didn't remember that much but what I did remember was it was a pristine very well-maintained incredible collection of history and innovation and it still is an incredible place to see history and see innovation like you haven't seen anywhere else, it just needs a lot of love and care and the guy that started this thing it's just incredible the thought to bring all these things together and not to make money but just to show people the history an ingenuity of all the people that have contributed it's really incredible. This place is absolutely priceless and I don't even think you could put the value on this place just one piece of equipment could be worth several million dollars to someone and there's millions of items. If you haven't been come check this out spend a whole day and read the signs and see the things it's truly amazing. This place just simply needs attention and care. Walking through here I just thought this place needs to be the setting for night at the Museum three for every piece of equipment an article comes to life and they would get attention and people would come from everywhere to see this place and then they would start investing in the upkeep of this place. That's my idea of saving this place for everybody to see. It's stuck in the middle of nowhere Nebraska but it's worth the drive. They literally have innovations from every generation from the 1800s to The late 1900s. Everything from cars to tractors refrigerators record players pianos furniture airplanes weapons horseshoes blacksmith and even computers. As I said I visited this place as a kid with my parents and it was fun for me to come back. Although I've talked about this place to my wife 100 times I had decided I was content with just seeing it again on YouTube and she decided to book a weekend trip and come and see this place. A 6 Hour Drive but really fun and worth it, although a disappointment to see how some of the buildings are needing attention it's all about the mindset and the fact that one man decided to do this so that all of us could see this incredible collection of innovation. If you pay attention to some of the brands you'll see things that you recognize but the names are different meaning some products made it and some partners didn't. Sometimes The hyphen gets dropped, company names changes as the partner get out'd. They try their best to do chronological order of innovation and technology. And that's where you can see somebody looking at a product and saying I think I can do it better and then making their own. Brands that you don't see because they didn't make it or they got bought by the competitor. But all about the dream of making it big or making it better. I just realized my previous review was incomplete. My idea for making this place "Great Again". Is for this to be the setting for the next "Night at the museum" movie saga. As the normal theme of the movie the characters and items come alive at night. I mean this place has some incredibly stories. The movie set here would drive people back here and create an new interest in this place. Drive money back into the restoration of the buildings and facilities. I think it would be a hit and people will come from everywhere to see this place again

My seven year old son and I visited this amazing place yesterday. This was the main highlight of…read moreour mini vacation. If you are a history buff, this place is for you! If you are a motor head, this place is for you! If you a hunter, this place is for you! If you are a fan of airplanes, this place is for you! I was amazed with all the items that are within the 26 different buildings. The pictures attached is a small glimpse of what is beheld. The main facility is a former car dealership from probably the 30s or 40s. They have a camp site right next to the campus. There is also a sign for a motel, next door, they own, but it did not look active.

What a great little museum and very interactive! They had QR codes for certain areas that gave a…read moredescription of what you were seeing. They also had a special area for military memorabilia. Very interesting and worth the visit. They also had outbuildings that we weren't able to see because of time constraints. They should be very proud of what they've accomplished.

Great museum along I80. Great stuff for the kids, definitely worth the time out of the car on a…read morelong road trip.

We came for a field trip, and the staff seemed completely annoyed by the kids the whole time. They…read morewere trying to act like their teachers, instead of making things fun. I'm just saying, those people that work there should NOT be working with children.

The Edgerton Explorit Center is a stop on the 2023 Passport program and that is what brought us to…read moreAurora. Easy parking, great outdoor landscaping and a warm welcome was a great way to start our visit. Gift shop items were displayed in the lobby area and had a STEAM (science/technology/engineering/arts/math) focus. We toured the Doc Edgerton displays and activities (one was not working) that had interactive pieces. The central area would appeal to children of all ages with learn thru play components making bubbles, building blocks, pattern connections, memory sequence competitions and more. One of the stations was missing pieces but worker bees were swarming and resetting stations on our visit. Admission was $10 and you could spend 3-4 hours and keep busy. We did not make it down to the lower level. Restrooms needed attention, but we stopped during a busy time so that may have contributed. If you are looking for a fun place to spend a day immersed in learning and exploring with your children, this would be a great stop.

Best reloading dies for the price! To top it off, I broke the de-capping spindle on my 30-06…read moredie... my own carelessness I might add. Called Hornady and they replaced it, no questions asked. Outstanding customer service that stands by their product!

On Sat May 16th your 55 grain 223 ammo destroyed on of my rifles at Volusia Top Gun in Daytona…read moreBeach FL. They're one of your largest customers in Central FL. They shipped my rifle to you. It was evaluated by a gentleman named Matt Ritchie. He confirmed it was your ammo that was in my gun but then refused to do the right thing and replace my gun because he fired more ammo through the gun without issue. Read that again, your employee admitted it was your ammo but refused to replace my rifle. The range manager at Volusia Top Gun was the person shooting the gun when your round fluttered down the range and blue smoke came out of every opening in my gun. The owner of Volusia Top Gun can confirm that I go through many thousands of rounds of Hornady ammo every year. I'm currently sitting on a large stockpile of your ammo. I would appreciate somebody from Hornady reaching out to me and offering to do the right thing.

A few miles off the interstate and you have a fun place to relive the past. With over 200 classics…read morecars to view in person the scale of this place does not disappoint. $10 for adults and $6 for ages 17 and under you have unlimited time to see the cars, read the info about them and enjoy historical treasures. The inside of the place was 50,000 square feet, the size of a football field. We were treated and provided with information about the museums roots and where the cars came from. I'm not much of a car person but I even enjoyed myself. If you are passing through Nebraska on I-80 make the short detour. It's worth it.

Come and support this museum! The sweet lady at the front/cashier did an excellent job of sharing…read morethe history of the museum. It has seen its shares of up and downs and currently runs on donations. The amazing people that donate their beautiful vehicles for public viewing help to fund the museum. Our family loved viewing history through the automobiles. The exhibits update constantly. You never know which vehicles you may catch that have been in films or driven by famous people. There is a huge selection of cars from the early model Fords all the way to late model Chevys and Dodge.