We stopped in to Butte on our cross country drive and visited the mining museum after lunch in…read moretown. They offer military and other discounts on their entrance fee The gift shop area includes information on local, current mining operations as well as merch. This is an outdoor museum so dress for the weather. If you want to take the under ground tour be sure you are wearing closed toed shoes. (Crocs not included, I don't know why) They also have above ground tours. Part of the property is set up like a western town. Something that would grow up around a mine. Post office, apothecary, carpenter, blacksmith, etc, etc. All these buildings are set up with window displays but most are not open to the public. You just peer thru the windows. There is a memorial garden to miners. A mine yard with pieces of heavy equipment. The motorized lift, miners locker room, light room, information and equipment used in dry and wet boring, 3D representations of mines and more with information posted on the displays. You can walk up into the mine head if you are so inclined to see how the ore chutes operated. We spent about two hours here without realizing it. Very interesting museum. Staff are very personable, answered questions and suggested reading material for more on the subject. Very good, family friendly stop.

It's a little on the pricey side but very informative. The mine tour is also impressive and Ken is…read moreknowledgeable and a great guide and makes it fun for the kids and adults

This museum is really cool because they have actual working instruments inside, most of them are…read more100+ years old, and it's crazy to think of the technology that it took at the time to make a piano, or a band play "electronically" Cost about a dollar to play multiple different instruments and player pianos, it gets quite noisy in there, out back are some of the old town homes and buildings. They do have some museum workers, who are very informative and will teach visitors the history of the buildings end of the city. It's a great place to take families.

While vacationing in Montana, Fall 2020, we traveled the "Ghost Town" route as described in the MT…read morestate tour guide. If you must travel to Virginia City MT area; DON'T STOPP, KEEP GOING. DON'T LOOK BACK, KEEP GOING. If you think that you want to be ripped off just through your money out of your window as you pass Julie and her Gems and KEEP GOING. She will be happy to take it! Wave at the shady looking characters literally hanging out the door at the local saloon across the street from Julie's Gems because they will be staring at you as you drive by. Take my advice; the whole state of MT especially this area is not for tourist. You are not safe or welcome. Just stay on the interstate and KEEP GOING. We made the mistake of stopping into Julie's Gems in Virginia City. Bought a Yogo Sapphire ring for $550, a strand of turquoise beads for $12, and Julie insisted we take a free book which we didn't want. Julie overcharged us for the beads and then lied about it when confronted after we got home. I took the ring to my jeweler to be sized and the jeweler looked at it (Microscope) and handed it back to me stating the sapphire had a chip. I confronted Julie and she said sure send it back. I sent it back to her and she gave the runaround on what was happening with it. I requested a refund. Then all of a sudden she stated that it had been repaired and she mailed it back to me. WHAT? Just how did you repair or replace the stone? With what? This is just wrong! I had no say in what was done with the ring. It is my money! I never received the ring so I started to find ways to recover my money. She actually committed fraud with my bank. Every time anybody talked to her about this she presented more lies, was misleading, was misrepresenting, performed scamming and theft. It went from I tried to pry out the stone and damaged the ring to my jewelry damaged it when sizing it. Again the Jeweler never had it in their possession. Also after the purchase while trying to get my funds returned, she stated to me no guarantee on Yogo sapphires, and then suddenly came up with an enormous restocking fee, to overcharging for the beads, to paying for the free book. She even hired an attorney to avoid paying $620 that is rightfully my money. Beware! I have been to the District Attorney and Attorney General in an attempt to resolve this matter and the local Sherriff. They all said Julie broke no laws. YES this is apparently legal in MT.  I keep getting told this is legal and it's a civil issue go to small claims. Well guess what? MT does not make it easy for an out of state tourist to file small claims. You have to travel to MT to file the claim then travel again for court. Civil court you need an attorney which would cost more than $620! We never felt comfortable while in this area and with this ordeal it is apparent to me that if you are not part of the "Good Old Boy's Club" stay away. The law is not there to protect you. You are on your own.  This is especially if you are a person of color or one of those protected groups. I'm sure if Julie sees this review she will come back with even more lies!

The name says Prison Museum, but you are really visiting an extensive collection of automobiles…read more(and before they were automated), a prison used until 1961, a toy museum and art. Spread over four buildings (well, the prison is a lot of buildings) on both sides of the street. So it's more than an old prison. To begin with, the prison grounds are under going some repair work. Pathways are being repaired, stair ways closed off. There is a lot of walking outdoors to see the areas open to the public so be sure you are dressed for the weather. Cells in the new prison and women's prison are open including the 'hole' and other cells used for punishment. The guide book tells you about those. Dining room, job placement office, social services, visitor room, 'the tunnel', shower room and clinic are some of the sites you can see or enter. Signs around the property give information. The auto collection goes on and on. From horse drawn on thru the years it's quite the collection. Each vehicle has a bit of info. A small display shows the Yellowstone trail which states that was the first trans-continent roadway from Boston to Seattle. Never heard of that and now I want to know more. The museum has an annual fund raiser to support museum upkeep. Buying raffle tickets helps keep the doors open. This years raffle is a 1965 Mustang GT! Drawing is in December and tickets are a tenner each. Go get ya some. We arrived after lunch and did not have time to view the other two museum locations across the road. We did however have time to get some ice cream from the shop near the entrance before getting back on the road. Also, there is a little free library at the entrance where you can take one or leave one. We parked street side. Restrooms are off the gift shop. Deerlodge is a cute little town with a National Park on the other end that is well worth a visit as well. A very family friendly stop.

Such a unique experience to see a big piece of Montana history. This prison was the first in the…read morestate and was the state prison through the late 1970's. You can definitely feel the impact from those who served sentences here.

Disappointed!! Well, it does have a great story behind them but it stops there. At $15.00 per…read moreperson, pretty pricey. While I agree that it's always best to keep an old historical building in its original condition, preservation. Is important. But, the new owners took control In 2018, and they still have so many rooms still being used for storage. Very disorganized. It smells horrible and the damp floors were soft and in some places, it felt like the floorboards were going to collapse from under me. I'm actually surprised, the City hasn't condemned it yet. Interestingly, it was the longest running Brothel in the US.... 1890-1982 !! The downstairs area, as told, has been kept original, including booze bottles, curtains & cigarette butts. Rugs, wet walls & I'm sure the bedding is what is smelling. But.....by being on the Historical Records, it should not allow the extensive condition of this place. I don't know.., but, there has to be Reconstruction Grants available. I wouldn't pay that price for this condition of a museum. Very sad.

One of my favorite museums to visit in Montana, the Dumas Brothel is currently the longest running…read morebrothel in the U.S., and it has a unique history that speaks to Butte's history and the history of women's labor. Our guide, who owns the building with her husband, was friendly and super knowledgeable about history, the women who worked at the brothel, the brothel's founders, and the building's architecture. We learned that the brothel is built in the Victorian style, and it was constructed specifically to be a brothel. Many of the rooms contain relics from the past that you can check out, including clothing, makeup, bedding, furniture, and more. I know the owners are still working on restoring the place and it's looking great. My favorite part was either the upstairs, where you could see red lights and the Madame's room, or the basement, which was a bit harrowing and slightly haunted, in my humble opinion. It was really interesting to think about the circumstances surrounding women's labor in Butte, and how this line of work could have both empowering and difficult elements. In terms of Butte museums, this was the one I enjoyed most.

The little house has a nice story on how it became to be here and made into a museum. We came…read morethrough town mid Oct. when it was closed however the wonderful ladies that volunteer here happen to be putting up lights on buildings and fencing on the property for the holidays before the snow got too deep. So while we were taking pictures and peeking in the windows a sweet lady came over and opened the door and let us in and told us about the school house and a little history. It was a wonderful group of women who made this happen and if you happen to be driving into the area make sure you stop in and say hi. I believe their season in Memorial to Labor Day.

Set off on the side of Gallatin Road, lost next to a nearby business, Little Bear School House…read moreMuseum caught my eye only because of the mismatch between the nearby modern business and the small, little-house-on-the-prairie building with the big sign. Although the museum was listed as open according to the hours posted, there was no one there. I was limited to peering in the windows to see a traditional one-room school house with a few desks and various era-specific items on the walls and shelves. There was also an information desk with what looked like flyers on the history of the school house. I was able to spend time freely walking on the property, looking at the rusted farm implements and the nearby fields from the well-manicured grass and the small gazebo located a short walk away from the school house. After catching a glimpse of what was probably the outhouse located several yards from the school building, I decided I would refrain from complaining about how tough I had it walking two blocks to school in the snow. Perspective. This museum gives perspective.

Make sure to take time to visit this awesome little museum that chronicles the Chinese in the area…read more Around the corner is the oldest continuously operating Chinese restaurant in the U.S.! The curator was friendly and of course knowledgeable.

I'm not really a fan of museums, since I find them a bit boring, as all you do for the most part is…read morejust walk around looking at artifacts and taking pictures. Big deal, you can just look up pictures online. But this museum is basically an artifact in itself. It's the site of an old Asian noodle parlor and general store from back in the early 1900s, and every effort has been made to preserve the original structure so as you're walking through it, you can really appreciate what it must have been like to be a customer back then. And of course as with any museum they do have artifacts on display, like old menus, plates, merchandise, etc, but when you see it in its original setting it's quite impressive. Plus the entry fee is only $8 so skip your latte at Starbucks for a day and visit this place instead!

If you enjoy house museums, then you should definitely take time to visit this house. The house has…read morelimited furniture, but it has a unique history and floor plan. The entrance fee is only $7 for adults.

They do a lot of community events and tours go towards historic preservation of the building and…read morepublic programs. Lots of information throughout the house and rotating gallery exhibits.

This was my first time that I've ever been into a museum dedicated to minerals. I was really…read moreimpressed by the gigantic variety of minerals from around the world. In my opinion, it's way better than the mineral collection at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. There are two floors to explore and there is even a gift shop where you can buy minerals and prehistoric fossils! You can buy real pure gold for 3 dollars a bottle!!! Folks, this place is a gem. Admission is free.

I took my two daughters, 2 & 4, to the museum mid-afternoon on a Wednesday and we spent a hour…read moreroaming it. There were only two other visitors the whole time we were there. The museum is on the third floor and the rest of the building is an active campus building with lots of college kids studying and learning about geology. It was a beautiful older college building. The museum is in a beautiful old room, it looks like it used to be a presentation hall and is well laid out with lots of glass cases. I would recommend this museum to anyone. The cost (free) is reasonable, the information and display of artifacts was impressive. If you find yourself in Butte and have some spare time, definitely visit the Mineral Museum.