Great way to spend a bit of time walking around the historic village. There are 20 buildings all…read moreconnected with an outdoor courtyard. Wyatt Erp house, mill, carving shop, bakery, museum, and forge. For just a bit of money it's a great way to spend an hour or so. Then you get to take a guided tour through the windmill and miniature Dutch village. It was amazing to go up inside the windmill and see the process of how they grind the flour. You can purchase bags of the stone ground flour in the mill's gift shop or you can go to Jarsema bakery and get mill ground wheat rolls. It's a great tour and really interesting!! I will be back during the tulip festival to see the shops working!!!

My family and I absolutely loved our experience here. It starts with a guided tour of the windmill…read more During the tour you learn about the Netherlands, see a wonderful miniature village setup, and then go into the mill and see the windmill in action. Our two daughters (5 and 7) got a little bit bored when the guide was talking about the mill but they absolutely lived the miniature village (it really is magnificent). After the guided part of the tower you can go through the little village of out buildings at your own pace. We loved this! We spent several hours here and thought it was well worth the money ($10 for adults and $2 for kids).

A long time in the making, the Ames Historical society has worked hard to assemble the history of…read morethe city. The pictures and story are presented in a very compelling way. Stop in and enjoy!

If you want to be remembered or leave a legacy, support the work of this museum. They need more…read morespace for exhibitions, a proper store for merchandising, climate-controlled space, in an extraordinary building. Surely, those whose families have built and sustained this community can come forth and donate the resources to make this the kind of place residents can be proud of. Currently housed in the Ames Cultural District next to an historic landmark and across the street from the Octagon Center for the arts, this wonderful museum is packed with historical items waiting to be displayed, used for research and exhibits worthy of this fine city. They need more volunteers, donors, members, and storage in order to stage the kind of exhibits that do justice to those who grew up here, studied here, and conducted business here. New exhibits on the craft beer industry and education are currently in process. How do you want to be remembered?

I'm so glad that a close friend encouraged me to visit this excellent venue, as it led to a…read morefantastic afternoon on Iowa State's main campus. We came on an afternoon with basketball games sandwiched on either side of our arrival and experienced zero issues. Easy parking and the venue are free with a suggested $8 donation. Their extensive collection is varied and covers many types of art. I enjoyed the Will Wilson photography on display and appreciated their "Talking Tintypes," which used iPad or Smart Phone tech to highlight Wilson's pieces. I thoroughly loved Josh Simpson's "Imaginative Journeys in Space and Sea," a phenomenal collection of complex and unique glasswork. I appreciated the accompanying video that dove into how the works were created. His "MegaPlanet" was incredible. In addition, two other works in the central portion of the museum were memorable - Yoshida's "Sacred Bridge" and Koitsu's "Lake Yamanaka." They have monthly events that I look forward to attending, and Brunnier is open 10-4 daily during the week, and 1-4 on the weekend.

From the owner: University Museums is a distinctive organization that encompasses two art museums, a National…read moreHistoric Landmark historic home museum, a sculpture garden, and one of the largest campus public art collections in the nation. University Museums brings world-class exhibitions with educational programming to Iowa State University, actively acquires works of art to add to the more than 30,000 permanent collection objects, conserves and preserves collections, conducts and publishes curatorial scholarship, and fosters student engagement.

I got to say I have been to the State Historical Museum a few times now but this was my first time…read morewhere I actually walked through the whole Museum and I was kinda blown away! Seriously! They have a fantastic hands on area for kids... (Seriously kids could be entertained in here for hours!) I love the Iowa in film section.. The Raigbrai section ruled too. And all the Civil War and historical stuff was fantastic as well! I don't know why it took me so long to actually got through this museum! It was a blast and oh wait for it.. Did I mention it was FREE! The staff of guys sitting there greeting folks was super cool and kind and offered us a map and gave us a few tips! I loved this.. So cool. I kinda wanna go back already!

Want to learn more about this amazing state? Then plan your trip to take a tour of the exhibits at…read morethe Historical Building. Conveniently located near a free parking ramp and the State Capitol building (while you're at it, take a tour there too!). This building also hosts events. I have attended a roof top wedding reception and a day long symposium is the auditorium.

Not sure where the other reviewers got their information, but the museum is NOT closed. We just…read morevisited the Pioneer heritage Museum and did photo ops with their restored 1920s era gas station the weekend of Friday August 23rd, 2013.

There's a museum for everything, isn't there?…read more Not all of 'em are good. Some of them have fancy names, but clearly the museum founders' idea was grander than the reality. Some of 'em look funky or cool on the outside, but are just a dumpy old house on the inside. And some of them sound puzzling, but turn out to be pretty cool. This one is one of those. It IS good. No, it's GREAT. Goes in the "small-ish but well-thought-out and interesting" bin. Lots of things you didn't know, probably hadn't considered before. Nice section on how it might feel to be forced to be a refugee by your own country, and what it feels like to try to make a home in America - completely different in too many ways from where you came from. And surprisingly unwelcoming in too many ways, as well. Even the gift shop is fun. Take a look at the cookbooks. Your (or your friend's) aunt from the Old Country with the thick-but-cool accent probably made you a couple of recipes you'll find in there. You probably liked them, rolling home stuffedly after a filling, tasty lunch. Mm. Won't take you more than a couple of hours to go through the place, so you'll have time to do other stuff - UNLESS you stop in the library. If you have any family connection at all to Czechia or Slovakia or the neighborhood, you'll WANT to stop in there. If you think about it, bring your best version of your family tree. The library has lots of fun books to dig into, from books about the countries to books containing manifests of ships bringing refugees covering many decades. With the help of a very nice research librarian, we found mention of a Kabatnik coming over some time in the late 1800s. Might or might not be related, but it was fascinating to not only see the name in a passenger list, listen to the librarian's surmise about why they came here when they did. He also gave us more ideas about where and how to look for more information (hint - ancestry.com ain't all it's cracked up to be). Go there. If you're of Czech or Slovak ancestry, you GOTTA go there.

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.

This is one of those gems not to be messed. Henry Moore what's a local resident who made 1"/1'…read morescale handmade models his town and the surrounding communities with such skill and expertise that is simply boggles the mind. I've never seen anything like it. This all comes from an age-long passed when people had skills to make anything by hand. Henry Moore had an incredible talent the likes of which aren't ever likely to be seen again. We visited this place seven years ago and were completely blown away with what we found. This was our third visit and our teenagers love it. The beauty of his models are beyond belief and they took up a great amount of time to create. Do yourself and your family a big favor and visit this place.

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

I love the art museum! It's such a great little treasure for Cedar Rapids. There are a bunch of…read moreGrant Woods, as well as some of his students typically on display. The staff is friendly and accommodating. I've been there on my own and with a group of work people. There's an upstairs gallery, as well as the downstairs. The gift shop has tons of cute things for an art follower to enjoy, and would be great for gifts for any art connoisseur. My favorite thing is on the landing between the first and second floor. It's a converted cigarette machine that pops out art! If you ask the staff, you can exchange money for tokens, and receive your very own piece of art for only $5! We have these cool little dogs paintings. I would highly recommend the museum for a rainy afternoon!

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 stopped in on my way through Waterloo. I haven't been to the museum since I was little. It is…read moredelightful. Just the right size for a short stop, yet packed with great information and insights. The displays and interactive activities are well done and good for all ages. Thank you for persevering all this history.

Good sized museum with plenty of information about local history and some science topics. One thing…read moreI really liked was all the different options for fun photo opportunities that are good for both children and adults. These are arranged on two separate floors that are fairly well spaced so that you have plenty of room to explore, even with other patrons inside the museum. The displays are done well, with plenty of artifacts shown in a realistic setting and well written explanations of what the visitor is looking at. Overall, a nice place to spend a few hours learning and exploring.