I took my grandchildren to this museum and we loved it! 4 Floors. Lots of history. Activities for…read morethem. And affordable! The two ladies at the front desk were so friendly.

The Chippewa Falls Museum of Industry and Technology has actually been in place for several years…read morenow. It started out as the Cray Research Museum and was located in one of the Cray Research Buildings but after the company began to shrink, the museum closed up and the displays went into storage. Later on the CFMI&T moved into a building in downtown Chippewa Falls with the Cray collection. I recently made a day trip to Chippewa County from our place in Upnorth. The visit was partially inspired by John McGivern's "Around the Corner" program from Milwaukee Public Television. He did an episode in Chippewa Falls a couple of years ago that was recently rebroadcast. (You can see it online, if you look for it.) The CFMI&T was featured, which I've wanted to see since it moved out of Cray Research. To be upfront, many years ago, I did some work for Cray Research in CF and the museum is located inside the building I used to work in. Former Crayons know the building was built by the Mason Shoe Company to house their MIS department (look THAT up in your Funk & Wagnall's) with a huge, raised-floor, environmentally controlled room. When the day came that computers didn't have to live better than humans, Mason sold it to Cray Research and it became a training building. Now the shared building houses the Boys & Girls Club, using the old computer room (the raised floor is gone) and the old training rooms house the museum. As you might expect, Cray Research is the keystone of the museum. Seymour Cray was a genius's genius and the founder of the company. Born and raised in Chippewa Falls, he had a storied career. During World War II, Mr. Cray was part of the team that broke the Japanese code. After the war, he was one of the founders of Control Data Corporation and he built the world's first supercomputer, in Lake Hailie, for CDC. He left CDC to open Cray Research and in 1976, sold the first Cray-1 supercomputer, serial number 1, to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. That Cray-1 is in the museum. Sometimes it is called the "Hotel Lobby Cray" (among other nicknames) because it resembles a circular sofa. The design was the secret to its speed because the C shape shortened the distance signals had to travel. You'll find lots more examples of Cray technology here along with memorabilia and interpretive signage. Enough techno-geek talk. Chippewa Falls is also home to lots of other industry. Chippewa Falls is home of Mason Shoes that built a business by selling shoes out of catalogs. (Even Radar O'Riley sold shoes out of a catalog in an episode of M*A*S*H.) The museum houses not only a shoe making display from Mason, but also examples of fire apparatus by Darley (want to see how a fire pump works?) and a display (pun intended) of retail displays from Kell Container (now Great Northern Corporation) still rolling out miles of corrugated cardboard every year. You can play with some educational "toys" from Hubbard Scientific (you probably used some in school science class) and there is a massive display of breweriana from CF's most famous industry, Leinenkugel's Brewing Company. It's a very interesting museum that is open limited hours. (Check first to be sure.) Chippewa Falls has a lot to offer, so afterward, you can relax and have a glass of wine at a local winery or maybe before the museum you can take a tour of Leinenkugel's. Before or after, be sure to take in the Chippewa Falls Museum of Industry & Technology.

Great brats and excellent selection of flavors!! Found this on our route while traveling and…read moredecided to stop. Will always be a stop from now on!!!

The cutest Orchard ever! With sheep, goats, ducks, chickens, bunnies, and kittens!…read moreFree admission and activities 40 varieties of apples and pears Pre- picked and u-pick pumpkins Deer apples for hunters Pumpkins and squash Orchard Walks Rabbits and fish pond Cutouts for photos Small children can pick a free small apple bag

Service was top notch thank you for the apples and pears boys had a great time and the scenery was…read morebreathtaking. The boys and I had a blast with the animals

Small liquor store in the middle of water street. I have a little bit of everything. The prices…read moreare decent. It's near a lot of student housing., Beer, wine, seltzer, cider.

Beautiful park, great events, very dog-friendly…read more Also, a great place to hunt in Pokémon GO.

Clean bathrooms, water fountains (ahem-in Wisconsin we call em bubblers), artwork, walking…read morelabyrinth, picnic pavilion, hiking & biking trails, as well as the confluence of the Chippewa & Eau Claire Rivers. Green spaces with trees and just a nice place to visit. We bicycled through, but we always have to stop because this spot is so relaxing & scenic!

Loved visiting Dells Mill!…read more We almost didn't stop because it was raining, but so glad we did. The property is gorgeous. Met a fabulous man named Lynn (friend of the owner) who told us about the renovations of the flour mill. We got to see the pulleys working and the water wheel. He took us throughout the mill and showed us how the dam was repaired. Such impressive work to see how it was restored. There's a store at the mill that sells homemade glazed donuts and other items. Would love to come back and see it when even more renovations are completed.

One of the most photographed places in Wisconsin. Now owned and run by the Amish who also sell…read moreAmish goods.

This place always is our go-to stop when going east of twin cities. It has a little for everyone…read morefrom toddler space to indoor playground upstairs. The water table is favorite of both our kids. I had to get a stuffed penguin in construction outfit when I saw the promotion.

This is the first children's museum I've been to that I've actually liked! We went on a Friday…read moreafternoon for something to do to avoid air quality warnings and I'm so glad we went. There were so many different activities and sections that I've never seen in play places before, like the car repair shop. Since it's so large, it also didn't feel like it was too crowded and overstimulation wasn't a problem. The water area was the favorite with testing out the water that launched the balls through tunes and mazes and even getting some to spin on water. The brain cave was also pretty cool with its colors. We also appreciated a separate toddler area that had the tree you could put leaves in and they shoot out the top. This kept us occupied for a long while. It's a little expensive for a family if you're not a member, but it was well worth it for us to break up a road trip and get some energy out. I highly recommend if you're in the area!

A small, quaint, but good museum to visit. Admission is only $8 but for students it is $4! They…read morehave a 10 minute video presentation on the history of logging in the area, and a small display. Outside the museum is where you get the best part of the tour- you get to go into 4 cabins, each differently depicting life during logging times. Overall, worth the price and very informative. PS- it's great for kids as well, there's a whole area for kids games featuring Paul Bunyan!

We needed a detour on our trip up to the Twin Cities so we saw this on line and stopped. Not a bad…read morelittle museum - pretty educational on the history of logging in the area. A short video is also good. The outdoor displays were also interesting and the staff was very helpful. Picnic tables are available.