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    Peoria Riverfront Museum

    4.1 (43 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

    Peoria Riverfront Museum Photos

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    Fredrick B.

    Peoria Riverfront Museum Is the only multi-disciplinary museum of its kind in the country. It is a non-profit multidisciplinary museum of art, science, history, and achievement. Representing a unique private/public partnership, the museum is privately funded by donors and members while operating in a building owned by the County of Peoria.

    Entrance
    Noel F.

    What a delightful museum! We drove up from St. Louis specifically for the Jim Henson exhibit, which was definitely worth the 2.5 hour drive and $20 ticket alone. The rest of the museum we did get to see while waiting in the long line was stellar. The Solititude exhibit had some cool pieces on loan from the Crystal Bridges in Bentonville. My friend was able to see a Planetarium show, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Apparently it's narrated live, not pre-recorded. Some of my experiences looking at the art were made ever better by some of the absolute friendliest museum staff I've ever encountered. They were happy to share fun facts and show you nuances in works. They seemed so happy to have so many new folks visiting - one of them told me they had tripled their prior attendance record. Wow! I'll definitely be back for a day trip in the future, what a neat place.

    Ryan J.

    Had a great time visiting Peoria and this museum with my wife. It wasn't too busy. Most of the foot traffic was in the Jim Henson exhibit. They had all the Muppets, videos, and sketchings on display. It is definitely worth seeing. We toured the other exhibits (e.g., Richard Pryor). There was less traffic in those. There were some cool things to see. The museum was clean, no issues there. There was a Christmas village set up outside with crafts and such. We stayed long enough to get access. There were your standard crafts, candles, dog treats, handmade items, etc. Industry Brewery was selling their beer (that was our first stop, haha). For the price, it definitely made a worthwhile visit.

    Joshua D.

    Review Visit: October 29th, 2012 The Peoria Riverfront Museum is the spiritual successor to the Lakeview Museum. The Lakeview Museum is a place that I cherished due to going there often as a kid. When they announced it was closing and they were going to build a new museum on the riverfront, I was excited and sad. Excited to see this new place yet sad at the closing of a childhood memory. Matt, Erin, and I decided to check it out as it was too late in the day to travel far but still early enough to see some sights. As we approached the counter and paid, I was super surprised at the cost to get in. I want to say it was around $15-18 a person. The museum was new, big and exciting so I was expecting a fee to get in but not that steep of one. Regardless of that, we paid and went about exploring. At the time of our visit, it was fairly empty so we had the entire place to ourselves. The first thing I got distracted by was this giant circulating thing hanging from the rafters. It was blue and slowly spinning. The thing was mesmerizing to watch. Erin and Matt had to remind me we had the rest of the museum to explore, so I finally looked away and we started walking around. Up first was a Caterpillar exhibit. The company Caterpillar is a huge part of the identity of Central Illinois. It's also one that I don't have much interest in. I grew up around people that worked for Cat, around Cat's production facilities and even worked for a company that worked for Cat for a few years after high school. I can say that I have had sufficient Caterpillar information in my life, so beyond seeing some of the displays, there was no interest in any of us on the overall showing. We moved on to some art hanging on the walls and a few other odds and ends to look at. At a certain point, I think we went down one level and encountered a kids and teens area. This was the REALLY interactive part of the museum. The stuff I like. We came across a lot of fun machines to play around with. One of them was a pitching machine that would measure your throwing speed. Another was an arm wrestling machine. If I remember right, you could set the resistance and try to force the metal arm down. You can see a glimpse of that in the photos below. We moved on from those and encountered some other things to play with but they were meant for little kids so we were too big for them. After that, we left. We spent maybe an hour here? I remember leaving and thinking... that's it? I do feel like we missed something. There is a planetarium in the museum but after paying the hefty fee to get in, we were kind of strapped for cash and we weren't sure if they were showing anything at the time of our visit. I would love to return as they have a revolving main exhibit that always seems interesting. They had a Lego one at some point but I couldn't find anyone else that liked Legos enough to go check it out. I really do think we came at a time when there wasn't a big exhibit going on and we only got to experience half of what the museum has to offer. Should I get to go back, I will update this post accordingly.

    Danielle M.

    Haven't visited the museum, but we did visit the outdoor Holocaust Museum (It's free!). It took us a few minutes to find, but it was worth the walk. We asked several people for assistance, and many were unaware of it, even locals. This piece displays 6 million buttons which represents the 6 million Jews who were killed, and the 5 triangles represents the 5 million enemies killed. Visiting here... May we never forget...

    Alexis B.

    I visited the Peoria Riverfront Museum a few weeks ago and had a nice visit. I think the most important thing to note is to check to make sure that no parts of the museum are closed because they are setting up a new exhibit. We visited when one of the galleries was closed as they set up a new exhibit. It's a smaller museum to start with - made smaller by the fact that not everything was open. We were able to enjoy a room used for the Ken Burns quilt exhibit and two small rooms housing art and some history of Peoria. While there were some interesting pieces (and we did spend a bit of time in that part of the museum), it just wasn't a large museum and we didn't spend much time. If there's an exhibit you're interested in, definitely check it out!

    Yueming Q.

    Love this museum! We watched an astronomy show and the show guide is very knowledgeable and explained the show so well. We were impressed. The moon exhibition was very nice too. I enjoyed this experience.

    Sara K.

    Today I was there with 5 family members and we enjoyed it all together and mars exhibit was amazing to see and the movie that we watched a movie.

    Doug M.

    This was my first time at the Riverfront museum and I was impressed. The planetarium was the highlight

    Geetanjali J.

    The museum is a wonderful way to spend a few hours with family. It has good science exhibits, some history, a beautiful Tiffany exhibit, and art and culture of the region. There is a children's area and it is lots of fun for kids as well adults. We spent half our time in this area. The planetarium has informative and engaging shows. It is included in the entry fee. The presenters engage the kids/audience. The staff is very pleasant and helpful. Parking is free and covered. Last but not the least the location is picturesque. Take a stroll on the river front and get clicked with giant Lincoln statue. It is also closed to restaurants and fast food places.

    Farmers market across from museum
    Cori S.

    This was a great little interactive museum right near the river! The cost for me and my 2 kids was about $40 and worth every cent. It's small compared to the museums in Chicago but this had lots of interactive exhibits and we went right as it opened so there weren't tons of people in there. My kids had a blast. Some stuff we did twice. If you are in the area make sure to check it out! Oh and in summers there's a great farmers market close by that looked real good.

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    There were a lot of fun interactive things that we thought were for kids, but us adults kept going back!

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    Ask the Community - Peoria Riverfront Museum

    Review Highlights - Peoria Riverfront Museum

    Louis specifically for the Jim Henson exhibit, which was definitely worth the 2.

    Mentioned in 4 reviews

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    Wheels O' Time - Antique vehicles

    Wheels O' Time

    4.7(13 reviews)
    10.1 mi

    Review Visit: June 1st, 2013…read more You'll have a wheely good time here. There really is a museum for everything and anything. This one happens to be dedicated to all things on wheels. Or things that have wheels. Or wheel-shaped things. Okay, I don't think it's the last one but I do think this place is dedicated to items sitting on top of wheels. I'm not really sure how I found out about this place. It may have been from someone at work that brought it up during one of our many talks about traveling. Doing what I do best, I contacted someone to go with me and that person just happened to be my dad. We hopped in my car and made the semi-short drive to check the place out. When we approached the museum, the first thing we noticed was the train situated next to the building. You knew from looking at it that you were in for a treat. We made our way in and got to checking out the museum. The first thing we saw were antique cars. I recognized a few but a lot of them were unique to their time period. I'm not super attached to antique cars but I always think they are cool to look at in museums and such. They had maybe 15 or so at the time of my visit. We moved on to the other part of the museum and it had an eclectic collection of odds and ends. There was a firetruck that we got to take photos with. There was a Rube Goldberg-esque display as seen below. They had a mini train model set up in a glass case. Lastly, I remember there being a giant pendulum-style clock near the firetruck. It's rather hard to write this post as the place seemed to be dedicated to things on wheels but also other random odds and ends. It's best to check out their website below or visit the museum to see what I mean. It's a neat place to spend and afternoon if you have the time.

    Fantastic automotive, trains and construction equipment made in Peoria and elsewhere. It is well…read moreworth the visit! The is so much more..., seriously...go visit!

    Photos
    Wheels O' Time
    Wheels O' Time
    Wheels O' Time

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    J Draper Glass - Solid Mushrooms

    J Draper Glass

    5.0(10 reviews)
    1.0 mi
    $$

    Last week my BF told me to get in the car for a SECRET DATE and we ended up in Peoria, at J Draper…read moreGlass. Best surprise EVER! J. Draper Glass is a glassblowing studio that offers classes to the public. During our visit we learned about making those glass pumpkins that are EVERYWHERE in the fall (that I've been not-so-secretly coveting), and then, with hands-on assistance, we got to make our own! Jeremie is the owner of J. Draper, and she worked one-on-one with my boyfriend and me. She was incredibly helpful, nice, and funny. Jeremie and her associates have the whole process down to a science, telling you exactly where to stand, when, making the class safe as well as fun. It was so cool to pick out colors and then make my pumpkin, and I equally loved watching my classmates' pumpkins take shape. J. Draper offers all kinds of classes that cater to a variety of interests and price ranges. There are also dozens of pieces of glass art for sale at the studio if you just want to pick up something beautiful for yourself or a friend. I highly recommend taking a class at J. Draper Glass! It was a fun and unique experience that I'll remember for a very long time.

    We had a great family experience with Jeremie and the team! We made two projects in our nearly two…read morehour session. They are very friendly, funny, and make sure everyone has a great time. This is a really cool hands on activity and doesn't require guests to be super artistic. Anyone can do it with their help and make some really cool items. We made ornaments and sun catchers that will make great gifts or cool items for the house. I would recommend this for a date night, family night ( we had 7 people ), team building or just get together night with friends. No complaints at all. Not sure on the official age recommendation, but as a mom I'd say 12 and over.

    Photos
    J Draper Glass - End of the Day Vase

    End of the Day Vase

    J Draper Glass - The shop. Disco ball and all!

    The shop. Disco ball and all!

    J Draper Glass - Hot Glass Demonstrations at JDraper Glass

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    Hot Glass Demonstrations at JDraper Glass

    Luthy Botanical Garden

    Luthy Botanical Garden

    4.1(8 reviews)
    2.1 mi

    Wha a lovely stop on my day trip today! I loved observing the winter phase of the outdoor gardens…read moreas well as the permanent art pieces and sculptures. The real treat was the greenhouse space though! I really love to learn all the names of everything around me and they're all expertly labeled with large font which my group appreciated. And nice that admission is free! Be sure to leave a donation though.

    Review Visit: October 21st, 2012…read more A neat little garden tucked away in the corner of Glen Oak Park. Like many things on my travel list, Luthy's was one that I never heard of until I started looking around for things to do and places to visit. Discovering that there was a botanical garden next to the Peoria Zoo/Glen Oak Park was a surprise as I had been through the area a handful of times but never noticed it before. Sure, I saw the signs along the roads in Peoria but I figured it was nothing more than a place to buy flowers. A quick Google search soon proved I was way wrong. Doing what I do best, I loaded my car up with a few people and set out to see what the Luthy had to offer. If I remember right, there was a small parking lot available to use despite the fact the gardens is tucked away in this recreational area. We approached the front entrance and headed in. There is no fee to access the gardens but donations are very appreciated. After talking to the person at the entrance, we dropped a few bucks in to a donation box and headed towards the first part. The first place was kind of a greenhouse garden. It was inside a building that facilities the growth and sustainability to a multitude of flowers and plants. I am no green thumb but the fact that they could have so many different species in a small space was impressive. Also, they had a bunch of Nightmare Before Christmas decorations up at the time of our visit. Seeing as it was 10 days before Halloween, this must be how they were decorating for that year. I'm not a big Nightmare fan but it was cool to see them use that movie to spook the place up. As we moved on past the greenhouse, we emerged in to this open area that had a bit of a trail you could follow to see most of the outside gardens. This little path was not so little once you realized how sprawling the outside area was. There were many things to see along the way as we slowly walked and took in the scenes. They had a not just flowers and plants but small sculptures and statutes scattered throughout. Similar to what you would see in the movies when there are public gardens or mansions with a garden area the size of a city block. You can see some of these in the gallery below but in the years since, they may have changed stuff around. I said earlier that I am no green thumb, so trying to describe Luthy in technical detail is beyond my capacity. Despite that, you don't need to know the difference between a dandelion and a tulip to enjoy the sheer beauty of this place. It's a combination of quaint, serene, beautiful and peaceful. Sometimes you need those things in this day and age. If you are able to visit, please do so. You won't regret it. If Peoria, IL is no on your radar due to a million reasons, check your local area to see if there are any botanical gardens to visit. I am sure they are just as lovely.

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    Luthy Botanical Garden
    Luthy Botanical Garden
    Luthy Botanical Garden

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    Peoria Riverfront Museum - museums - Updated May 2026

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