Oh what a night, the lights are brightly shining! A beautiful night to enjoy a smooth drive through…read morea light show. This was my first experience coming through Pyramid Hill, the show was nice! My family and I ended up here after a dinner out, we had no plans to visit, just came in a whim, and it quite a nice, mild night to do so. Traffic was light, cost was, well, not that low (though I felt the cost didn't match the experience...$25 a car, for a drive that took less than 30 minutes). The lights were beautiful, yet a bit on the minimal side. Held every year, still a nice thing to do with your family, or significant other to "put the cherry on top" of the Christmas holiday. If able to attend, check it out.

Sprawling park with sculptures all over. $10 entry per adult. You can drive through most of the…read morepark or you can rent a golf cart for $25. You can also get out and walk around. There's a couple of hiking paths. Maps are given at entrance so you can identify where you are. Most sculptures has a plaque to identify what they are. Not a ton of direction on how to go about your time but I think that's the beauty of it. This would be an amazing place to have a picnic on a summer day!

I love their children's programs, especially for homeschoolers. The village is unique and rich in…read moreCincinnati history, filling the space with homes, churches, schoolhouses, and more. Many volunteers put on their historical hats to share the early days of pioneering and homesteading with special events like Period Dinners, ghost stories, and homeschool days. A great spot to immerse yourself in local history!

Heritage Village Museum has great events including Homeschool Days and the Halloween trail. As a…read moreprevious volunteer during the haunt, everything is organized well and a blast to spread a little fear on the trail. Homeschool Days are so informative as most buildings are open with themed characters showcasing each building. From church parishioners, a Dutch women cooking in cast iron, printers in the print shop and more!

Enjoyed our trip to the Butler County Historical Society. the tour of the Benninghofen House was…read morereally great. It is a beautiful 1860 home, it really takes you back in time. Our guide Kathy did an excellent job. We also enjoyed the history exhibits. This was well worth the time, The tour would be interest to people of all ages.

From the owner: The Butler County Historical Society maintains the Benninghofen House as a museum, with the house…read moreand furnishings representing the lifestyle of a wealthy family during the Victorian Era. In addition to the house, the Society manages an archive that consists of many original and secondary materials relating to regional history. The archives are available to the public, with the assistance of a BCHS staff member. Many artifacts relating to local, regional and national history are also in the care of the BCHS. These items are periodically put on display in the Benninghoven House, adjacent auditorium and secure off-site locations. Programming is another feature of BCHS. Programs are offered several times a year that feature knowledgeable speakers who focus on a variety of topics.

Artspace lofts and residence gallery is has an amazing idea. When I found out it was coming to…read moreHamilton, I really wished I had enough artistic ability to move into the building. Hamilton is an industrial town. Or was. Now post-industrial. It's bringing in a lot of interesting and creative ideas to the city. Like Artspace. "The project rehabilitated two internally connected historic buildings, a 1900 French Renaissance masterpiece originally known as the Mehrum Building, and the 1913 Lindley Block. A 1970s remodel covered the original storefronts with a metal screen that was removed in Spring of 2013, thereby restoring these century-old edifices to their original appearance." (Taken directly from http://www.artspace.org/our-places/artspace-hamilton-lofts#tab-node_place_full_group_overview. I don't have that much building knowledge but it's cool to know.) The non-profit does this amazing thing. They started in 1979 in Minneapolis and asked this really obvious question I'm not sure a lot of people think of. When gentrification happens, what happens to the artists? They saw them as low in income but assets in creativity. And Hamilton is The City of Sculpture! We need art! That just blows my mind. The non-profit use real estate development to create affordable places for artists to work, perform and display their work. Anyway, there are 42 units that I'm sure you can tour if you're looking for a place. One, two and three bedroom apartments. I'm not sure how the cost works. I just viewed the gallery. Which is in a really huge space. When I arrived there were residents working on something artsy and the manager was eager to have a chat. There are rotating art shows from residents and, I think, other folks. There's music. Recently there was a drum event I missed out on. Parking is easy to find. There's tons of street parking and a parking garage around the block. Lots, too. I'm unsure of hours. I showed up on a Thursday afternoon and they were open. It's free and there are lot of things to check out in the area. I intend on following their event calendar more closely now that I've checked it out. I'm excited to find out what they do next.

This is a really impressive monument that was completed in 1906. The names etched in the marble…read morewalls on the inside of the monument consequently end with the Spanish American War, but the wonderful staff set up rotating displays that acknowledge later individuals involved in later conflicts. There was a very interesting and moving display related to the Vietnam War at the time of our visit. The staff was incredibly friendly and informative, and we learned quite a bit. There are stunning stained glass windows, including tributes to the women who were involved in the conflicts, more displays upstairs, and a ghost story. Information about the large sculpture on the roof of Billy Yank is also provided and quite interesting (and wow, is that sculpture large and heavy!). This was free to enter and well worth the time. It has a nice location along the river and there is a historic cabin located outside next door, as the area had a lot to do with early fort and settlers.

A wonderful part of the Miami University story was told by wonderful guide Hope…read more The home is in amazing condition and the period artifacts brings the home alive. Many items are not original and either donated or on loan. Your guide will point out originals. McGuffey a Virginian was educated at the University of Virginia and is buried there. In life he was an educator, author and Presbyterian minister. McGuffey's reach on readers he authored continues to live on today.

Wow, this place was so cool. We were just going to stop by as we walked around campus with our kids…read morebut the director came over to talk to us and he started up this conversation with my 7 year old that was engaging and educational and I think we all left already wanting to go back and talk to him more. I highly recommend checking this place out.

The Hefner Museum of Natural History is a hidden gem in Oxford, Ohio, and Miami University's…read moresprawling campus. The museum itself is not large, but it does feature multiple rooms, including a children's "Imaginarium" with a focus on tactile and interactive experiences for youths. The museum maintains several exhibits in the hallways through Upham hall depicting various natural creatures, such as some type of deer being watched by a cougar, and a large fish. Inside the museum itself, you can see all kinds of natural artifacts: bones, including a real human skull; various preserved animals including a bear, penguin, moose, and a number of sea creatures; samples of wood; insects; and more. But the collection itself is only half of the magic of this place. The real magic comes from Steve, the caretaker, who is both extremely knowledgeable about the collection, and a great teacher and explainer for people of all ages and levels. He's intimately familiar with the objects in the care of the university, and is eager to share what he can with his visitors. If you're interested in learning, spending 20 minutes here with Steve should be part of any trip through Miami.

Really good art museum! I came here about 8 years ago, and really enjoyed it! They have really good…read moreart exhibits, and the people are so friendly here! They have really cool art exhibits outside of the museum. Definitely going back soon to revisit this museum!

The Miami University Art Museum and outdoor sculpture park is a great place to spend some time when…read moreyou are visiting Oxford! Artists include Picasso, Dali, Hofmann, Toulouse-Lautrec, Jim Dine, Warhol, and many more. The museum has five exhibition galleries and a large auditorium with multi-media capabilities. Three of the exhibition spaces change every semester and two of the galleries are permanent installations.

This is a great museum. First, we watched a video about the history of Voice of America, how it…read more started, and how it was able to spread the American government message to countries throughout the world, including Germany, Japan, China and of course the former Soviet Union. We also learned about Powell Crosley Jr. and all of his industries including his Radio industry. We got to listen to the modern Voice of America broadcasts over the satellite. My kids were fascinated to get a demonstration on how a ham radio works. We were impressed with the museum tour and its exibits. I was happy to learn that the Voice of America still continues to broadcast in forty two foreign languages reaching over two hundred thirty million listeners.

We took the docent led tour (included in admission price) on a Saturday afternoon. It was really…read moreinteresting and had nice pieces of local history. The kids enjoyed being able to ask questions of the docent. If you go into the Voice of America Park (behind the museum), you can still see the cement bases for the radio towers that use to be there. I would recommend checking them out. The tour is probably better for older kids, as there is a lot of reading, not as many interactive stations for younger kids.