Both a History of Benton and Franklin County History both Good and Bad Worth the entry fee.read more

This 1905 Franklin County Jail Museum is a very interesting walk through Benton's history…read more Featuring one of the last public executions in Illinois of Charlie Berger, this museum has original noose, weapons, newspaper articles and other historical documentation. When you walk into the house, you enter a beautiful, classic early 1900s home. A very welcoming home with reconstructed living room and kitchen. Prepare to be surprised! It is only when you near the back of the house that you find the white, rusted heavy iron door. Open this door and you enter a cold, dark realm that even Tim Burton couldn't recreate. Perhaps a hundred years for rusting and paint chipping contributes to the overall gloom. These are the prison cells that inspire modern day fiction. All the windows have bars. And the view from the outermost window is of the gallows. These gallows have been recreated in the position they originally stood. There are multiple rooms of cells which you can enter and take photos of. Don't use the toilets, though. They are a bit old. :) Escape back into the semblance of normalcy of the house and head upstairs to take in additional Benton history. The normal bathroom is up there: very clean. When the Beatles FIRST came to America, this is where they played. The museum curator stated that she was a young girl when they arrived: "We had no idea who they were...They weren't known in America at the time, but we all hurried to get a look. We didn't end up seeing them though." There is civil war paraphernalia and an autographed photo of town local John Malkovich. I highly recommend this location! The curator is very knowledgeable and friendly. The location is a few miles off the nearby highway.

I'm a pretty big fan of off-the-wall, random attractions in the middle of nowhere. The Super Museum…read morefalls perfectly in that category! Know ahead of time that Metropolis, IL is cute and charming as heck. But besides this, there is pretty much nothing else to do besides Harrah's Casino, so I'd recommend it more as a road trip stop rather than spending a weekend here. You can easily be in and out within 2 hours max. The Super Museum, however, was a LOT more than I expected! This collection of Superman memorabilia is insane, and has so many pieces that are decades old, from many of the films, and some random, quirky stuff. The tickets were only about 8 bucks and you can spend as long as you'd like in there. They've got a pretty awesome gift shop, too! This is a really neat attraction to stop at if you're driving through Southern Illinois!

Consider this your official pilgrimage notice. The Superman Museum in Metropolis, Illinois is a…read moreholy shrine you didn't know you needed to add to your road trip itinerary. I am not a hardcore Superman follower. I went in not knowing what to expect and walked out genuinely impressed. This is not a polished museum experience. It is an enormous, sprawling, slightly overwhelming collection of Superman memorabilia that someone dedicated their entire life to assembling. Much respect to the passion and dedication this took. The front of this establishment is a gift shop packed with Superman (and other superhero) giftware. If you want to see the actual collection you pay a little extra and head into an entire different adjacent room. This space if filled with little trinkets all the way up to full collector pieces, costumes, props, and items spanning decades of Superman across every format. They even have pieces from Lois and Clark, the 1990s TV series, which I absolutely watched as a kid. If you are anywhere close to Metropolis, just go. Budget an hour, pay the few dollars, and go see the "museum". You don't have to be a Superman superfan to appreciate the sheer scale of what one collector put together. It's worth the detour. Up, up, and away.

October 23, 2021 Wow…read morethis place is so cool! What a perfect stop to let the kids run about on this rainy day. Downstairs is designed more for younger kids. Upstairs designed more for kids 8 and above. Supervision is mandatory. Lots of themed rooms for kids to learn through play. There's a garden room with big water tables. An auto shop for the car enthusiasts. A farm where you can "milk"a cow (fake cow &water). A grocery store where the kids can shop and be the cashier. A veterinarian pet shop. Fire department. Well baby check office. There are cool tubes with air that suck up handkerchiefs and tunnel above your head and shoot out from the ceiling. Musical rooms. Hair styling room. A theater room complete with a stage and curtain! There's a Lego wall. And rubber band wall to make art. A small real plane to climb in and imagine flying over fields. Really too much to list. But wow! Great entertainment for kids (and parents) of all ages. Covid19 protocol: Bathrooms were clean. Hands sanitizer was placed all over both upstairs and downstairs. Employees wore masks. Patrons were strongly recommended to wear masks, although most didn't. Staff picked up several times while we were there.. although i didn't notice any surface cleaning. Now my cooty radar was a little high, but i get that way in any type of kids play area. I made sure my kids sanitized hands after each room and we washed hands before leaving. Lots of touchable surfaces. Pre pandemic, i wouldn't think much about it, but current pandemic, I just am a little more leery. So go with that in mind. And don't come if you or anyone is sick. Above all.. ENJOY! Very cool place.

discovery is the best place a child could ask for it's so relatable to the real life just much…read morecooler I love discovery so much !

Depends on your style and tastes because it definitely is a little eerie! If you like weird,…read morethough, it'll be a good place to visit. It will definitely be something we will always remember, but not one we necessarily recommend.

This is definitely a one-of-a-kind place. Every display throughout the property has a related pun,…read moreand the toys in his toy house are displayed in ways that make funny stories. Sadly a storm took out the electricity to the toy house and he isn't permitted to fix it because the electric is connected to the house and the town said he has to upgrade all the electric in the house, which he and his wife don't have the means for right now. When he had electricity a lot of the toys would move and contraptions on the property had lights and water on some of them. The toys stretch back to the 1940s. Definitely a trip down memory lane. The gentleman who owns it is very nice and came out to give us a tour and pointed out the many puns related to the displays. The little general store his grandparents ran back in the early half of the 1900s is still standing and full of interesting memorabilia and artifacts. It's donations only, no cost, but the man and his wife can use the help. If you're not a fan of weird junk art and old toys, you probably wouldn't like it. We spent about 45 minutes there.

4* Quilt Museum Paducah KY…read moreNice statues in front Beautiful quilts of all styles, colors, and fabric Liked the Classic motifs

This museum was absolutely magnificent. Paducah was a stop on our American Cruise Line…read moreMississippi River cruise and I wasn't sure what we were going to do here but after visiting multiple museums in the area, this was our last stop. I was absolutely mesmerized by all the beautiful quilts. There were a few featured artists and their work was absolutely amazing. They have everythng displayed so beautifully and because it was not too busy, there is a certain comfort level here. I saw incredible patterns, colors, stitching and in some cases, mixed media. I have never really paid much attention to this art form and found out just what I was missing. I have some pictures of the overall quilt then close up where you can see the incredible stitch-work. When you come, make sure you visit view the "wood quilt." I could not believe what I was looking at and they have a small sample that you can actually pick up and view. They explained that during their annual show / convention they have upwards of 30,000 people visiting this museum. Quite the feat in a town that has a population of 26,700+. Their gift shop / supply store also seemed pretty robust and I'm sure that many people get their hard-to-find supplies from here. I could not recommend this museum enough for a visit. I am confident that you too will walk out in awe of the amazing work here. KUDOs to the amazing team who curate, represent and volunteer their time at the The National Quilt Museum.

This was a great experience. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and informative. It was well…read moreworth the lite fee to step back into time.

The tour guide named Faith was awesome! She is very good at her job and explaining everything. She…read moredeserves a raise and a promotion. Very fun to talk to and answers questions effectively and in a way I can understand. Super cool definitely will go again!