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.

Great place has the life and history of Superman and his friends like Batman and Wonder Woman…read morereally a must if you're in metropolis the service was good. They have a large selection of Superman and more. If you value superheroes this is the place to come..

Had to stop by during a family road trip. It was the first stop and a surprise and it really kicked…read moreoff the vibe of the trip. The store is full of everything and had all kinds of old toys from back in the day. They had plenty of anything and everything to tickle your interest and even a mood ring for my Gen Alpha kids who had no idea what they were. lol.

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 place is absolutely different. It's a super duper collection of "yard art" of all sorts. The…read morestuff in the collection is the stuff in the collection but the creators/owners of the place are what brings out the magic. With an endless stream of puns and plays on words and a clear passion for what they're doing, that's what makes this place even more special. There are all sorts of things in the collection put together in various art installations around the property. There are historical things, a lot of toys, and so many plays on words you can't count 'em all. We purposely stayed an additional day in the area just to visit the museum and it was well worth it.I think everybody will get a smile out of this place but the joy in the owners' eyes makes it especially great. And the puns, oh the puns!

Fantastic colors. Viewable art. Peaceful surroundings (Visited Autumn of 2023). I loved wandering…read morethrough the well set-up exhibits. I have a passion for creating, so it was enjoyable to share this joy with others. The location was phenomenal for seeing the town of Paducah and eating at a restaurant after. I enjoyed being inspired and surrounding myself with such works of art.

When deciding to visit Paducah on a recent weekend my wife was doing some research into things to…read moredo. I was surprised to find not only that the National Quilt Museum was located there, but that there was a National Quilt Museum at all. My wife does a lot of quilting so the decision to go was easy. The grounds of the National Quilt Museum are gorgeous and well kept. There's a large what I'm suddenly going to call a Grand Lawn with sidewalks and some statuary. Ticket are $15, but they do offer military/veteran discounts as well as students and seniors. The interior of the lobby is spacious with the check-in desk directly in front of you, gift shop to the left, restrooms to the right, and the entrance into the exhibit area dead ahead. By the restrooms you'll find the elusive wooden quilt. Yes, a wooden quilt. And it is bee-yoo-ti-ful. Once in the main exhibit hall you're amongst probably close to 100 quilts. To be honest, I had no idea how many types of quilts there were, so this was an education for me. The level of detail, craftsmanship, creativity, and ingenuity that went into some of these quilts is absolutely astounding. From a distance it may look like a photograph of, say, a tree, but when you get closer the details start to emerge. Some of them were absolutely awe-inspiring. Our visit, in total, came out to a little over an hour. Wifey was in her element so I wasn't going to rush her as the looked at each quilt, admiring the time and effort each one took. There were a couple docents who walk around answering questions and insight, where possible. Some of the quilts could be purchased...and I don't mean if you're on any kind of budget. One such quilt was sold for over $30,000. That's right and not a typo The gift shop is well-sized to the museum. It's well lit and has A LOT of craft/quilt items, bobbles, and trinkets. Pricing was very reasonable. I have to admit, I was surprise by this museum. I expected to be bored and wanted to get out, but I found myself interested and educated.

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!

Love this place .. have only been here once but bought several books .. one thing I'd like to see…read moreis a book on all the 200 plus structures still standing chronologically .. every time I'm here I see another I've missed just by driving around the history of this town is vastly underplayed and under appreciated by the locals .. but is understandable.. when you live with history everywhere you no longer see it..