One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to visit different museums but I am especially…read morefond of presidential libraries and museums. Since childhood I have been fascinated with the presidency. As of today, there are 13 presidential libraries in the country with number 14 slated to open very soon. It is a goal of mine to see all of them. What makes it even more fun is that they sell a passport in the giftshop which each library and museum will stamp on your visit. Once you get all the stamps, you will get a commemorative gift. The staff here was amazing. Everyone I encountered loved their job and was ready to give information about the grounds as well as about the president. On a recent trip to Kansas City, I decided to hit all the libraries and museums around the area. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum was my first stop and library number four for me. It is located in the small town of Abilene, Kansas which is President Eisenhower's hometown and his actual childhood home is on the property. The town itself gets alot of praise for being one of the best small towns to visit. The museum and library recently got awarded as the #1 presidential attraction. At first glance, one may think the visitor center is the museum. In reality, everything sits on 22 acres of beautifully landscaped land. There are multiple buildings to visit to get the full experience. The first building you walk in is the gift shop and also where you can purchase tickets in person. This is also where you watch an introductory film on President Eisenhower. I'd be lying if I said I remember what I learned growing up, so the film helped jog my memory and prepare for the museum. You can walk the grounds in any manner you find fit. I chose to start with the chapel. This is where President Eisenhower, their son Doud, and Mamie Eisenhower are buried. Next, I made my way to the library. Some libraries have many items from the president's time in office. This library was small, but had some pretty cool items. Next, I went to the museum. This gave a glimpse of his life from childhood, West Point, military service, presidency, and life after his presidency. This museum was actually more interactive than some of the more current presidential museums I have been too. They also have films throughout which also gives you a reprieve from walking. Currently, all the libraries are celebrating America's 250th birthday and each have special exhibits. This one had actual documents from the vaults of American history. Very cool. Before making my way to the gift shop to get my stamp and mandatory magnet souvenir, the last stop was President Eisenhower's actual childhood home on the property. They do tours, but it was closed on the day I went. It's a small, modest home built in 1898. That to me is amazing that they preserved this. I think my expectations were a little low coming in because it was a museum for an older president. I was wrong in assuming that because this was probably one of the better museums I have been to. I learned alot and spent way more time than I allotted myself because there was so much to see. I highly recommend coming here if you appreciate history like me.

If you are looking for a day-long adventure in the middle of nowhere in Kansas, this is your place!…read more There's plenty of free parking by the visitor center. Start in the visitor center / gift shop to buy tickets. Highly recommend the combo ticket (house tour & library) to save some money. The staff was super helpful in orienting us and making recommendations for how to spend the day. Try to arrive at 15 or 45 minutes after the hour because that's when the 24 minute video begins playing in the visitor center. The video was mostly just hype for Eisenhower and not super educational, but it's a good way to start the experience. The grounds includes the boyhood home, library, museum, place of meditation, and visitor center with gift shop. It's so convenient to have all of this history in one place! Make sure to take a picture with the Eisenhower statue in the middle of the lawn! When you buy your tickets, you are assigned a tour time. I recommend getting there earlier in the day because the tour times will fill up. The boyhood home is very small. You can only enter a few of the rooms, but you can look into all the rooms on the first floor. You cannot go upstairs. So the tour only takes about 20 mins, depending on questions. The tour guide told some good stories about Eisenhower's parents. Eisenhower, his wife Mamie, and one of their sons are buried in the place of meditation. There is only one small exhibit upstairs in the library. Currently it's about women voting for Ike. Don't budget much time for the library because it's quick to breeze through. The museum on the other hand is extensive, so budget several hours! There's a lot to look at and read. You can come and go if you need to take a break for a home tour or lunch. They currently also have a special exhibit on the Cold War. You could spend a whole day in there! There are picnic tables for resting and eating throughout the day. The gift shop has lots of gift options for browsing. Overall, this is a great historical place to spend the day! You will leave exhausted and full of information. Highly recommend checking out the World's Largest Belt Buckle on your way out of town!

If you know me you know I'm a sucker for a small town museum, and the Dickinson County Heritage…read moreCenter does not disappoint. We came here because of the vintage carousel that they still operate, and ended up exploring the whole building and outside structures which really made it worth the small entrance fee to see. Let's start with the main building. When you walk in, it's an old small town museum, and it feels like it. I do think this place could benefit from some TLC in terms of updating it and breathing in some new life, but I will also say from working in the museum industry, that funding can be hard, and I felt like they did a really great job of keeping it running, clean, and accessible with what I can imagine are some limited resources. Once you pay, you can meander through the galleries which cover the history of Dickinson County, and feature some really interesting artifacts. Our favorite part of the main exhibits was the section on the introduction of the telephone and how it evolved over the years. For our four year old this was especially cool because they have some switch boards that are interactive, and you can even place a call to another phone in the museum. For a kid that has never seen a rotary phone before it was pretty magical, and honestly even for us adults who remember those days, it was cool to see how it worked and we spent a good amount of time in that area. Once you've had your fill of the inside museum you can venture outdoors and experience the old school carousel, and some historical buildings. The carousel was really cool. First of all it's the oldest known carousel to still be operational in existence. I mean, this may be a fact hard to track down and verify, but that's pretty impressive. Being built in 1901, it's crazy to be able to ride something so old and get a full experience that someone else would have had over 100 years ago. The old buildings were also pretty neat to explore and we enjoyed walking around and seeing what each one had to offer. Overall, this is a pretty cool stop for anyone who enjoys history.

Great attraction. First floor includes more traditional museum type exhibits and is geared to…read moreadults AND young people. There is a lot of history and information on the tall grass prairie. The 2nd floor includes a lot of interactive exhibits and displays and is geared primarily for kids. Not much for adults. The third level includes an outdoor terrace. The weather today was not conducive to enjoying the outdoor environment. Adults- allow 1-2 hours. Adults with kids - allow more.

There are so many educational displays in this discovery center. They really make it fun to learn…read moreabout tallgrass prairies. I thoroughly loved all of the displays, the view of Manhattan from the rooftop, and the educational and enjoyable immersive theater. Do not miss the 15 minute theater experience where they engage all of your senses to learn about the Flint Hills. It's worth visiting Manhattan just to explore this place.

The good: There is a huge amount of information on a lesser known topic, and you can see actual…read moreretired racing greyhounds on the premises! The museum staff are friendly and helpful, and you can tell they like dogs. The bad: The sport is controversial now due to animal rights and the rise of other legal sports betting. The museum feels a bit dated and behind the times, but it's also a deep glance into this sport that was once more popular than horse racing. You can easily spend an hour here learning about the origins of greyhound breed, as they show up in ancient Egyptian art and in Arabian stories! They also have lots of trophies and racing paraphernalia. However it can be a little tough seeing how the dogs were kept and maintained to race. It was an interesting look into racing's past when these dogs were celebrities of sport. We are still digesting the exhibits and how we feel about it!

One of a kind! Two beautiful greyhounds greeted us as we walked into the door. Everything and…read moreanything you want to learn about greyhounds.

If you're in town, check this place out, and ask for a free tour. The tour was amazing.read more

What a great experience! The Salina Art Center has rotating art exhibits featuring amazing artists…read morewith works that create exchanges between the artist and the audience that promote conversation and thought. They focus on art that reveals life and dialog. The center also has the Art Center Cinema that offers Indie films, and off the beaten path films. Anything that is shown here is not seen at a mainstream theater. The cinema is very provides Salina with an alternative to movies being shown. Often their movies are on the Golden Globe or Oscar list of movies. The center is also very focused on education and offers families and children numerous options for art classes. Their schedule can be found online.

If you're in the area, this museum is well-worth a visit. Very extensive history of the Salina…read morearea. I learned a lot.

Great museum right off the main downtown strip. It's free (request donations) which is always a…read moreplus. Lots of historical information with a replica of a cabin from the settlement days. I enjoyed the industrial section related to flour mills. There are old stone grinding wheels and sacks from the different manufacturers. The gift shop is full of made in Kansas items, soap, honey, candles, marbles (news to me that marbles are made in Kansas) BBQ sauce and lots of books about Kansas. If you find yourself in Salina, Kansas definitely check out this museum.

What a great little car museum! We spent about two hours seeing the "Oddities" exhibition…read moreyesterday and had a blast. Lots of interesting cars--the Batmobile, a Wankel motorcycle, a DeLorean, bunches of custom hot rods, etc. You don't need to be a car enthusiast to enjoy this museum. They introduce a new exhibit every quarter, so there's always something fresh to see.

In town for my nephew's graduation for KWU and he informed us about this new muscle car garage…read moremussuem.. The staff was friendly and accommodating. They have a bar station where you can pour yourself a nice cold beer or wine to take with you as you tour the museum. Perfect pairing. The muscle cars, hot rods and custom cars were in immaculate condition. I appreciated the display signs in front of each car that gives a one paragraph history. The perfect summary size in my opinion. There's plenty of interactive displays throughout this museum. Touch Screen quizzes complete with visuals. Simulators: A welding, car painting and race car simulator were fun to check out. They had a Boy Scout PInewood Derby track that brought me back to my Junior High School days. There's tons of toy play stations throughout the museum that keeps the kids busy while the parents are exploring. I saw a coloring station, lego station and toy race tracks and garage complete with cars to play with. There was a mini-theater that had an informative muscle car movie playing and a library/reading area to relax and check out some car books. There was so much to see and do throughout this muscle car museum. It's absolutely social media friendly as well as educational. This is a definite must visit if you have the time while in Salina. Buckle Up!