Not many museums are free but this one is (by donation) and it was an easy walk to get to. When you…read moreenter, there are washrooms to the left and a gift shop in front. The gift shop has homemade jewelry, housewares and trinkets, books, and wallets. They had a cute bicycle display with various items. The front desk was staffed and the woman working told us the exhibits were upstairs. We made our way to the stairs and there's also an elevator. Once on the second floor, there were a couple of doors and then a volunteer was seating there telling us where to go. The exhibit on the left was ok, not a lot to see but a few interesting pieces. My favourite was the paint workshop with cans all coloured with paint. We went to the other side and there was an exhibit of book covers and an Aboriginal one. The book covers wasn't so interesting but the Aboriginal one had old records and cylinders that recorded conversations and songs. There were some sofas and a large window looking out to water and greenery. It was a lovely view. We spent an hour here and it was ok. They are going through some renovations but hopefully they can make better use of all the space.

Nice place to bring a small family with older kids and for a quick date getaway. It's a rather…read moresmaller museum and nice place to meet people for a quick gathering at their cafe shop. You can spend as little as 1 hour to see their collection. Smaller parking area with a small parking fee to pay at the self-standing booth to get a ticket location at the museum pathway about 20-30 feet from the front door. Give a online donation of a few dollars to support them for future work. Pleasant to visit and comfortable.

Beautiful museum with great art and an inspiring atmosphere…read more We attended on a free Friday night and saw their Spring exhibit. A lot to offer and it was filled with people enjoying the opportunity to visit. Wine and cheese served with crackers and custom sugar cookies. Enjoy the photos!

Great museum. Parking and finding entrance is a little hard to figure out from being out of town…read more They have details on their site but I still had some trouble. Definitely worth a visit if you're not sure.

So amazing. It is like the Ontario Science Centre but less crowded. Anyone who hasn't been here,…read moreyour kids are missing out!

The Museum is great for the kids…read more A lot of interactive activities to keep the little ones occupied and hopefully they would learn something in the process. The exhibits are a little rundown. A lot of screaming kids jumping and banging on everything. It is nice to be family friendly but if you are adults or without kids, I would avoid coming during weekends and summer holidays or just skip completely.

I stopped at the Hagen History Center on my way through Erie since I wanted to check out the Frank…read moreLloyd Wright office that they have on exhibit. The Hagen is located in a couple of buildings near Gannon University. Fairly recently the Hagen acquired the FLW office that he used in San Fransico near the end of his career; the Hagen built a special building to house the office along with other exhibits. While the FLW office has been on display other places, at the Hagen you are actually able to go into the office and look around, which is a real treat. To start the Hagen has a number of displays before you enter the office giving information on Frank Lloyd Wright, his designs and even identifies the buildings in the region that you can tour. The office itself is relatively small, just a compact reception area, 3 workstations and a small office that Wright used to meet with clients. The office has the feeling of being a Wright design, clean lines, natural materials, and innovation. An interesting element of the installation is that the Hagen has placed photos of what the office looked out to in the windows so you get an idea of how it looked in San Francisco. The Wright office is less spectacular than most Wright designs, it had to fit into a commercial building and was more of a satellite office for work in California. It is a nice visit if you are in the area or are a Wright completist. I did check out some of the Erie history exhibits on the second floor of the building, they seemed to be well presented and a nice look at various elements of Erie history. I was happy I stopped and checked out the Wright office at the Hagen, but it is not worth a special trip and there are much better examples of Wright buildings in the Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York that I would recommend you tour. This might be a great start if you are taking a trip through Erie to see Fallingwater, Kentuck Knob or doing the Buffalo Wright tour.

OH what fun ! stumbled upon this place right next to the Erie Art Museum - the place i never got…read moreinto beyond the front door( -see my other reviews ) The historical Society is on the top floor and looks a bit like a cluttered library stuffed full of books and, well, stuff ! The people inside saw me browsing and quickly came to ask if they could help and explained their hours etc they were very nice to me ! the Cashier's House is also in this building and even though it was in the middle of "moving within the building" they let me tour on my own anyways LOL it is a three story house and i accidentally went to the third floor unattended to have a look around no one seemed bothered by that even tho sightseers were supposedly not to go there the elevator took me right up there so...why not look around LOL ! ? not that security is lax cause there appeared to be cameras all about and on each floor - i wonder if anyone noticed me ? LOL LOTS of fun artifacts in the Cashier's House Victorian stuff to make is appear like a lived in home of that time period .... beside that there is a small Maritime museum of shipwrecks and an interesting but small room of Telephone history in Erie LOL LOTS of stuff in there it seemed well organised lots of old phones and phone books switchboards and wires and cables and insulators what a delight ! all in all a great visit for me even if i was the only one there for a good hour and oh yes .... the front desk guy let me in for free cause they were renovating the Cashier's House - i bet i never get THAT price again ! LOL !

I recently visited the Art Gallery of Hamilton and was really impressed by the variety and quality…read moreof the exhibitions. It's located right in the heart of downtown, making it super accessible, and the space itself is beautiful very clean, quiet, and well-organized. I specifically enjoyed "The Great Lakes" exhibit; it was a really thoughtful exploration of the landscape using different media like video and sculpture. The gallery also has a fantastic permanent collection of Canadian art (including some Group of Seven pieces) and the Kim Adams "Bruegel-Bosch Bus" is a must-see you can spend ages just looking at all the tiny details in that installation. The staff was helpful and the AGH Shop on the way out has some really unique jewelry and home goods that you don't see everywhere else. Whether you're a local or just visiting the city, it's a great way to spend a few hours. If you're coming on a weekend, check the parking meters nearby as some are free on Saturdays, or use the underground city parking right on King Street West. Thursday's admission is free and the gallery is open late :).

I recently visited the art gallery of Hamilton, and was really impressed. It was less crowded than…read morethe AGO, and it featured different artwork that I had not seen before. The top floor is free to visit year round and they have a lower level with a paid exhibit. Throughout the year the lower exhibit changes and I recommend checking it out. The current exhibit is called Wonder, and it focuses on looking at the world from a different angle to see how you can make a difference. It was a really unique exhibit with some interesting artwork including 3D sculptures, an interactive element, and collages made by local artists. Would I Recommend this Museum? Definitely!

Cute shop in downtown Erie that houses art from local and abroad artists. Jewelry, pairings,…read moreceramics, glass work and more. They recently celebrated their fifteenth anniversary. Friendly staff answered questions about the shop and Erie in general.

Glass art is one of my favorite forms of art. The gallery did not disappoint me. So much to see…read more I loved the jewelry to the pottery to the blown and stained glass. We visited on a Friday evening where wine, cheese, crackers and cookies were served. Quite a few people were in attendance, it was great to be out and about with others taking advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the arts.

On display in the museum is also a 1949 Chris-Craft 16 ft. Sportsman mahogany boat that was raffled…read moreat the annual Algonac Lions Pickerel Tournament in 1949. The Maritime Museum has many photos of World War II landing crafts that were built at Chris-Craft between 1942 and 1945. One of Gar Wood's last mahogany boats from the Marysville, MI plant when it closed in 1947 was named the Last Gar. Also on display is a Chris-Craft kit boat, built every year by students in a boat building class at the Algonac High School until 1960. If you like to see and touch boating history live this is the place to visit. Have a great gift shop.

We were forbidden entry because we had a bottle of breast milk for our baby. The owner said, "You…read morecould just be saying it's breast milk, how do I know what it is?!" Besides leaving our other kids pretty disappointed, this man was also extremely creepy, unhinged and aggressive. This sort of person doesn't belong around children.

We planned to visit the museum during a family vacation to Sarnia. Sadly, the owner began to yell…read moreat us the door to dump our closed baby's bottle of breast milk in order to enter. They have a no food policy. I explained even in the airports they allow breast milk through security. They used to say it takes a village to raise a child- sadly, nowadays it's hard to even take a baby into a museum. His anger was uncalled for and petty especially given the current shortages of formula our babies are facing. I wish we were treated with kindness instead of aggressiveness.

We recently visited the children's museum with 2 families and 4 kids. The children's museum is…read morelocated on the upper levels of the building. Parking lots are located all around the the large building (that houses the children's museum but other stores and shops as well). Parking lots do start filling up fairly quickly but there was more than enough spots. Inside the play museum, there is a free area to hang your costs with ample space. There's tons of stuff to do for kids in the children's museum. Some highlights: Stepping in, there's a giant tree house type play ground where kids can climb up and explore. There's a kid sized town that includes a fire station, dentist/medicL area, ice cream shop, school, home, grocery store, farm. There's even little apron/hats for different areas for dressing up. There's a "sand area" to give up dinosaurs, a space area up on another floor. Perhaps one of the key defining features is the huge water play area that includes a giant fountain to shoot balls up, a fishing area, Lego area to build a dam. They even provide aprons to try to reduce wet shirts on kids. There's a dry off area with hoses that shoot air. There's also an area at the back that changes from time to time - the theme this time was Winter Olympics. There are shows that occur throughout the day like a star show and a fossil show. There are places to eat, a microwave to heat up food and vending machines. Overall, a great day trip for people in the area with young kids!

We had such a great time at the London Children's Museum! It's an amazing hands-on space where kids…read morecan truly learn through play. The water play table is huge and thoughtfully designed, allowing kids to experiment, discuss, and learn basic physics concepts while having fun. The farm area is very educational -- my child loved learning about animals and how chickens lay eggs. There are also lab programs for older kids, which is a great bonus for families with children of different ages. Other highlights include the supermarket role-play area, corn factory (harvest, make, and pack corn), fossils and dinosaur sand digging, light-up puzzles, hospital, fire station, and a packaging station that teaches how factory systems work in a fun way. Everything was clean and well maintained. A big plus for parents: large, clean washrooms, plus smaller washrooms designed for older kids, which made the visit much easier. Admission is very reasonable at $15.50 per person for adults and children aged 1 and up. Overall, this is a fantastic destination for families, especially on rainy days or weekends. Highly recommend if you're visiting London, Ontario with kids!

Eldon House is a walk from our hotel and downtown London area. It's a home where the Harris family…read morelived from 1834 and the home was donated in the mid 1900's and since been restored for viewing. The house different rooms and signs to explain the contents. The lower floor has many of the hunting trophies from the various animals killed in Africa by one of the grandsons. It also shows the servant's kitchen, sitting room with many artifacts from the travels around the world. Upstairs are various bedrooms and bathroom. A guide greeted us when we went into the house and there were only two other visitors. It's pay by donation at the front of the house. We spent less than an hour in the house but enjoyed reading and seeing the history of this prominent family.

The Eldon House is a great historical house museum. Admission is by donation ($5 suggested, but…read morepay what you will.) The house was donated to the city with most of the original belongings still in it, which is pretty rare for house museums. The tour is self guided, and you can wander about all of the rooms at your leisure. A guide greets you at the door, and gives you some background information. There are some interpretive panels as you go, but not an overwhelming amount of reading. It's very cool to see a fully furnished historical home set up as it would have been in the early 1900s. I especially liked seeing the kitchen, as well the children's play room (complete with creepy dolls!) Keep an eye out for the weird hunting trophies in the house -- and look for the elephant foot umbrella stand! (This is not a euphemism. It is a literal elephant foot that was turned into an umbrella stand.) During the summer they offer afternoon tea on the patio, and they run a variety of special events, lectures, tours, and classes throughout the year. The Eldon house is definitely worth a quick visit, if you're visiting or a local. I believe they also rent out the venue for private functions. They don't have their own parking lot; you'll need to find metered parking on Ridout street or park in a nearby pay lot. I hope to come back for a special event sometime soon! Check out their special events page here: http://www.eldonhouse.ca/d.aspx?s=/Main/Events_Calendar.htm.