Historic Attractions Museum - This place is WORTH THE VISIT!! It is absolutely packed with…read morehistorical facts and other fun things like a Super Heroes room, Elvis display, the Hall of Presidents, Gangsterland, World's Lowest Car, Big Foot 4x4, the time capsule car, Gone With the Wind, Tallest Man/Shortest Man replicas, a 9/11 Memorial room, a Last Supper room, JFK's motorcade, TV Land & Customs... Hitler's car, Stalin's car... TOO MUCH to cover in one visit! This would be a great field trip for homeschoolers, scout groups, schools... if you have a large group and you want to schedule presentations for them, call Tony Farrell, Chief Historian at 608-751-2065 or email him: tonyfarrellsr@gmail.com.

There is truly something for everyone here! Came on a Wednesday which is apparently discount day so…read moretickets were $20. This is an incredibly accessible experience. Mobility scooters available to borrow at the entrance, and also more in the back for those who might change their mind. Benches are located throughout. Maps are available at the front, and in several places throughout. Even though it's a huge building, it is really well organized and easy to navigate through. It's very close to the highway and worth the hour or so stop if you want to see something quirky and different!

What an unexpected delight! A well-designed, kid-friendly museum that cleverly teaches history…read more Free to the public. Byron should be proud of this gem.

From the owner: Tours, Rentals…read more Services: Exhibits, School and Private Tours, Field Trips, Free Admissions, Reception Hall, Banquet Facility, Gift Shop. Location Facts: Across from McDonalds. Route 2 and 72

Recommended for anyone that has a little bit of time, and needs to stretch their legs, and has an…read moreinterest in history, This is a nice respite. Located in Dixon Illinois (Grand Detour), the John Deere home offers free admission and even a guided tour if your time it right. Checked their website for operating hours because it appears they can change. The guided tour takes a little over an hour so we had to step out because we could not spare that much time but they were very kind and recognizing that not everyone could stay for the full tour. Located inside a white picket fence is a little museum that has the timeline of John Deere's life, and an archaeological site that marks the origins of his blacksmith shop and basically the birthplace of international John Deere industry as we know it today. Additionally, his home, which was not open to the public when we were there, but you can peek in the windows, is also located on the property. A cute little gift shop with John Deere shirts, hats, etc. is available as well as some really cool items for sale that are fabricated from the blacksmith on site providing demonstrations.

Such a cute little museum! I love it! Great information about the history of John Deere and his…read morewonderful tractors

Excellent place to visit with or without kids. I really enjoyed traveling through the entire…read moremuseum. Downstairs they have a temporary exhibit highlighting fossils they are finding in the Green River Shale in Utah. From the large bones to the tiny buds of plants. The dinosaur exhibit on the first floor will particularly appeal to kids and vertebrate fossil fans. While I was drawn to the very nice collection of Mazon Creek concretions and my first in person view of a Tully Monster (which is the Illinois State Fossil). 2nd floor is more geology focused than paleontology and the 3rd floor is Biological. I spent some time looking at the different birds they had on display as well as the live reptiles in the education room. Plus a little fox at floor level where young children could Ben down and look eye to eye was a nice touch. We will definitely return. Rockford is close.

We came on a "Donation Day." However, this is for Illinois residents only. Otherwise, it's $10 for…read morechildren 4-12 and $12 13 and up. This museum is too small for that cost. We were in and out within the hour. Veteran/educator discounts ONLY if you buy a membership. Half the 3rd floor was temporarily closed. I think you may have more visitors for what little you have if your pricing for kids was more reasonable. Or if you opened donation day to those outside Illinois. Especially for a museum one is in and out within an hour. Maybe you should offer a pass, tying in with the Children's museum and perhaps the Art museum since they are all located nearby. Such a great opportunity to introduce young children to Natural History and Art if one was offered. Otherwise, $32 for the 3 of us will not have us return anytime soon.

Great museum. We'd…read morevisited here last, about 20 years ago. Memory fades and it was time to revisit on this trip. All exhibits are housed inside on 2.5 floors. There is also a gift shop and restrooms. I found no elevator. We paid (senior rate saves $1 each) and went into a seating room where there used to be a video projection (no longer working). The staff member there today, Les, led everyone into this room to be seated. Les spoke about the rich history of Galena and he was quite detailed. We found this worthwhile. After the speech, we looked around this room at mostly US Grant artifacts, then we headed to a very large back room that has many displays, dioramas etc. on Galena. Lead mining had a rich history here for a few decades, so there was a lot of mining history on display. When we were done downstairs, we walked upstairs where there is a smallish room on the 2nd floor and a much larger room on what I'd call floor 2.5. Floor 2.5 had mostly wartime history while floor 2 had a variety of history on display. Note that the stairs are fairly steep. The first set also has a 90 degree turn near the top. There is a low, wooden banister-style handrail on one side. To access floor 2.5, there are another 6 or 8 steps to get up to it and there's a metal handrail for them. All in all - it's a pretty well done history museum for a small community and it was worth the time. I'd recommend this useful to anyone who wonders, "why does this town exist, how was it formed and what does its evolution look like". We enjoy museums like this.

What a great little museum! We didn't know what to expect, but I can honestly say we were blown…read moreaway! The ladies that welcomed us were so friendly and knowledgeable about the museum! There was so much packed in! It wasn't only about Grant but about the whole settling of Galena and all the way back to the ice age! I have to say this is a gem of a place and definitely a must see! It's clean and reasonably priced! We will definitely come back when we come to visit again.

Located upstairs at Conover. My son loves to come here and watch the trains. The gentlemen are…read morealways very nice to him and answer any questions he has about these trains or trains in general.

Great place to stop if you are spending anytime in Galena! Staff was very knowledgeable and kindread more

Great docent ! Felt we left knowing so much about the home and family ! The stories and facts added…read moreto whatever knew about Grant

Such a great time! The grandkids loved it almost as much as we did. The owners are such great…read morehosts, and you truly will be amazed by all the fun details! So much to see. Don't forget the train ride!

Such a great place for kids (young and old)! I'd recommend planning to spend about an hour there…read more There's lots of buttons to push for the kids and TONS of details to keep the adults busy.