Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Berrien County Historical Assoc

    5.0 (1 review)

    Berrien County Historical Assoc Photos

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Berrien County Historical Assoc

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration
    Photo of John R.
    3
    103
    22

    3 years ago

    I like this place. Lots of cool info and facts. I learned a lot from here. I'd like to visit again sometime.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    You might also consider

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Museums 136 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    The History Museum - The Olivers traveled a lot.

    The History Museum

    4.2(10 reviews)
    19.3 mi

    The history museum consists of 2 levels of historical information, artifacts, and material from…read morewhen the first European settlers arrived in the South Bend area up until the present. When you come in, you go to the right and spend time going through a large room that takes about 45 minutes to cover. Then you go downstairs right below and there's a winding path that takes another 45 minutes. Right outside that winding path is a sizable children's play area where small kids can go "back in time". When returning to the main floor, there are a few exhibits as you head to the carriage house. You can add a guided tour of the Oliver Mansion. Yet, those tours are only at 1:00 and 2:00 as I type. So plan accordingly. We found the museum very enlightening. We were able to take the tour, which gave a great sense for the richest people in South Bend from over 100 years ago - but it's not a show-stopper by any means if you don't do it and just do the main museum. They've got a lot of period exhibits with great artifacts and signage.

    As part of our visit to the Studebaker Museum, we also decided to visit the History Museum mainly…read moreto tour the Oliver Mansion that was adjacent. Fortunately we arrived at the right time as there are only two tours per day. We had ample time to tour the Studebaker Museum and then joined the mansion tour. The mansion has 38 rooms and was built in 1895-96 and was beautifully finished in almost every part. J. D. Oliver was president of the Oliver Chilled Plow Works and grew the company into one of the largest in the world in the late 1800's. The home was called, "Copshaholm" which was the name of the Scottish village the Olivers were from. Of interest to me was the degree of finish quality especially the woodwork. The home remained totally furnished which from my perspective was nice as many tours we've been on featured large, empty rooms. Despite the home being so old, there was a pretty good air handling system that even on this brutally hot day, we remained comfortable. After visiting the Studebaker and History Museums, we hit a favorite restaurant before driving home. All in all a very good day.

    Photos
    The History Museum - What was made in South Bend

    What was made in South Bend

    The History Museum - Period clock and furniture

    Period clock and furniture

    The History Museum - As it was in the 1700s

    See all

    As it was in the 1700s

    Air Zoo

    Air Zoo

    4.7(143 reviews)
    44.6 mi

    Excellent aviation museum. It's smaller than the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Ohio, but…read morethat gives it a more intimate feel. There are fewer barriers, so visitors can get much closer to the aircraft. The enormous size of the F-14 is especially impressive when compared with the F-18 or older A-4. One volunteer shared some negative comments about museum leadership and mentioned that another volunteer had sprayed cleaning chemicals inside the F-117A bomb bay door, which reportedly smeared some of the signatures preserved there. This felt more like an internal museum matter than part of the visitor experience. The sci-fi and Alien exhibits also seemed somewhat separate from the museum's core aviation focus. Overall, the aircraft collection is excellent. Seeing the F-117A was a major highlight, and being able to walk right up to the very rare SR-71B made the visit especially worthwhile.

    Once again, the courtesy at the air zoo can't be beat…read more We went with a medium sized homeschool group, and everyone was very kind and helpful and pleasant. I love how knowledgeable the staff was and how accommodating people were when we had a variety of ages of children. We always love coming to the zoo and I can rest easy that the staff is always very helpful and accommodating. My only criticism would be that we have some significant in anaphylactic allergens and the staff at Kitty Hawk Café didn't seem to be very knowledgeable about allergens and cross contamination, so we didn't feel safe at all getting any food there. I highly recommend bringing a cooler and leaving it in your car if you have allergies.

    Photos
    Air Zoo - F-8 the last gunfighter

    F-8 the last gunfighter

    Air Zoo
    Air Zoo

    See all

    Kalamazoo Valley Museum - Kalamazoo Valley Museum

    Kalamazoo Valley Museum

    4.5(34 reviews)
    45.6 mi

    This is such a great free museum! Nate and I were in town recently and wanted something to do, so…read morewe stopped in. We were greeted at the front desk and given the layout of the museum. I love that they have free lockers to store your coat and personal items. Really handy as we had our winter coats on. The museum has a few special exhibits as well as a permanent collection that includes a ton of information on the history of Kalamazoo, a mummy, and a planetarium. (The planetarium show is $3 per person.) We learned about the Kalamazoo State Hospital and explored the super cool traveling exhibit Skin: Living Armor, Evolving Identity. I learned a lot about animals' skin and their adaptations, how skin has informed technology, and how skin has affected people historically in terms of racism and prejudice. There are a few interactive elements to the exhibit but I think it would be best for middle school kids and up. The museum overall was well kept and for the most part had working installations. I saw some kids playing and the history of Kalamazoo was really interesting. It took us about two hours to explore the museum. It's not a place I need to go every time I'm in Kalamazoo, but I would say if you're a local and have never been, you should check it out. Or if you're visiting and looking for an indoor activity!

    It's been many, many years since I've been to the museum. I was very proud to show my friend and…read moreher little one. The building of wonders and artifacts. I was surprised to see so many cool new things like a small diner, a storyboard, sounds machines, wind tunnels. It was really cool! Some of the local favorites were still there. Including the mummy which we just had to check out. After looking at that we went and played a game of fact or opinion! We didn't even realize we'd played for hours and hours. Time really does fly when you're having fun!

    Photos
    Kalamazoo Valley Museum - Skin exhibit

    Skin exhibit

    Kalamazoo Valley Museum
    Kalamazoo Valley Museum

    See all

    Berrien County Historical Assoc - museums - Updated August 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...