Such a fun visit while in Knoxville…read more The staff at the front desk was welcoming and informative. We particularly enjoyed seeing the model rooms and learning about the architecture. I want to go visit those houses now! Free museum. It's not too big but you can spend 1-2 hours here.

This museum is great for Knoxville. It's not very big, but you'll spend 1-2 hours there…read more Story time: It was weird. When we arrived, the lady up front for our check-in asked how we had heard of them. I'm like... "Uh... It's art. We go where art is. We love art." I couldn't think of any other answer that fit the boxes she was checking. I love art, and that's where you can find me. It didn't fit any of her checkboxes, she waited a moment like she was waiting for me to say something else before saying, "Oh, that's a new reason we're going to have to add" or something like that. One of the usher girls understood what I was saying. No shame on the lady... it was just odd. I don't just hear about museums. I see if a city has one and I go. In my world, that's a 100,000 percent normal thing. I still laugh about it. You'll have fun here. If you've visited major art museums in Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Philly, Chicago, NY, or SF, you'll still have fun here, but it won't be the famous paintings you're looking for. If you're in Knoxville and have time to spare, I'd visit, but it's not an absolute must-do thing.

Unfortunately, part of the museum was under construction on our visit. I think that was the mummy…read moreexhibit. It's still a cute Museum and worth a stop for an hour or two. A few interesting older pieces.

First off, go to the website so receive your free admission to the museum. You can't enter it…read moreunless you have valid tickets. Now ok... I get that this museum is to preserve history we all understand this concept. But what I don't get is that more than half of the Native American artifacts in this section was removed by Tribes because it was viewed "incorrectly." Instead of having a Tribe member being in the museum to inform people they just removed the artifacts entirely from public eye. How I would do it, inform and educate rather than take down things. Just very odd to me. The bottom half of the museum (after you walk down the stairs) is interesting although the theory that we came from "apes" is uh... A different topic. It's a nice sized museum, very clean, quiet and people are respectfully when going into each section. P.S, if a Baseball game is nearby and they charge for parking let them know that you're visiting the museum not the game so you can get in to park. If not, you'll get charged $20 to park for free. It's far better than the Knoxville Museum of Art, now that's a different story to tell.

We thoroughly enjoyed this museum and were presently surprised to find out that there was no charge…read moreduring this year of our country's 250th anniversary! It's absolutely huge and will take you a good two hours to see it; add another hour if you're the type that reads almost everything. Definitely put it on your list of things to see while in downtown Knoxville.

We had been to Knoxville several times but never had the opportunity to visit the East Tennessee…read moreHistory Center. They have different price ranges for kids, adults and senior citizens (age 55 +) to tour the museum. It was an informative walk through on the first floor with several rooms contains various stories about the struggles for southern families, musicians and women. There were several areas to sit and listen and watch the video. I was very pleased to see they had captions turned on so my spouse and I could enjoy the videos as well. Before we left we purchased a few items from the gift store. They had lots of T-shirt's 40% off as well as books for only $1. It's definitely worth the visit.

Wonderful place to see God's creation. The beautiful animals are friendly and all around. The store…read morepart is great with things to buy from the past. The restaurant serves the old country food from years ago. I do wish they'd expand their menu some but it is still good. Lots of vendors on special days there as well.

Surprised at how well exhibited the museum is! It's a fairly large outdoor exhibit. If you're a…read moresenior, you might want to ho when it's cooler out. Highly recommended!

Part history museum, science museum, and children's museum. There's a little something for everyone…read moreat the American Museum of Science & Energy. The museum tells the story of Oak Ridge's role in World War II and the top secret Manhattan Project. The way the museum is laid out tells the story in a chronological way where you'll begin by learning about how Oak Ridge came to be, its role in the war, and its role in nuclear research in the years since the hydrogen bomb was first dropped over Japan. Plan to spend about 2 hours here depending on how hands on you want to be. As you progress through the musuem it becomes more hands on and reminiscent of a children's museum where you can get hands on with science theories. The space has multiple exhibits, an introduction video, and gift shop. On certain days/times a bus tour is offered to the plant sites that will also include admission to the museum but I was not visiting on one of those days but would like to check it out if Im ever in the area on the right day.

Good history of science and technology. I actually learned the concept of what it takes to keep us…read moresafe and comfortable.

The Sunsphere is an amazing architectural wonder and remnant from the 1982 World's Fair in…read moreKnoxville. My visit to the Sunsphere made my day. The 342' steel structure was designed by Don Shell and completed in 1982. The glass on the 75' sphere is coated with gold dust. During the World's Fair, a small restaurant operated at the top and visitors could visit the observation deck for $2. We were passing through Knoxville and my daughter wanted to visit. Today, visitors can pay to go up to the observation deck of the giant structure. ($10 for adults). You can buy tickets on line or at the Sunsphere. When we arrived, the Sphere was closed until 1:30, so we did not go up in it. But we enjoyed walking around and taking photos. There is parking a block south and the walk through the park is lovely. There is a drop off circle near the Sunshpere as well. Let's are not allowed in the structure.

Knoxville wanted to do something truly special for the 1982 World's Fair. The result was the…read moreSunsphere. The theme for the fair was "Energy turns the world" and Knoxville showcased solar energy by creating a replica of the Sun. I was fortunate enough to visit the Sunsphere during their "free local days" and all you need to show is your license to prove you're local to Knoxville. More free local days will be announced throughout the coming year, so stay tuned. Definitely recommend elevating your view of our little city by visiting the Sunsphere. Know Before You Go: ~ $10 tickets per adult and also annual passes can be bought in person. $40 for an individual annual pass or $120 for a family pass. Both passes are good for a calendar year. ~24 kt. gold panels are actually glass layered with gold dust. ~The Sunsphere observation deck was re-opened on February 22, 2022. The floor offers a 360-degree view of the Great Smoky Mountains, World's Fair Park, the Tennessee River, and the UT Campus. ~There is a small gift shop offering everything from Sunsphere Christmas ornaments, tee shirts, Sunsphere coffee tumblers, stickers, postcards, and more.

We only came here because it was bundled into a discount package with the tickets we purchased for…read morethe Hollywood Wax Museum (we loved that place). The maze was just ok. If you've ever been to one of these before (and we have) you've been to them all. It's about 5 minutes of giggling while you bump into mirrors trying to find your way out, with colorful archways and black lights guiding your way. Not very big at all, and not very challenging. As we had young children with us, we skipped the zombie area (? Can't speak on it) and instead hit up both of the little 3-D shoot-em-up video game/films. (If you do the zombie walk, you only choose one of these) The first one we went on was scary clown themed, and had I known just how scary, I would have skipped it. (My 4 year-old was a bit traumatized). The other one, where you shoot at evil robots in the Wild West(!) was much better, not only because it wasn't too scary for little ones, but because it was smoother and less headache inducing than the other. It was probably my favorite experience of the three, but not worth the price of admission unless you got the discount pass for the wax museum and you've got time to kill.

Not too expensive. We had a lot of fun here today with 3 separate activities. A shooter type game…read more A haunted house and a lost in a house of mirrors

I will be first to say this place when we pulled in I doubted we would enjoy it. I saw a lot of…read morelittle kids and we had a 2nd grader with us. I guess I am spoiled with a hometown children's museum of play.. I am so glad we went in to give it a chance, the employees here are wonderful. Very welcoming. The exhibits are diverse and many hands on touch this or that ability. There were some dated videos of the Appalachian culture but honestly it gave it an appeal and definitely a time gone by. The exhibits and explanation of the Manhattan project were very interesting. All of us walked away learning a lot about oak ridge and that era around world war 2. We spent a good two hours in the museum and didn't read it all, we happened to be walking in right before a school group of 30 little kids and parents. Initially it was loud but there was enough space that we didn't have to be around all the chaos real little kids bring. Some of the exhibits were geared for smaller kids but our 2nd grader had no problem enjoying the experience. I mean who doesn't love a "doll house" that has two levels, For the price and exhibits I would suggest it to anyone especially if you have a history buff in your family.

Pulling in, it's an old school and it doesn't look very big. You walk inside and are greeted by an…read moreattendant and a big bear off to the left. They have a small gift shop with stuffed animals, patches and small things. If your disabled, don't worry about steps..they have ya covered with ramps throughout the museum. As you walk through it's very well put together. The farm room where the children can grab a basket and grab the plastic apples out of the tree on the wall and make their own dinner plate out if magnetized pictures of foods. They have a pretty big life-sized doll house, which was very cool along with old relics of dolls etc from different eras. They have a water room where the kids can send floating boats down a make believe lock at the dam. At the end, they have a train room that is pretty cool with towns all lit up and a train going throughout them.. very cool place. Very neat place. $8.00 for adults $7.00 for seniors aged 62+ and children under 3 are free.

David welcomed my wife and I to the Museum, gave us a mini tour and showed us a newspaper piece…read morefrom The Oregonian after seeing that I was coming from Portland, Oregon. It was nice to see his father in one of the old photos where he was a butcher for Y12 during the Manhattan Project. It was nice to see people from those days were still visiting and the generations after them as well. Definitely an interesting place to see for anyone passing by!

The visitor center is located in the Childen's Museum of Oak Ridge. To be honest, I was expecting…read moremore out of the visitor's center since a lot of the time there's a small associated museum or exhibits, but it was quite bare with only a small looping video. I liked the concept of the park in that you get to explore the community, but since the bus tour wasn't running with no plan or date when it would come back, it was hard to make a cohesive plan. I would say plan on visiting the K-25 history center + overlook and the American Museum of Science and Energy for sure, and then just wandering around the community looking at the placards. If you're into the stamps, there's a three part stamp (the rest of the parts are in Hanford, Washington and Los Alamos, New Mexico).

I'm definitely not a history buff, but I do like true crime shows, and this place was fantastic! We…read morespent about 2.5 hours inside and honestly could have spent even more time. It wasn't crowded when we went, which made it really easy to take our time and look around. There are a ton of cool and interesting stories and exhibits covering everything from the late 1800s all the way up to more current crimes and events. I was surprised by how much there was to see. We did the basic package with the family and, in my opinion, that was plenty. If you have younger kids, probably under 11 or 12, they may not get as much out of the museum until you get toward the end. There are some hands-on activities there, including half of a police car they can sit in and turn the lights on, drunk goggles, a police motorcycle you can sit on, and a tunnel where you can try to "escape" from jail. Overall, just a really cool place. I'm sure there was stuff I missed even after spending 2.5 hours there. I would definitely go back and do it again!

I am beyond a true crime enthusiast. I pretty much only read and watch true crime oriented media…read more This was my second trip to the museum. I was worried that there wouldn't be any new exhibits but I was surprised and happy to find the opposite to be true. They have definitely expanded and updated since my last visit. If you enjoy true crime and/or history this is a great spot to visit. On the crime side of things they have a wide range of crimes-not just serial killers or murder. (They do have a Ted Bundy VW beetle and 2 John Wayne Gacy clown costumes on display). They also have areas for financial crimes, etc. History wise they start off in medieval era, then the Wild West, mafia to present day. Nice exhibit on 911. Interactive exhibits too, like DUI and autopsy. Well worth the price of admission to me. Easily a couple hours of stuff to do. Especially nice on a rainy day!