We were visiting North Platte on the way to Denver and checked Yelp, TA, and Atlas Obscura for…read morethings to do and see and this place had some great reviews and comments. Plenty of parking, and a little bit off the main drag, so it was not too crowded. The girl at the front desk was very helpful and took the AAA discount. When I went to purchase some gifts there was a YELP Discount offer which she had not seen that before, she ended up giving it to us, but I think she didn't know how to ring it up in her system. I should have brought my camera, but at least I got some pictures with my cell phone. Some great views of the trains nearby and the surrounding area. There is a lot of information about trains, history, WWII, and the area. A neat place to visit in North Platte for sure. There is a fee to get in but you get to see everything inside and you can take an elevator to go to 2 different observation levels, which have a lot more information and history, and offer 2 different vantage points. There is also a train car outside on the ground level, as wells as a small wooden train, and a bunch of state flags with some interesting facts on the base of each flag.

Everyone at this tower was super friendly. All of the employees were nice and informative about…read moreeverything there. We only paid $10 for our ticket to go up the tower and it was a very pretty view. They told us that we could come back all day with the ticket so if we wanted to get food and come back and picnic there we could! The view from the tower was really nice and the tickets they gave us was like a train ticket so it's really cute. A very good stop!

I'd heard about this museum and its exhibit of early Japanese settlers so I had to come. Luckily…read morefor me, I was able to visit on the morning of their annual all you can eat pancake feed! Besides lots of pancakes there was a guy dressed up like Buffalo Bill to welcome me at the door. There were lots of great exhibits. One of the highlights of North Platte was documented in the display of the North Platte Canteen, which served troop trains passing through during World War II, offering soldiers a brief pit stop to relax and enjoy some company along with cakes, sandwiches, cookies on their way to war. Of course, my interest was in the Japanese exhibit and I loved the touch screen monitor that showed the different families that had lived in the area, as well as the displays showing the early farmers and railroad workers. Later in the afternoon, I met with Jim Griffin, the museum director. Jim shared some fascinating photos of the Ice House, that many Japanese men worked at in the early 1900's. The workers cut huge slabs of ice from lakes, and transported the ice slabs to the giant ice house to be stored for later use when the railroad shipped fruit and other perishable goods by rail. Fascinating stuff! If you are in the area and get a chance, stop by, there is so much to see at this museum!

This was not a scheduled stop on our trip out west, but it turned out to be quite a nice museum. We…read moredidn't know anything about the "Canteen" that served soldiers leaving for Europe during World War II. They have an incredible collection of memorabilia.

This place is amazing!! We were on a road trip cross country and looking for somewhere for our…read morelittle one to get out and stretch their legs. I found the museum on a goggle search and decided to give it a try. My little one was in heaven with all the fun rides, toys and games. There are several themed rooms full of toys that are great for imagination and learning. It was a hot day outside but nice and cool inside the historic building. I highly recommend this place to anyone with little ones.

We took our 3yr. old granddaughter here to play. She had a lot of fun. They were changing things…read morearound. She liked the train ride, but the last time we went it was in need of repair so it kept coming off the track. The music room was fun with piano, organ, and drums. She liked the little pizza restaurant where you could pretend you're making pizza. She liked playing pirate on their partial mockup ship, and the bug room where you played stepping on the bugs projected on the floor for points. Its hard to find parking for your car unless you walk a block away. That's why I'm giving it three stars, no place close to the building to park. Prices are reasonable though! Senior citizens discount admission.

I don't always have a good explanation for how I end up in places like this, but I ended up here…read moreand that's what really matters. It's the first pony express station/office or whatever. So I'm wondering when the first letter got dropped off where was it going to go. To the 2nd pony express location? Who knows? I did not find out the answer to that on my visit here. I pulled up and the place was closed. But 2 super cool little old ladies were stopping by to unlock it because one had locked her keys inside. As a result of their kindness I was given a brief tour of the inside of the place. It's like a lot of old buildings. Storied, rustic, low ceilings and basically made entirely of wood. Some brochures, some gift shop items (I got a magnet woop), and something tells me that there's never a long line to get in. It's not far from the interstate, and it's kind of situated in a calm and relaxing park so I mean, yeah...all good things. Stop by if you're passing through. Get a magnet. That's what I did. You should do it too.

Very interesting! I learned so much about the Pony Express & what those young riders went through…read moreto get mail delivered. The woman inside was friendly, helpful & very knowledgeable. Well worth the stop.

Stopped at the coffee shop across the street for my husband's meeting. My baby and I went to check…read morethis museum out! Super cool sad house, recreation and cool little gift shop with homemade gifts and two sweet nice ladies working what more could you want?

Very interesting! Seeing a real sod house spoke volumes of the ingenuity & hardships of the people…read morein that era. And the women in the museum were personable, helpful & informational. I'm glad we stopped.

We made a visit to Cozad with the express intention of seeing this museum and learning more about…read moreRobert Henri, his art, his life, and his influence as a teacher and mentor. We had a delightful time viewing the art and learning from the director who gave us a personal tour. Overall it was a very rich experience. I'd recommend visiting here if you have an interest in American art or history in general. Could be a great place for a field trip if you live in the region. Top notch!

Three words......."take the tour." Having Doris tell the stories of early Cozad and the journals…read moreand art of Robert Henri (Cozad) was well worth the $10 admission. The museum rooms and furnishings had excellent narrative but Doris was the story teller for us on our tour. Pointing out highlights and their relationship to Robert Henri and the facts behind the family name change. The gallery includes many original paintings and sketches and is carefully locked and supervised. This museum was a hidden gem that we missed on our last Nebraska Passport visit to Cozad. Although the tour put us behind on our trek across western Nebraska, you won't find us complaining. If in Cozad, or even remotely close by, three words.......go meet Doris!

The Mansion on the hill is a beautiful 1880s home that is one of the gems of Ogallala. After…read morelistening to the docent carry-on about this place I can tell they're very very proud of their work to restore this and the schoolhouse that is next to it. They worked very hard to make everything be period. That is inside the house. And they have done a very fine job of it. The kitchen the children's room the bathroom all are done very very well and the upstairs has some of the old tools that they might have used a very interesting collection of post hole diggers which I can't remember NE Museum ever having a collection of post hole diggers. I guess you run into something unique at every place you go if you'll just pay attention to what's going on. Another fine thing they have about the small town is they have a set of what I would call poster holders on the second floor and every family the local families of course put notes about their relatives about their background about their family trees. I find this to be a wonderful addition to a museum in a small town where you can track the family tree and track who did what what went where. It's an interesting little Museum it doesn't take very long depending upon the dosing to get if you get the one I did your brain will be overflowing with information and you'll be totally unable to remember everything but you'll know that you had a lot of things run by you. She was so polite and so proud and such a wonderful resident of the small little town in the middle of Nebraska. I love these little small museums. This is of course in the National Historic register

It's a nice learning experience. There are some interesting architectural details within the…read moremansion. The friendly tour guides are very informative when teaching about the history. There are flights of very steep stairs leading up to the second and third floors. Overall worth a stop by if you're in the area.

So I have a thing for roadside oddities and while driving through brown flat Nebraska I spotted…read morethis blinking helicopter off the side of the highway that appears to be on the grounds of the Heartland Museum. I am no military history expert or super fan but we stop in mainly for a bathroom break. I tell you what, I am a big fan now. The very friendly lady at the front desk greeted me and asked me to sign the guestbook. She explained that it was free admission and they take donations. I asked about the "fall from saigon" (it looks like the last scene from Ms. Saigon) exhibit outside and they encouraged us to drive right on their grass to get to it (it was a half mile away, and it was a hot day). Even better as I walked through the museum they encouraged me to touch things. Like missiles. I guess I am too used to the formality of Smithsonian Institutions. When they found out we also had our dog with us, they encouraged us to bring her in, even though I warned them that she was in a wheelchair and part Tasmanian devil in it. They didn't care. I would say this place is a good stop on a road trip. My one regret is not having cash on me for the donation.

Non profit museum started by a few Vietnam's vets who liked collecting jeeps. Free admission but…read moredonations encouraged. Tons of vehicles, uniforms, and old rifles from different wars. Clean restroom makes it a nice pit stop between Denver to Omaha Hooah!