Both a History of Benton and Franklin County History both Good and Bad Worth the entry fee.read more

This 1905 Franklin County Jail Museum is a very interesting walk through Benton's history…read more Featuring one of the last public executions in Illinois of Charlie Berger, this museum has original noose, weapons, newspaper articles and other historical documentation. When you walk into the house, you enter a beautiful, classic early 1900s home. A very welcoming home with reconstructed living room and kitchen. Prepare to be surprised! It is only when you near the back of the house that you find the white, rusted heavy iron door. Open this door and you enter a cold, dark realm that even Tim Burton couldn't recreate. Perhaps a hundred years for rusting and paint chipping contributes to the overall gloom. These are the prison cells that inspire modern day fiction. All the windows have bars. And the view from the outermost window is of the gallows. These gallows have been recreated in the position they originally stood. There are multiple rooms of cells which you can enter and take photos of. Don't use the toilets, though. They are a bit old. :) Escape back into the semblance of normalcy of the house and head upstairs to take in additional Benton history. The normal bathroom is up there: very clean. When the Beatles FIRST came to America, this is where they played. The museum curator stated that she was a young girl when they arrived: "We had no idea who they were...They weren't known in America at the time, but we all hurried to get a look. We didn't end up seeing them though." There is civil war paraphernalia and an autographed photo of town local John Malkovich. I highly recommend this location! The curator is very knowledgeable and friendly. The location is a few miles off the nearby highway.

For a quick visit and to stretch your legs during a long drive, this place is great. Kids' activity…read moreroom has several hands-on ways to do art. Lego mosaics, a huge Lite-Brite type board (for those of you who remember those), and a life size horse sculpture you can reassemble. Oh, and it's free. Outdoor sculpture garden covers about an acre and has many large sculptures kids can run among. My two boys, 7 and 10, would have liked to stay longer. Permanent exhibit is small but has some notable artists, like Mary Casatt. Not sure if I was supposed to pay for going in that room? Oops. Temp exhibit for next couple months is photos of rock stars, plus autographed guitars from the collection of a local radio guy. Costs $5 and my wife opted for me not to see it. Some of the guitars are hanging in the main lobby, like Clapton's and BB King's. Not that you would drive to Mt. Vernon *just* to see it, but if you are passing thru on I-64, give it a look for an hour or so.

Well worth a visit. Frequently changing displays and great special events. Not too near the hotels,…read morebut only about a mile away. A pleasant little walk.

October 23, 2021 Wow…read morethis place is so cool! What a perfect stop to let the kids run about on this rainy day. Downstairs is designed more for younger kids. Upstairs designed more for kids 8 and above. Supervision is mandatory. Lots of themed rooms for kids to learn through play. There's a garden room with big water tables. An auto shop for the car enthusiasts. A farm where you can "milk"a cow (fake cow &water). A grocery store where the kids can shop and be the cashier. A veterinarian pet shop. Fire department. Well baby check office. There are cool tubes with air that suck up handkerchiefs and tunnel above your head and shoot out from the ceiling. Musical rooms. Hair styling room. A theater room complete with a stage and curtain! There's a Lego wall. And rubber band wall to make art. A small real plane to climb in and imagine flying over fields. Really too much to list. But wow! Great entertainment for kids (and parents) of all ages. Covid19 protocol: Bathrooms were clean. Hands sanitizer was placed all over both upstairs and downstairs. Employees wore masks. Patrons were strongly recommended to wear masks, although most didn't. Staff picked up several times while we were there.. although i didn't notice any surface cleaning. Now my cooty radar was a little high, but i get that way in any type of kids play area. I made sure my kids sanitized hands after each room and we washed hands before leaving. Lots of touchable surfaces. Pre pandemic, i wouldn't think much about it, but current pandemic, I just am a little more leery. So go with that in mind. And don't come if you or anyone is sick. Above all.. ENJOY! Very cool place.

discovery is the best place a child could ask for it's so relatable to the real life just much…read morecooler I love discovery so much !

Saw this place on tiktok a few years ago and just knew I had to stop!! I'm so glad we did!! There…read morewas honestly so much to see that we'll probably be back someday! This place was amazing plan on being here for at least four hours. There are so many areas to climb and fit your body through. There were slides, caves and so many areas that if you hadn't been paying attention, you would have missed! We brought the kids here to have a fun time but honestly us adults really enjoyed this as well! There is a place to grab a snack here as well as gift shop. There are multiple floors and rooms and just when you think you've seen all of it another floor or room will pop up. We thought we had seen everything and then realized we missed two whole floors! This is absolutely worth going to!!

This place is really overwhelming. It was SO CROWDED. You know you are old when you start…read morewondering about max capacity and fire codes while in a place. There is constant noise. Kids yelling, crying, people talking, metal banging. Got here close to open. Parked at a lot nearby (thought it was the one for City museum. It was not and cost me $30 so BEWARE). Walked to the museum (about half a block) and the line was through the parking lot. I had not purchased tickets online because they charged a $8 convenience fee. Paid $68 ($62+$6 tax) ($23 per ticket for admission and $8 per person rooftop add on) for one adult and one kid ticket (there is no difference in price) with the roof top add on. They give you a wristband to wear which is nice that you can leave and come back. We left to go grab lunch nearby and were able to exit and re-enter easily. Got inside and had to use the restroom. Restrooms are old, run down, some stalls were out of service, paper towels were out, toilet paper out. I saw the restroom being serviced several times but it always seemed to be out of something. My kid had fun but there were areas they were not allowed to access due to not having a flashlight. Kidlet wanted me to buy one but we had no room to pack it. They could benefit from having a flashlight rental program for people traveling. Lots of kids wearing knee pads but my child did not particularly care they did not have them, they just wanted a light. Line to get on elevator to go to roof was long and hot. Roof was hot and there is not a lot of shade. It was cool views and photo ops if you are into that. I wanted to ride the ferris wheel but it was too hot to be out in the sun. Took the stairs back down. I was surprised I kept seeing it was in a 10 story building but there are only 3-4 floors you can access plus the roof. Due to the way it is laid out there are bottle necks that gather and make it hard to maneuver in some places. The restroom entrance is near the gift shop entrance (which is also where you exit) and people were just standing there so it was difficult to get through. Maneuvering the stairs was difficult as well as people did not keep one side open for going up and one for going down, taking up the whole stairway so you had to wait. Overall this was a way to kill some time before going to the airport. Kidlet had fun and they are the target demographic but I would not go back.

Not worth the money!! $22.50 Wasted!! so disorganized and not worth the trip!! Maybe children under…read more12 would enjoy. But why make parents pay!!

My granddaughter just had her 8th birthday party at the science center. She invited all her…read morefriends, their siblings (one was 3 weeks old) and parents. It was a blast and educational too. They played in the main area before going to the party room for a very entertaining science presentation. Even the adults got to take a ride on the hover board. We provided the food and the favors. It was the best birthday party ever!

Great people good vibes laughter education just everything was good from my experience I would like…read moreto take other people with me

Loved the history!!! Such a great visit with my husband and his uncle! It really made his day! The…read moretrain was very cool as well as all the war history from this area. It was my first trip to Evansville and neat to learn about its past!

I am a self proclaimed presidential history "nerd". I've read a biography on each president in…read moreorder (currently reading F.D.R.), and my bucket list includes visiting all their birth and burial places. I also make it a point to visit presidential libraries, national historic sites, etc. I've seen DOZENS of locations now, and I can honestly say Grouseland is - by far - one of the most impressive locations I've visited. The amount of authentic items dating back to William Henry Harrison is jaw dropping! Additionally, the collection of items not necessarily related to Harrison are breathtaking. For example, they own an impressive collection of real signatures as far back as Adams, Madison, and John Quincy Adams (to name just a few). The staff was fantastic. The day I visited, their computer system was down and they were unable to run my card for the entry fee. No matter, they let me get back with them later. Their volunteers are knowledgeable about their collections and items within the home. Can't say enough about this "diamond in the rough" presidential history site. I was truly blown away...

I recommend checking this out if you are ever here it is the home of William Henry Harrison it is…read morepretty and if you are a history buff check this place out

Very nice local museum with many items of general interest. I am very interested in George Rogers…read moreClark and William Clark so a visit to this museum was a must. They did have two small displays with some original pieces. There is much more to the museum than the Clark's though. If you love history a visit is a must.

This was a really great little find as I was exploring the downtown area near the riverfront. I was…read moreon a paddle wheeler that was docked just a little bit away. This was right across from a hop-on hop-off stop, but nobody mentioned it and I almost missed it. They have a pretty diverse array of items on display ranging from old artifacts of the civil war, old police memorabilia and clothing a furniture from the last century. Overall, a very interesting and well documented collection and deserving of more attention. The staff person was extremely welcoming and warm and made me feel right at home. If you have just a few minutes to spare or a bit more, take the opportunity to check out this little museum. It is the in the middle of the Market place and it looks for all the world like an old train station. You need to enter on the second street side.