We had such a wonderful time visiting the David Davis Mansion. Our tour guide, Jeff, gave us a long…read moreand detailed tour that was both informative and engaging. He was extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and made the history of the mansion come alive. One highlight was learning about David Davis's close connection to Abraham Lincoln, which added an even deeper historical significance to our visit. That piece of history was fascinating and memorable. We highly recommend the David Davis Mansion to anyone visiting Bloomington. It's a beautiful historic home with a rich story, and with guides like Jeff, you're guaranteed an excellent experience.

We toured the David Davis Mansion on a chilly December afternoon. There was one else there for a…read moretour so we had our own private tour. The mansion was beautiful and decorated for Christmas. The house has many artifacts that are true to the Davis family. We learned a treasure of information from our tour guide Jeff. He was able to answer both of our questions and we had many of them. Jeff was able to tailor the tour to our interests providing a personalized experience. This tour of an exquisite mansion was top-notch due to Jeff and his wealth of knowledge and pleasant personality.

Honestly, this museum is so well done! I was so excited and impressed! There are multiple floors of…read moreexhibits that cover the gamut of McLean County history from agriculture to civil rights to local celebrities and innovators! I really enjoyed the rotating exhibits, too, you can tell a lot of work and care was put in, and everything was well-maintained and recent. Volunteers are there to help, too, would highly recommend a visit!

This is a history museum on par with counties that have 5x the population of McLean County, IL…read more There was an entry level slightly below ground with information and a few exhibits with people to explain where best to go and where exhibits were. Then there are three floors that had multiple rooms with different themes such as farming, Abraham Lincoln, jobs in Central Illinois, and even a little kids area to play as if they were on a farm. in total, I counted eleven different rooms - and we spent 3.5 hours there. Some of the exhibits can get a bit wordy; if you read it all - you'd be there all day - but that's great for a deep dive for stuff you're interested in.

The Route 66 Museum is great and close to the other attractions in Atlanta. There is a pride in…read moretheir history that shows. Every one we spoke with at every stop in town was kind and knowledgeable.

It has been celebrated in song, story, poem, and yes, even a Route 66 TV show (1960-1964); historic…read moreU.S. Route 66 was established in 1926 and ran east-west across the central United States. According to the popular song "Route 66" by John Mayer "...it winds from Chicago to LA, more than two thousand miles all the way". 2448 miles or 3,940 KM to be precise. Tourist attractions designed to get a motorist to take a break from their journey (and spend some cash) along "the mother road" or the "main street of America" are scattered here and there among the small towns that are found along Route 66. One of these attractions is the Route 66 Arcade Museum located in the prototypical small town of Atlanta, IL. At the Route 66 Arcade Museum it is possible to misspend your youth all over again; one quarter at a time! The Museum is chock full of vintage pinball and video games from the 1930's-1970's. The Route 66 Arcade Museum is only open during the tourist season April through September. The museum is opened and closed by a third party but is usually open from 9am 4pm in season. Hours are currently impacted by IL state COVID-19 regulations for entertainment businesses so please check before your visit.

These birds have been permanently grounded…read more Every childhood boy likes one of three things: planes, trains, or automobiles. I leaned towards things that could fly, especially at supersonic speeds. So, it came to my surprise that there was a aviation museum within a reasonable driving distance from my home. I have actually been here about 3 times total since my first visit. I think I was with Matt the first time here. I think we explored a bit of Bloomington-Normal before a concert in the evening. The museum itself is just a little ways off the one of the main busy roads that runs through Bloomington. I actually think this up the road from the Bloomington Airport. How fitting! It's not a massive museum by any means. The building itself is probably no larger than your local fast food eateries. But within those small confines is a tremendous amount of history. Each time I've come here, I've signed the guest book and donated a few bucks on top of paying the admission fees. The price is listed on their website. It was $5/each for adults. As I said, the building itself housed a ton of information regarding aviation. They had a section dedicated to NASA. They had tons of props and displays scattered throughout. They had graphs with a ton of information. Suffice to say, I can't put in words what photos do better. While I did supply photos below, due to limited storage space, I couldn't upload nearly enough photos to show everything. While the inside was full of information and relics from aviation's past, the things I was dying to see were outside. The things that flew in another time and in another place. On one of the trips, we lucked upon a volunteer who was giving tours. He gave us a quick tour of the jets, planes, and aircraft outside and then let us explore to our hearts content. A few of my family members were veterans of the military, mostly in the Rangers and Marines. My dad tried to enlist but due to a hearing issue, wasn't allowed in. By the time I was ready to join, my body had too many injuries to even think I could try to enlist (I was a very active kid and while I never broke a bone, I did do a lot of damage to my joints). Matt was also in the Marines for an undetermined about of time. So, suffice to say we all had some interest in the military in some way, shape, or form. Following the path outside winds you around all that there is to see. It was extremely cool to be able to go up to any of the aviation vehicles and see them in person. Some of them had ladders that you could take up and see in to the cockpit. They are locked shut so don't get any wild ideas of hopping in and taking off. I do think they have special events where they open them and allow people to get in and have their photos taken. Check their website for details on that and other events they have. In the end, this place was great to check out. I loved getting to see the jets up close and person. I took one of my favorite photos ever and it's included below. Can you guess which that is? If you have kids that love aircraft or have a general interest yourself, do oneself a favor and check this place out if possible. "Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full."

Great museum for its size Multiple old jets and helicopters. You can actually get in them cool…read moreplace.

This listing is for a specific exhibit within the McLean County history museum. The exhibit itself…read moreis free and has a lot of interesting information! We happened to visit on a Saturday during the farmers market, a time during which the full museum (essentially the whole building) is free as well! (Otherwise adults are $5 and seniors over 65 are $4). We were very impressed by this local museum and would compare it to the museum at the St. Louis Arch. Educational with lots of artifacts and some interactive portions - great for history buffs and families! The building itself is also beautiful architecturally inside and out which we enjoyed. Lots of cool things in the gift shop, including the bean pots that Steak n Shake used to sell baked beans in prior to removing them from their menus during the pandemic (RIP to my favorite fast food restaurant side). They also sell and stamp the Route 66 and National Park passports here. Definitely worth a stop!

From the owner: Cruisin' With Lincoln on 66 is a Route 66 and Abraham Lincoln themed Visitors Center and Gift Shop…read morethat celebrates Bloomington-Normal's rich, historical connection to both Route 66 and Abraham Lincoln through an interpretive exhibit. We also provide tourist assistance for travelers of today, along with many original gifts and souvenirs, often crafted by local artists and craftspeople.

I went to this cute art center the other day to pass some time, and I really enjoyed it. Although…read moreit is limited on exhibits, I really enjoyed the work on display. The exhibits were clean and well organized. There is a small gift shop here as well if you are looking for something artsy to give as a gift. I would definitely come here again.

Adorable little shopping location for the kiddos! The staff help me pick out a gift for the kid I…read moream babysitting. Shoutout to employees for going above and beyond!

Review Visit: November 10th, 2012…read more Where a kid can be a kid and where an adult can also be a kid. If you are wondering, I don't have any explanation why 3 adults visited a museum that is geared towards kids besides that we are all kids at heart and like to have silly fun. With that in mind, Erin, Matt, and I checked out the Children's Discovery Museum. I'm not sure exactly how we ended up wanting to explore the Children's Discovery Museum but I am glad we did. None of us have kids so it was a bit weird that 3 grown adults were walking about this museum and playing with the stuff as if we were kids, but we were never told to not play with the stuff as well. We did avoid the stuff that our adult size might break or render unusable. Overall, I don't have much to say about this place since it's been so long and I can't remember all the activities and interactive things they had. I will say that if you have kid(s), they will love this place. If you have kids and are a kid at heart, you AND your kid(s) will have a blast here.

I highly recommend this place. The most that games cost is 75 cents. A majority of them cost 50…read morecents. They have the Starwars Trilogy Arcade from the 90's, Ferrari F355 Challenge that uses a lifelike gear box and a clutch pedal, and many more. My kids and I had a blast.

Always a fun time. We love playing all the old school arcade games, bring back so many 80's…read more memories.

Review Visit: June 1st, 2013…read more You'll have a wheely good time here. There really is a museum for everything and anything. This one happens to be dedicated to all things on wheels. Or things that have wheels. Or wheel-shaped things. Okay, I don't think it's the last one but I do think this place is dedicated to items sitting on top of wheels. I'm not really sure how I found out about this place. It may have been from someone at work that brought it up during one of our many talks about traveling. Doing what I do best, I contacted someone to go with me and that person just happened to be my dad. We hopped in my car and made the semi-short drive to check the place out. When we approached the museum, the first thing we noticed was the train situated next to the building. You knew from looking at it that you were in for a treat. We made our way in and got to checking out the museum. The first thing we saw were antique cars. I recognized a few but a lot of them were unique to their time period. I'm not super attached to antique cars but I always think they are cool to look at in museums and such. They had maybe 15 or so at the time of my visit. We moved on to the other part of the museum and it had an eclectic collection of odds and ends. There was a firetruck that we got to take photos with. There was a Rube Goldberg-esque display as seen below. They had a mini train model set up in a glass case. Lastly, I remember there being a giant pendulum-style clock near the firetruck. It's rather hard to write this post as the place seemed to be dedicated to things on wheels but also other random odds and ends. It's best to check out their website below or visit the museum to see what I mean. It's a neat place to spend and afternoon if you have the time.

Fantastic automotive, trains and construction equipment made in Peoria and elsewhere. It is well…read moreworth the visit! The is so much more..., seriously...go visit!