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Geneva History Museum

4.3 (3 reviews)
Closed • 11:00 am - 4:00 pm

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2 years ago

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12 years ago

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Old Joliet Prison

Old Joliet Prison

4.4
(40 reviews)
26.5 mi

Really cool. I recently did the evening tour which ends when the sun is almost gone for the day…read more The guided tour itself is really informative, you get 90 minutes of history and walk a total of about a mile inside the old prison grounds. You get to walk inside the West cellblock and a few other buildings. Sadly, several of them were burned by morons during the period between 2003-2017 when this was totally vacant and unused. But funding comes in little by little to make repairs. The old portion of the prison was designed by the same architect who designed the famous Chicago water tower. There are some newer elements as renovations were done in the 1950s and 1990s. The docents are very knowledgeable and have good stories to tell about the infamous former inhabitants of the prison. If you want to save a little money you can do a self guided tour as well.

We came for the haunted house. It was fun, and I enjoyed being able to walk around the property…read more There are multiple attractions you can visit, although one was full of flashing lights and no warning of such, so I had to close my eyes while my husband guided me through. There are too many people with neurological issues affected by strobes to not warn patrons. That was an awful experience. I hope to come back some day and do a tour during the day. The location is very interesting.

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This small area is where the death row inmates were allowed to come out for an hour a day but one at a time.
This small area is where the death row inmates were allowed to come out for an hour a day but one at a time.
Old Joliet Prison
Old Joliet Prison

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Jurica Nature Museum

Jurica Nature Museum

5.0
(5 reviews)
13.3 mi

It is very small but alot of animals and birds behind glass that are stuffed. Very inpresses as a…read moreadult.

Another Sunday with my sister in law in charge of how we spend our day. She is famous for finding…read morethese obscure museums and the like to check out. Of course, they are usually closed when we get there, but this time we lucked out. The Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum at Benedictine University is really quite impressive. It's not very large, but they have a considerable collection of specimens. Taxidermied and preserved animals ranging from glass coral to polar bear. Not only are the specimens very well preserved (they put the sad furballs at the Field Museum to shame), but since most of the collection isn't behind glass you can get a really good look at them. If I didn't have the respect for museums that a Montessori school instills in a child I would be able to share a picture of me kissing a lion with you, that's how close you can get to them. The museum is located on the 2nd floor of the Birck Hall of Science. When we arrived the lights were off and we assumed Sue had confused their hours, but apparently they turn the lights on when someone arrives! We found the entrance and the docent welcomed us and turned on the lights. There is an annex across the hall with a dozen or so more stuffed creatures to check out. Aside from their impressive and well displayed collection the next best thing about this place...it's free! Free parking and free admission.

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Summer hours
Summer hours
At Benedictine university, pretty cool museum which lets you be close to the animals without any danger of dying lol

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At Benedictine university, pretty cool museum which lets you be close to the animals without any danger of dying lol
St Charles History Museum

St Charles History Museum

4.5
(6 reviews)
1.9 mi

Not a huge museum but this spot does a great job of packing as much as they possibly can both…read moreinside of, and outside of the museum. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in extremely high quality displays with very attractive panels that provide detailed stories and videos to supplement some of the items. This museum also uses the wall space very efficiently, packing plenty of artifacts and information without much space between each item. Though most of the information is in one room, it takes quite a while to read through everything which provides a great sense of important people and buildings throughout St. Charles' history.

This is a small one room museum on the history of St. Charles. They really need some more space;…read morethey're set up in an old gas station. One enters through the gift shop; there is a timeline set up that one follows through the room, with several standalone glass cases, and a few cases shoved up against the walls behind the railing showing the timeline. A few costumes (half a dozen) are featured, including a reproduction Civil War uniform and some authentic World War 1 uniforms, a flapper dress and a dress Miss USA 1977 wore during her reign. Standout pieces include an old dentist's chair with various items from a dental office and a beautiful woven cane baby carriage with beautiful lace trim on the canopy. Do spend a minute to stop at the tiny pickle display to read about how St. Charles was the Pickle Capital of the World, even though no pickles were ever made there. There's also some very nice cut glass in a small display. A couple of pianos and a traveling trunk are jammed into the foyer. When there are visitors they turn on several different documentaries; one, from WTTW, includes a fairly interesting bit on Garfield Farm down the road on the 38. There's a lot of information jammed in here, and I came away with an appreciation for all the various industries that once called St. Charles home, but not a good overall picture. They just need more space. Still, donations are voluntary only,they're not getting any support from the city, and they're only asking for two bucks.

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St Charles History Museum
St Charles History Museum
The largest selection of St. Charles souvenirs in town! Mugs, pillows, t-shirts, and more

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The largest selection of St. Charles souvenirs in town! Mugs, pillows, t-shirts, and more
Illinois Railway Museum

Illinois Railway Museum

4.3
(133 reviews)
26.2 mi

Fantastic! But I must qualify rating…read more Let me begin by saying I enjoyed my visit to the museum. They have a wonderful collection of several different types of trains (steam, electric, diesel) and an excellent collection of streetcars. You can ride a train and a street car; they have one of each running on different tracks. AND the prices of their food at the Central Diner won't break the bank. I thought the museum was very alive, in the sense that there seems to be a huge staff working on and operating the trains. It felt like a less hectic train yard. Would I recommend visiting the museum ... I hesitate. If you truly enjoy trains, it's an easy yes. If you don't, well, I hesitate to recommend it, even though I really would like you to go visit it. I have only visited a couple railway museums: B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore and the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay. I had a wonderful time at both of these museums, and it is difficult for me to quite put my finger on why I had less fun at the Illinois Railway Museum. I think one of the reasons is that you are always at ground level looking up. You don't get to get in or even have the opportunity for an elevated view of any of the trains, nor do you get to go in the cab of any of them. Because of that, I think I felt less connected to the trains, as so much of them was unseen. The streetcars are low enough that it isn't such a problem. But it would have been wonderful to have a few street cars available to go through.

An extensive and massive collection of railroad cars, locomotives, and memorabilia. they have steam…read morediesel trolleys, you name it. Really amazing how much they have. You can also take a ride on an electric car that used to go from Chicago to the suburbs. The staff are amazing and will help you find anything that you need. One of the employees even opened the used bookstore to help us find an item. he really went above and beyond to help us in our search for a particular item. The only downside is that several of the attractions had different hours and were closed. Also, we found it difficult to find particular locomotives or cars we were looking for. They can definitely make signage a little better and clearer. Other than that, it is a great place to visit.

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Dishes and serving wear from various train lines.
Dishes and serving wear from various train lines.
Illinois Railway Museum
Illinois Railway Museum

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Geneva History Museum - museums - Updated June 2026

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