Let's start with a couple of housekeeping items that you need to know about. This is NOT the…read moreprehistoric Native American community of Aztalan. That state park is about a mile and a half south on County Highway Q. This museum is on the site of what is called Pioneer Aztalan, located on the southeast corner formed by County Highways B and Q. At one time, these roads were major routes, CTH B was the Milwaukee-Mineral Point territorial road. About 1918, it became Wisconsin 30 which was eventually replaced by I-94. CTH Q was the Fond du Lac-Janesville road that was eventually replaced by Wisconsin 26. (See Christopher Bessert's excellent "Wisconsin Highways" website for more about these roads. http://www.wisconsinhighways.org/index.html) Being on this important crossroads, by 1850, Aztalan had grown to become one of the most important towns in Jefferson County. It was the site of the first post office in the county, two blacksmiths, a shoe shop, two stores, a quarry, a sawmill, and a church. When the railroads came through and bypassed Aztalan, it became mostly a ghost town. The church is the only original Pioneer Aztalan building extant. In 1941, the Lake Mills Aztalan Historical Society was formed to preserve the heritage of the Pioneer Aztalan property, that borders the prehistoric Aztalan Native American state park. The restored church is the society's museum with an amazing collection of artifacts from 19th Century Wisconsin life. The society located other historic structures in the area and moved them to the site, including a Moravian church, the one-room John Petty Family log cabin (donated by a descendant of the Petty family) the Zickert log home (moved during the construction of I-94) and a granary that models a 19th Century wood wright's shop. (A house on the property is not considered a historic structure.) The society later purchased the one-room schoolhouse across the road - don't miss it! The school was built in 1917 to replace one that burned down, and it appears as it would have in the 1940s. It was used as a school until the 1950s. The Pioneer Aztalan site became a Wisconsin landmark in 1969 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The Princess Mound on the grounds is a Native American burial mound, circa 1200. It is one of the thousands of mounds cataloged by Dr. Increase Lapham. The princess is not there, she was exhumed and moved to Milwaukee for preservation, research and security. The mound is considerably lower than its original six foot height, the soil was probably used for fill in the 19th Century. This is a can't-miss visit to see what life was really like around the time Wisconsin became the 30th state on May 29, 1848. Of all the small, volunteer operated museums in Wisconsin, this is one of the outstanding ones, with an amazing collection, and well worth your time to visit. It's open from Mid-May to the end of September every year, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays Noon to 4 PM. Cash only, no plastic money accepted for a nominal admission fee. It's easily reached from Johnson Creek on the east and Lake Mills on the west. Just follow the signs on CTH B. Don't miss this one.

Small museum funded and operated by a private society with exhibits pertaining to the Aztalan State…read morePark Native American mound building society just to the south of the museum, and to life in the now-defunct pioneer village of Aztalan, which existed from around 1840 to the 1900s but has now completely disappeared except for a couple of old buildings maintained by the museum. Some nice exhibits of Native American artifacts, and some nice period pieces from the pioneer village. Some nice rebuilt actual log cabins of the time, old small log cabin Moravian Church built by the German settlers in 1861, old one room schoolhouse. Admission is $5, open Thursday-Sunday 12noon-4pm starting about the middle of May through September. If you are planning a visit in late September, be sure to call ahead, as their last day this year was 9/28/2014. They don't take credit cards, so have cash on hand for the admission fee. If you are interested in Native American mound building culture, they have some copies for sale of "Aztalan: Mysteries of an Ancient Indian Town" by Robert Birmingham and Lynne Goldstein, which does a nice job of describing the site and relating it to the Cahokia site near East St. Louis. A visit here nicely compliments a visit to the Aztalan State Park just to south of the museum. Website: www.orgsites.com/wi/aztalan/index.html

My fiance and I visited this today for the first time. David, was extremely kind and informative…read more We had no idea dungeons and dragons started in this town. Such a great museum, great staff, and enjoyable visit. Make sure you check this place out, you will not regret it!

Museums weren't one of the first things that came to mind for me when I thought of Lake Geneva…read moreuntil today, but thanks to the Geneva Lake Museum I won't be making that mistake again. Stopped in today to cool off and learn a bit about the history of the area after reading about them online. GLM delivered in spades with a collection of artifacts and information that is well worth the price of admission ($12) and workers who seem to take genuine pride in what they're presenting. I wish I'd caught my guide's name - he was a friendly man who was more than happy to tell me about any exhibit I was taking in, answer any questions I had, and even told me a bit about his own family's history in the area after I mentioned that part of mine had been in southeast Wisconsin for 150 years. Also of note: they do not shy away from Lake Geneva's status as the birthplace of Dungeons & Dragons, either, which is cool to see.

Such a great time! The grandkids loved it almost as much as we did. The owners are such great…read morehosts, and you truly will be amazed by all the fun details! So much to see. Don't forget the train ride!

Such a great place for kids (young and old)! I'd recommend planning to spend about an hour there…read more There's lots of buttons to push for the kids and TONS of details to keep the adults busy.

We came here on a Sunday with my kids (5 and 3). It being March, the outside was open so we were…read moreglad to explore outside for a bit but it closed at 4 pm. I felt this time that the place was kept tidier. I saw employees moving from area to area and trying to keep things in place, which seems like a pretty tough task with the amount of stuff in each area. My kids had a lot of fun in the upstairs area. There's lots to do & for $12 each, it can easily keep young kids entertained.

I cannot recommend this place highly enough!! Absolutely killer on every level!! This is fun for…read moreadults to come to too! Obviously you need to be an inquisitive person and still enjoy learning new things.... But if you have some kids to bring it's literally like Disneyland but where they learn how everything works in the universe...... You really need to come here multiple times to take everything in..... If you care about your kids, and want them to be smart, this place is mandatory!

Totally 80s! Totally fun! Went there with my son and it was a blast from the past! Lots and lots of…read morecostumes and accessories to choose from. Lots of cool scenarios to take pics! PLUS: they have tripods and selfie sticks you can use. Great location and something different to do when you're in the dells. Make sure you use coupon!

I am very surprised that I am the first to review this place. It has been open for about a year and…read moreis awesome. It is something that is cool and different for the family to do. You can't miss it. Just look for the colorful cars standing up on end. They have a decent sized parking lot that it shares with the other business in the strip mall that it is in. I was also surprised that I did not have to have a reservation, even though I got there early. There still was not a long line or huge crowd the whole time I was there and we spent about an hour there. They do not even offer reservations either so, I do not know how they handle it if they get slammed packed. You start your journey by getting dressed in 80s gear that they provide. You could also bring your own, but they have a huge selection of pants shirts, shoes, earring headbands, sunglasses, gloves, phones, hats, sweatpants, and chains. They also have makeup for you. They provide changing rooms and lockers to lock up your clothes you wore there. I recommend getting there early to get your full pick of clothing. Once something is worn, it is out of commission for a while until it is cleaned. The staff there is so helpful and friendly they are awesome. They provide you with a tripod, which was perfect because I was able to use my Apple Watch to control my phone's shutter. They have about 20 scenes set up for you to take some photos. Some of the scenes include MTV, a big boom box, Miami Vice car, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Farris Beuler's room, Super Mario Brothers, Hulk Hogan, Back to the Future 2 hoverboard, a rubix cube, bubble gum and you start it all off with the Simpsons, which is located in the area with the clothes. The scenes are very well done. My favorite was probably the MTV, followed closely by Miami Vice and the Rubix Cube. You end your tour by exiting through a huge stack of VHS tapes which comes out in the gift shop and looks like a coke machine on that side. The gift shop has candy, drinks and 80 themed items like shirts, hats, rubix cubes, bags, lite brites and pictures. Once you hit the gift shop, don't forget to go outside and take pictures by the cars though before you turn your clothes back in. When you turn you clothes back in, you put them in a basket for cleaning and you are off. This place was very fun. My littles, who were both born in the 2010's both had a blast. You will definitely get some awesome shots. If you have an Apple Watch and iPhone, it is easy peasy. If not, you will just have to use your camera's timer or bring your own Bluetooth shutter. I highly recommend checking this place out. It puts an 80s spin on the selfie museum fad that is sweeping the country. It is a unique spot and is definitely more than worthy for a prime-time spot on your itinerary.

Though I'm sure the new MPM will be amazing, I'm still bummed to know this museum is closing soon!…read moreMy kids are big fans of this place. So crazy that it hasn't changed a bit since I would go here on school trips years and years ago. The exhibits continue to offer so much! From taking you through the dino-ages, to exploring the rainforest, and Native American history. Lots of areas to check out. Favorite has to be the Streets of Old Milwaukee which is just so immersive. We also love the butterfly room (so many live butterflies!) and the planetarium dome theater, which shows various educational films. They ask that you don't have food and drinks while touring around (understandable), but they have a huge cafe/dining area on the ground level. It's great because you can bring your own packed lunch and snacks, or purchase from their various offerings. Underground parking, easy check-in, and friendly staff, too!

I grew up in the Fox Valley and have fond memories of the occasional field trip to the Milwaukee…read moreMuseum and the occasional family trip to visit as well. It took until adulthood for me to learn there's a button to make the rattlesnake move. (If you know, you know). I enjoyed bringing my own kids when they were little and seeing the exhibits through their enthusiasm. I have nostalgic memories of MPM and I really hope that transcends to the soon to be new facility. I hear the streets of Milwaukee exhibit will be modified in the move. To the powers that be that may stumble across this review - this exhibit and what you do with it when you move will do a lot to make or break public sentiment.

We stopped here on our way on our vacation. It was a little out of the way but nice to explore…read moresomething else besides madison children museum and Betty Brin children museum in Milwaukee. We were pleasantly surprised how large inside and how clean and well maintained. Admission is $16 which is for kid with 2 adults. It is a little expensive but it's better than our play cafe little village which charges $12-14. My son loved the pirate ship with slide. My daughter loved the market stand. Upstairs has vending machine with reasonable price treats and drinks.

Very fun neat place to take the kiddos!! It was a lot bigger inside than I was expecting. There…read morewere so many different little areas set up to explore! My daughter ran from area to area for about an hour just checking everything out to see what was all there. The art craft area is very cool - set up perfectly for the kiddos to hop in and paint quickly, or do the other crafts/coloring/art. My daughter loved the stage - she loves to perform! We will absolutely be back lots. It's a perfect place to go in long WI winters.

This is a museum exploring local history. It's free, but it's only open Thursday through Saturday…read morefrom 11am to 3pm. Hopefully, you're in town long enough to visit! The building doesn't seem too large, but there is a fair amount of artifacts and exhibits to view while you're in there! I would say, it took us about 3 hours to see everything at a leisurely pace. They let us explore many different eras of history from women's suffrage, Native Americans and early settlers, coal mining, farming, etc... It's definitely worth a stop if you're into history!

Free with donation - wonderful museum with 4 floors of exhibits and views of State Street and the…read moreCapital