Took a quick day cruise out to Dubuque Iowa. Yeah I know Iowa right. Fun little town located on the…read moremississippi river. Spent about 2 hours at the Mississippi River museum.Looking at the animals , checking out the museum,river and the exhibits outside. There was multiple movies and exhibits about early travel on the mississippi river and also real boat engines of steamboats and other river vessels. We spent about two hours there , exploring the inside and the outside of the museum. Very enjoyable and inexpensive experience for people of all ages.

The museum is awesome!! So much to see and learn. The wildlife is incredible to see. We saw a very…read moremajestic bald eagle up close. We experienced the steam engines running and visited with the curator for a bit to learn even more. The movies were very well done. The fact that your tickets are good for two days allows you to take your time. Worth every penny and your time!!! A must see!!

If you like old form toys, this is the place for you. Although it is somewhat unassuming, this…read moreplace has a incredible variety of farm toys. It has two levels of wide expanse for all kinds of farm toys, old western toys, etc. The fellow who was ticketing and selling items in the museum store was very helpful. He was also a good spokesman for Dyersville. He talked up the town.

From the owner: The National Farm Toy Museum's mission is to provide an educational experience of the history of…read moreagriculture through farm toy collecting: To preserve and promote the rich history of agriculture through farm toy collecting To provide a unique and educational experience to visitors To extend valuable resources to farm toy collectors To organize special events and toy shows to promote the industry To conserve the history of farm toy manufacturing Products: Gifts and Collectibles Books, Price Guides (Farm Toy) Stuffed Animals Tractor and Company History Books Decor Kitchen and Sign Decor Kid's Farm Toys and Books that are Age Appropriate Puzzles T-Shirt Apparel Scale Models Baseball Hats, Brand Themed Services: Self Guided and Group Tours Museum National Farm Toy Museum Builder and Collectors Society Brands: Massey Ferguson John Deere Ertl Case IH Spec-Cast New Holland Scale Models Allis-Chalmers Oliver Ford Location Facts: Junction of Highway 136 and Highway 20

Great place to stop if you are spending anytime in Galena! Staff was very knowledgeable and kindread more

Overheard Charles the tour guide question a service animals purpose and express that it seemed like…read morean emotional support animal not a service animal. Charles also was not great at answering questions to guests and was very sarcastic.

This is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it museum on the way to House on the Rock. It is totally worth…read moreyour time to stop. Fantastic collection of local, regional, and global crystals, fossils, gems, and rocks. The owner will give you some history on the collection and then you can just wander and gape at all the cool stuff. There's an entire room of fluorescing rocks. There are massive geodes. There are even more massive fluorite specimens. There are even fossilized lightening strikes! That's right, lightening strikes. There's also a stable so you can go for a ride and visit the museum in one stop.

While it may look unassuming, this is an amazing little museum. The specimens are truly remarkable…read moreand the owner is a kind old man who's happy to share his passion with you. It does cost $7 to get in, but that's a small price to pay for the intimate experience. There is also a small gift shop that's perfect for mineral or fossil nerds (plus it's very reasonably priced. If you're stopping by House on the Rock, Taliesin, or Cave of the Mounds, you need to stop by here! It's criminally underrated! Definitely going to stop by here again.

I went on a date with my boyfriend to visit the National Czech and Slovak Museum. Staff at the…read morefront desk was very friendly and helpful about the exhibit. It turned out to be a really neat exhibit, with lots of interesting information provided everywhere you turned. I liked seeing the rotating mannequins displaying the different outfits worn by the Czech and Slovak people. I also liked reading about their different foods associated with their culture. We both enjoyed our time there very much! The gift shop at the end of the exhibit was filled with all sorts of neat traditional items of the Czech and Slovak culture. All Very Cool! I definitely recommend for everyone to visit this museum at least once in your life!

I'm definitely glad I had the chance to visit the National Czech and Slovak Museum. However, it…read morewas a lot smaller exhibit-wise than it appeared on the outside which might be worth noting. Underground parking garage kind of seemed to be closed when we pulled up, but it is not - just don't be shy about pulling your vehicle right up to the door! The nearby Czech Village is a fun artsy neighborhood worth your time as well.

Amazing time, quant, peaceful & informative(: The Roman…read moreEmpire exhibit was super unexpected & exciting in my opinion w/the coin collection & history of empresses. Honestly really good exhibits. Love the landscape of Iowa w/amazing security around the facility & front desk

I'll go ahead and give them five stars because it was free the day/time I went, and they don't…read moreforce you to exit thru the gift shop. Otherwise it's a bit small but since I don't know what they charge even I won't judge them for that. What they did have was generally pretty impressive, the Grant Wood collection was surprisingly beautiful. The Roman section had some great historic items as well. There's as a large focus on local Iowa artists, and a lot of landscape works at the moment at least. Plenty of free parking in the area on weekdays, I saw a garage too but don't know the situation. Staff is friendly and helpful. Definitely worth checking out. Building is old and pretty cool.

Great museum. We'd…read morevisited here last, about 20 years ago. Memory fades and it was time to revisit on this trip. All exhibits are housed inside on 2.5 floors. There is also a gift shop and restrooms. I found no elevator. We paid (senior rate saves $1 each) and went into a seating room where there used to be a video projection (no longer working). The staff member there today, Les, led everyone into this room to be seated. Les spoke about the rich history of Galena and he was quite detailed. We found this worthwhile. After the speech, we looked around this room at mostly US Grant artifacts, then we headed to a very large back room that has many displays, dioramas etc. on Galena. Lead mining had a rich history here for a few decades, so there was a lot of mining history on display. When we were done downstairs, we walked upstairs where there is a smallish room on the 2nd floor and a much larger room on what I'd call floor 2.5. Floor 2.5 had mostly wartime history while floor 2 had a variety of history on display. Note that the stairs are fairly steep. The first set also has a 90 degree turn near the top. There is a low, wooden banister-style handrail on one side. To access floor 2.5, there are another 6 or 8 steps to get up to it and there's a metal handrail for them. All in all - it's a pretty well done history museum for a small community and it was worth the time. I'd recommend this useful to anyone who wonders, "why does this town exist, how was it formed and what does its evolution look like". We enjoy museums like this.

What a great little museum! We didn't know what to expect, but I can honestly say we were blown…read moreaway! The ladies that welcomed us were so friendly and knowledgeable about the museum! There was so much packed in! It wasn't only about Grant but about the whole settling of Galena and all the way back to the ice age! I have to say this is a gem of a place and definitely a must see! It's clean and reasonably priced! We will definitely come back when we come to visit again.

A wonderful day at the museum. The sloth is definitely our favorite. This museum is wonderfully…read morekept up and we always enjoy our visits.

Love, love, love this museum. Nestled right on the Pentacrest of The University of Iowa campus, we…read morereally do have an amazing resource in our own backyard (for those of us who live in the Eastern Iowa corridor area, at least). The museum hasn't changed much since I last visited 10+ years ago, but that's okay. Rusty the Sloth and the polar bear in the gift shop are staples. Macbride Hall houses the Department of Anthropology at U of I. Wouldn't it be cool to see these artifacts every day as a student? The pair of lions in Mammal Hall were placed in an enclosed case in 202 (previously not enclosed) and a nice mural was painted behind them. From what I could tell, that's the most recent update to one of the museum's exhibits. Museum is free, but a donation is suggested. Please don't skip the donation box located near the guestbook in the gift shop. As indicated in a previous review, some of the exhibits have become quite 'well-loved.' Interactive features no longer work, particularly in the Hall of Birds. Mammal Hall is my most favorite, but there's so much to learn from each area of the museum. The museum covers 3 floors of Macbride Hall. Take the stairs and work those quads! Elevator available as well. Due to the summer season museum hours are a little different, so I'd call ahead or check the website for details. Parking during the summer on the street is easy to find. $1.50/hour. Highly recommend!

I stopped in on my way through Waterloo. I haven't been to the museum since I was little. It is…read moredelightful. Just the right size for a short stop, yet packed with great information and insights. The displays and interactive activities are well done and good for all ages. Thank you for persevering all this history.

Good sized museum with plenty of information about local history and some science topics. One thing…read moreI really liked was all the different options for fun photo opportunities that are good for both children and adults. These are arranged on two separate floors that are fairly well spaced so that you have plenty of room to explore, even with other patrons inside the museum. The displays are done well, with plenty of artifacts shown in a realistic setting and well written explanations of what the visitor is looking at. Overall, a nice place to spend a few hours learning and exploring.