Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Jacksonville Area Museum

    5.0 (1 review)
    Closed 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

    Jacksonville Area Museum Photos

    Recommended Reviews - Jacksonville Area Museum

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 0

    Verify this business for free

    Get access to customer & competitor insights.

    Verify this business

    Illinois State Museum

    Illinois State Museum

    4.4(26 reviews)
    30.6 mi

    Fun spot to go if you are in Springfield, Illinois. Admission is free. They have street parking and…read morea parking lot next to the museum. I enjoyed seeing all of the different exhibits. The Native American artwork was one of my favorites. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful beadwork. They did not have the theater showing anything the day that we went. So I would love to go back to see their theater. They often have kids events, so check their website to see if there's any special items going on. The basement level is a hands-on kids area for kids to play and explore. They also take donations since admission is free. I definitely plan to go back again.

    This was such a nice museum! We were in Springfield for less than a day, but still wanted to check…read moreit out! We are in the Curious Toddler Phase right now so all museums are on our go list. The staff here was VERY welcoming as we entered and explained to us what each floor was. Entry here is completely free! The first floor had a lot of history of Illinois and the common species that could be found. When I say history, it went back millions of years ago. It more of a science exhibit. It was very interactive for little ones with pull out drawers, spinning cranks, and windows at kid level for them to see fossils. We then went to the basement level that was the kid's area. My son loved it. And it was crowded with other kids who loved it. There was a pit to excavate fossils, another area to examine TONS of fossils and bones. My son particularly loved driving the fake jeep lol. It was a very fun experience for us. There was a whole other level dedicated to art that we did not get to see, but maybe the next time we are in the area we will!

    Photos
    Illinois State Museum
    Illinois State Museum
    Illinois State Museum

    See all

    Dana-Thomas House - Beautiful 12,000 square food house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

    Dana-Thomas House

    4.8(77 reviews)
    30.8 mi

    We reserved a free tour at Eventbrite. Jennifer brought 15 of us through this massive, historic…read morehome. She pointed out specific pieces, told stories about the owners & was very knowledgeable about Frank Lloyd Wrights work. We started our tour with a brief video about the glass work. We went into several sitting areas, Dana's bedroom, nursery, dining room, pantry & kitchen.library, bowling alley & billiards room. The 3rd largest home Frank Lloyd Wright ever designed. this remarkably preserve Prairie School icon dates from 1902 until 1904. It's more interesting than his home in Oak Park. The 16 floor home was considered experimental with a duckpin bowling alley & 2 barrel vaulted ceiling's. There is exquisite color shifting art glass & 90% of the furniture is original. Susan Lawrence Dana (1862-1946) was an heiress to a silver mines fortune . She was widow in 1900 & had complete control over her household & fortune. She was a leading philanthropic figure in Springfield. Dana decided to completely remodeled her home commissioning Frank Lloyd Wright. Her new home reflected her flamboyant personality & was designed for display & entertainment. The concept of "expanding space" was evident throughout the house with windows placed to continually draw the attention to the outside. Wright designed approximately 450 art glass windows, skylights, door panels, sconces & light fixtures for the house. The interior Torii gates are magnificent.hallway into two of the largest rooms in the house. The musical gallery for entertaining and the library contains special easels. Wright designed white oak furniture for Dana to display Japanese prints. In1928, Dana had dementia & financial constraints. In1944, the home and its contents were sold to Charles C. Thomas, a medical publisher. Thomas lived here & used this home as his publishing company. He sold the house to the state for a million dollars. It became a historic site. Jennifer shared that the house is still being utilized for social community events.

    This was so cool! What an amazing experience! This was my first Wright house, and I'm not sure it…read morecan be topped! I understand why photos aren't allowed inside, but I was expecting more postcards depicting the various rooms to be available in the gift shop. There was cool stuff, for sure, but more postcards of the interior would be great since photos aren't allowed. My tour guide was Allicent and she did a great job talking about all the artistic and architectural features of the home. There was also a video at the beginning about the manufacture of some of the glass. I was sorry that the intro video didn't tell us more about the historical and social context of Mrs Dana, but I imagine most visitors would be more interested in the architectural technique. My only complaint with my tour is that there were two little kids on it. They were like 3 and 5. They were totally distracting the whole time--talking, whining, trying to grab at things. I'm not sure why the museum has such strict rules about other things but also allows in kids under 12. There's nothing they could possibly glean from the tour. It's really not designed for kids. Nor should it be!

    Photos
    Dana-Thomas House
    Dana-Thomas House
    Dana-Thomas House - Welcome to the Dana-Thomas House

    See all

    Welcome to the Dana-Thomas House

    Jacksonville Area Museum - museums - Updated June 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...