This is a nice, small museum. A bit overpriced but worth doing once, and it is next to the…read morechocolate shop and factory. We did not do the outdoor parts. It was a nice stop.

We spent 2 hours here. When we arrived, we bought tickets and were routed to a room with a video on…read morethe history of the place that was about 5-10 minutes. We were told to exit through a door into the museum where we meet a worker who gave us a very good 5-minute overview. We then spent 45 minutes walking around a large room with dinosaur fossils, explanations, a few animals (lizard, chicks, turtle) with a guide to tell us about a few, and various thorough explanatory signs. We then went out the back and did a trail that was about a 1-mile circle that was a little hilly - to see the bisons at the far end - and a barn full of chickens and some machinery. We saw about 4 rotted out Studebakers just off the trail. Took about 40 minutes. Would have been nicer to have a couple benches along the way or where the bison are. Then we spent 15 minutes between the chocolate shop and gift shop. There was goat food for sale, but we didn't find the goats. All-in-all, clean, friendly people, nice way to spend a couple hours for older kids or adults. They did have a fossil dig, better for smaller children.

My toddler was in heaven at this place! It's $8 a person (12 months and older). They have a toddler…read morearea for 4 and under but every area has stuff for every age kid. The staff are nice and keep the areas clean. They do have a storytime but we opted out to get a little more time away from the other kids as it can get overwhelming. I would recommend this for younger age range as some of the older kids seemed to get bored at some of the areas

Took our 16 month old and he loved the toddler room!! I do…read morewish the toddler area was larger as it ended up being crammed while we were there. Also wish the time slots were longer than an hour, but otherwise woukd definitely recommend. We didn't even make it to the second level because we felt the toddler area was best fit for our little one!

We have brought our small home daycare here many times. Love the fact it's clean, and has new items…read moreeach time we come and the children just love it, so many new experiences ! Thanks so much!!

Absolutely adorable. Such a hidden gem i couldn't get my 6 and 4 year old to leave! So much to…read moreexplore and so much imaginative play to be had! Really wonderful. We stopped on our way cross country and will stop again for sure!

As part of our visit to the Studebaker Museum, we also decided to visit the History Museum mainly…read moreto tour the Oliver Mansion that was adjacent. Fortunately we arrived at the right time as there are only two tours per day. We had ample time to tour the Studebaker Museum and then joined the mansion tour. The mansion has 38 rooms and was built in 1895-96 and was beautifully finished in almost every part. J. D. Oliver was president of the Oliver Chilled Plow Works and grew the company into one of the largest in the world in the late 1800's. The home was called, "Copshaholm" which was the name of the Scottish village the Olivers were from. Of interest to me was the degree of finish quality especially the woodwork. The home remained totally furnished which from my perspective was nice as many tours we've been on featured large, empty rooms. Despite the home being so old, there was a pretty good air handling system that even on this brutally hot day, we remained comfortable. After visiting the Studebaker and History Museums, we hit a favorite restaurant before driving home. All in all a very good day.

The history museum consists of 2 levels of historical information, artifacts, and material from…read morewhen the first European settlers arrived in the South Bend area up until the present. When you come in, you go to the right and spend time going through a large room that takes about 45 minutes to cover. Then you go downstairs right below and there's a winding path that takes another 45 minutes. Right outside that winding path is a sizable children's play area where small kids can go "back in time". When returning to the main floor, there are a few exhibits as you head to the carriage house. You can add a guided tour of the Oliver Mansion. Yet, those tours are only at 1:00 and 2:00 as I type. So plan accordingly. We found the museum very enlightening. We were able to take the tour, which gave a great sense for the richest people in South Bend from over 100 years ago - but it's not a show-stopper by any means if you don't do it and just do the main museum. They've got a lot of period exhibits with great artifacts and signage.

We heard there was an interesting automotive museum in South Bend so we decided to check it out…read morewhen we were in South Bend this week. The Studebaker National Museum consists of three floors that display everything from carriages, wagons, automobiles, "sleighs", military vehicles and trucks. The first thing I noticed when we entered the museum was how well the air conditioning worked! It was at least 95 degrees when we arrived. We bought tickets to both the Studebaker and History Museum (which included a tour of the Oliver Mansion adjacent to the museum). I was amazed to learn the earliest Studebaker automobiles were electric and had an approximate 70 mile range. I tried to learn how charging was accomplished but was unable to. There was a display of carriages along with some presidential carriages including the one that transported Abraham Lincoln to the Ford Theater the night of his assassination. Of huge interest was seeing the evolution of automotive design through the years. It could be argued that many cars today look alike. That certainly was not the case 50 or more years ago. Studebaker manufacturing sites were in South Bend, Detroit, Chicago and Hamilton Ontario with the last car coming off the assembly line in in 1966. This was an excellent way to spend a few hours. The museum also includes a gift shop and snack bar.

Great history of the Studebaker company which started with wagons, became the largest auto company…read morein the U.S. prior to World War I - and stayed strong and viable until the early 1960s - going under in 1966. 3 levels of vehicles from all eras complete with signage and history. Studebaker was the largest employer in the area for decades. It is hard now to realize that they were as well known a hundred years ago as GM or Toyota would be today. Very well restored. Takes about 90 minutes to see it all on average.

This was a beautiful house to tour. Our tour guide was wonderful and very knowledgeable. I learned…read moreso much about the history of this family between the house and the museum. I visited while the house was decorated for Christmas, which I highly recommend. The decorations were gorgeous.

My husband and I came here for "Christmas at Copshaholm" and it was truly magical. We are both born…read moreand raised in Elkhart but neither one of us had ever been here. I saw that it was decorated for Christmas (my favorite holiday) and decided it would be the perfect first visit for us. As soon as you walk in you're hit with the beauty of all the original woodwork in the home. It's absolutely stunning. We learned that all of the furniture is original to the house, which is such a rare and special touch when looking at a historical home. We take historical home tours all over the U.S. and it's very rare that all the furniture is original to the home. We will absolutely be back! I didn't take many pictures because I was taking in all the beauty!

These are some of trains they have at the Hesston Steam Museum and they also have things on displayread more

If you are looking for something to do in Northern Indiana, Heston Steam Museum is a great place to…read morego. They introduce you to various historical ways of working with steam machines. They have an assortment of old farm tractors and vehicles. And they have a working sawmill. On occasion, I've seen the blacksmith shop open and hammering away at keepsake souvenirs. The highlight of the trip will be a steam engine train ride through the grounds and woods. Along with a narration by the conductor. This is a fun place to go on the holidays as they theme the train to the holiday. There is a train themed gift shop perfect for souvenirs of your trip. And popcorn to purchase. Occasionally, the soda fountain is open. But, if they are not, Heston Supper club is down the road along with other options in nearby LaPorte, Indiana or New Buffalo, Michigan.

We visited the museum on a very rainy day...and everyone else in town had the same idea…read more The museum is great - skewing younger (~18 months and up) but there are things for older kids to enjoy. There is a small ball pit, sand, castle and then as you work through the rooms there are all sorts of things to do and snippets of information all throughout. If I had any complaints it was that parking was small and you have to go all over the place to find parking. Great spot for small ones to get out of the rain and keep them occupied.

I have to admit that I fell into my superhero fascination much later in life and I came in through…read morethe movies more than the comic books. As a kid, I was completely taken with Batman - the 1966 version. I could watch and talk that Batman for hours. The rest was interesting to me - but I didn't really get a lot of comics as a kid. I did get The Three Stooges comic books - but not much more. As an adult, my appreciation has spread to Daredevil, Black Adam, and the first two Deadpool movies among others. When I walked into the Hall of Heroes in Elkhart, Indiana, I was blown away. The first element of this five-star experience is the off-street parking. That sounds innocuous, but I am a Chicago guy and parking is always a consideration. The next delightful surprise was the price. It was 10 bucks. I had a HoH coupon for a buck off that I had picked up at another museum, the gentleman applied it to my ticket and my buddy's ticket. This gentleman - Allen Stewart - was quick to give us the rundown on the place. He was thorough, before setting us free in the small - but perfectly packed and maintained - museum. The building is divided by Marvel, D.C., and Independents with no one get preferential treatment. This is how a museum should be - just present what you have and let the visitor enjoy. As we worked our way up one aisle and down the next, we saw every kind of action figure you can imagine and some you couldn't. (Who knew they made Hong Kong Fuey action figures?) I got to pose on the bike that Nic Cage rode in "The Ghost Rider," I also got to lay on the Shelby from "Iron Man." (Stewart diligently took pix until I was totally satisfied. I can be kind of a diva.) We also got up close and personal with Batman and Superman and Wonder Woman. There were so many ancillary super-hero themed novelties from Crazy Foam to metal lunch boxes and so many other things I had completely forgotten about. Suddenly my childhood was displayed in pristine display cases. Hall of Heroes covers generations of comic books and comic book iconography that your grandparents will love it as much as your children. If the little ones get bored - there are free arcade games on hand to keep them satisfied. There are bins of reasonably priced comic books and a small shelf for the obligatory souvenirs. Walking back out into the misty autumn Indiana day, my buddy and I discussed how much Stewart knew and his love for the industry. He made the visit exciting. He isn't a ticket-taker. He is the gateway into the superhero universe.

If you're a comic fan this place is fun. If not, the best thing about it is the arcades, which is…read morecool to see. SO it's okay overall. Just a decent historical covering of comics and tons of memorabilia. I wish the back issues were cheaper and they were better organized as I feel whenever things get too tight to peruse it's too filed up, and perhaps a cheapo cutout section might be cool.

Recently renovated, the Raclin Murphy museum was a first for me in that I've never visited a museum…read morewith a chapel inside. Sculpture is a large focus for the museum, but they do have works by more well known artists. I appreciated the descriptions next to many of the artworks as they provided additional context. Restrooms were available on all floors and they have space for rotating exhibits. There is a very, very small gift shop on the first floor next to the cafe.

For a small art museum they had an amazing collection! On the Notre Dame campus and always FREE!read more