While visiting Carlisle, pop into this free museum. Across two floors are exhibits about the area…read morewith artifacts and interactive stations for children. The staff are helpful. They even gave me a map of Underground Railroad stops in nearby Boiling Springs. The museum comes with restrooms and drinking fountains.

A real gem in the heart of Carlisle ! I was amazed at what they have to see and read . A must stop…read morewhen you are in town .

What a great place to walk and see military vehicles and history. To walk through the trenches and…read morefew other stuff was great. Definitely worth the drive from Gettysburg PA and definitely recommended. Would go back again. It can take the whole day if you read everything . There is outside walking path with all sorts of military vehicles trenches and inside museum with reading and hands on activities. Plus a nice gift shop. Please check them out it's free but they do take donations.

As a pacifist, I don't love visiting war sites, BUT I do enjoy history and wanted to check this…read moretop-rated museum out while visiting the area. Here's my experience. 1) Admission: Park in the free lot, enjoy the outdoor sculptures, and then walk inside. Admission is free. Staff will guide you to a table where you'll chose a free I.D. card that tells you the story of a soldier in one of several American wars. The World War II story is their most popular. 2) Exhibits: The main exhibit is tasteful and focuses on the history of the U.S. military, which I appreciated. It's a lot of reading, but they also have lots of artifacts, stations to interact with, and a fun parachute game. Space: There are clean restrooms, a gift shop, and other exhibits with photos, etc.

I have been here a few times. I love the nostalgia of all the candy I remember from childhood. All…read morethe elephants! It is a fun place to visit. This place makes everyone feel welcome. The garden outside is great in all seasons.

After five years, my wife and I finally paid a visit to this unque museum/candy store…read more This museum has over three thousand toy elephants of different sizes from other parts of the world on display. It is my understanding they have been in business for almost four decades The elephants are on display in glass display cases in the back of the store. There is full sized animated elephant outside in front of the store. It provides a great photo opportunity for the little ones The store is chock full of candy, ranging from hard candy to chocolate covered raisins, peanuts and just about everything in between. The candy and chocolates are sold prepackaged and loose for added convenience, as well as offering candy dispensers. They offer nostalgic candies as well, such as candy sticks and candy buttons on paper strips. At the front counter, they also offer store made fudge and chocolates. The store is packed tight with all kinds of candies and novelties. The parking lot is small and can easily get full during busy times such as weekends and warmer weather. There are restrooms in the rear of the store. I definitely recommend this store especially for young families and those young at heart.

A Celebration of Color, A delightful evening fundraiser at Susquehanna Art Museum featuring the…read moredebut solo exhibition, "If Herr Street Could Talk" of a Harrisburg High School 2004 graduate, Alteronce Gumby, a contemporary artist. It's great to support local talent and connect with friends at art fundraising events.

The museum is a bit small but the works are nice. Very friendly person, who took the $10 payment…read morefor entry, was very helpful/informative too. There was also a person on the 2nd floor that helped provide some info about some of the artwork we saw up there. The museum was still very quiet when I visited on a late Saturday morning (around 11am).

This museum is more so a rich man's afterthought. It is from someone who shot and killed animals in…read moreAfrica or in the US. There are rhinos, lions, a full size elephant, giraffe, lots of cats, bears, moose, and more. So basically someone went to kill animals in another part of the world and decided they couldn't keep their dead animals anymore. The new premise that turns it into a teaching experience is good. It is two floors. My kids did love seeing the animals. I did think it was fun but it was a little weird at the same time. It was a little hard to find on Messiahs campus. It isn't labeled very well on the outside. Maybe check it out once and move on.

The Oakes Museum of Natural History is a unique museum experience for the family, classroom, or…read moregroup featuring more than 40,000 specimens. The 10,000-square foot museum is home to a collection of Smithsonian quality African and North American mammals, birds, eggs, fish, seashells, minerals, insects, and fossils.

When I saw on social media that the Pennsylvania State Museum was offering Pay As You Wish…read moreadmission throughout July in celebration of America's 250th birthday, I figured it was the perfect excuse to revisit a place I hadn't been in...about 23 years. I vividly remembered visiting as a kid, especially the planetarium, and since the museum is scheduled to close for major renovations beginning in August, it felt like the right time to see it one last time before the transformation. Normally, adult admission is only $6, but during July visitors could choose what they wanted to pay. My choice? $0. Thank you very much! I arrived around 1:30pm on a Saturday afternoon and easily found parking right outside the museum. The weather was beautiful, so I expected most people were outside enjoying the sunshine rather than spending the afternoon indoors. That worked out well for me because the museum never felt crowded, making it easy to explore at my own pace. At the admissions desk, the employee explained that only the second and third floors were open and that the planetarium had already closed in preparation for the upcoming renovations. I'll admit...that was a bit of a bummer. The planetarium was one of the things I remembered most vividly from childhood, and I had been looking forward to experiencing it again. But...you get what you pay for. And in this case, I paid exactly zero dollars. I spent about an hour and a half wandering through the exhibits, and while I enjoyed taking my time, I found myself a little underwhelmed. The highlight of the visit was, without question, standing beneath the towering 18-foot William Penn statue once again. Seeing it as a forty-something adult immediately brought back memories of seeing it as a kid, and that little wave of nostalgia alone made me smile. My biggest disappointment, though, was the number of replica artifacts throughout the museum. I understand that replicas certainly have a place, especially when preserving fragile originals, but I found myself wishing there were more authentic historical objects on display. For me, that's part of what makes museums special. I can see photos and reproductions online. Standing in front of something that actually witnessed Pennsylvania's history is an entirely different experience. I'm not sure whether many of the original artifacts have already been removed because of the upcoming renovations or whether this has always been the museum's approach. Either way, it wasn't what I expected. I also noticed that several exhibit areas were extremely dark, making it difficult to read some of the informational panels. I'm not sure whether that was intentional or simply part of preparing the museum for renovation, but it definitely affected the experience. Overall, I'm glad I went. I satisfied my curiosity. I revisited a piece of my childhood. And I was reminded that Pennsylvania has a fascinating story to tell. That said, I probably don't need to visit again until the renovations are complete...maybe. I'm genuinely hopeful the upcoming improvements will better showcase the history, innovation, creativity and natural beauty of the Keystone State. As a lifelong Pennsylvanian, I'd love to see our state museum become the kind of place that leaves visitors walking out saying, "Wow...I had no idea." When it reopens, I'll consider giving it another chance. Maybe. If they bring back another Pay As You Wish promotion? There would be a stronger chance I'd check it out again.

I love museums, so on a weekend trip to Hershey and Harrisburg, I made the stop with my girlfriend…read moreand 11-year-old son. We found parking right outside of the museum - $8 for two hours. The State Capitol building is right next door, so it would be easy to combine the two and make a whole day of it. We went to the NJ State Museum in Trenton last spring, and this museum was a lot better. It helps that they charge admission in PA, whereas they do not in NJ, and the money is used to create a clean, informative and well-curated museum. Like NJ, this is a hodgepodge museum of all things related to Pennsylvania, including companies and products created in the state, its Native American and prehistoric histories, notable PA residents, and of most interest to my son, animal dioramas to rival those in the Mammal Halls of the Museum of Natural History in NYC. This museum is big with a ton of interesting things to read and see. For a Saturday in November, it was not that crowded at all. Overall, it's definitely worth seeing at least once and definitely worth the very cheap cost of admission.

If you're sans kids and looking for something different on the 3rd Friday of the month, Whitaker…read moreCenter's Night Shift is it. For $10 (cash preferred) you get admission, a drink voucher, and two hours to play with science exhibits... with a beer or wine in hand. Think Night at the Museum meets a cash bar. 100% yes. Adventure Buddy's highlight was the RaceIT exhibit, where he built and raced cars -- only to lose to my championship Houpe-De-Ville (sorry, not sorry). My favorite? The Hurricane Chamber that blasted winds up to 91mph. Cool? More like cold. I almost lost my contact lenses. Totally worth it. Even though the exhibits are geared toward kids, there's something magical about rediscovering them as an adult. Nostalgia hits, curiosity kicks in, and the 21+ crowd makes the vibe peaceful, playful, and fun. Between touching a tornado, watching turtles migrate across Earth, and laughing at ourselves while sipping drinks, it was an inexpensive, unique date night during 3rd in the Burg. Highly recommend pawning off the crotchgoblins with grandma and checking it out.

Conveniently located in downtown Harrisburg PA. Walking distance from many hotels and restaurants…read more The venue is nicely decorated with interesting history on display. Bar service on the first floor. Elevators to the Mezzanine floor, stairs to balcony. Seats are comfortable in balcony seating, just a little close together legroom wise for.a tall person. Easy access from the Hilton (all indoor over the bridgeway). Good views of the stage from all seating areas. Good venue for the blues concert attended.

I love this museum! The model train displays are absolutely stunning! And I loved the train…read moresimulator ride. In addition to the model train and railroad displays, the owner also has a vast collection of vintage locomotive bells and steam whistles from the glory days of American railroading. And the best part, he let me operate his Lionel O Scale Polar Express train set from the transformer! And of course, there is a play area for young children as well.

We enjoyed going through the Museum, we learned a lot. There was a lot of items not related to the…read moretrain station or Lincoln's ride. There was a few movies, and then we went into a new room, saw the route Lincoln and his son took, after they passed away, and finally rode a ride with "Lincoln" explaining where, and when they travelled through the USA. We were enjoying the tour. It could have been better if a guide would have stayed with us to explain things, but over all it's a good experience

The Milton S. Hershey mansion which is known as High Point was built in 1908 and was the home of…read moreHershey Chocolate founder Milton S. and Catherine Hershey. It's the home that chocolate built. Compared to other wealthy industrialists, such as the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts, High Point, designed by Henry Herr was very modest in size with only 22 rooms and a large front porch. After Catherine's death in 1915, Milton didn't want to have much to do with the place and sold or gave away most all the furnishings, and moved upstairs to three rooms while the house was turned into the clubhouse for the local golf course. The funny thing is that he used to call those three rooms with his porch overlooking the grounds, Atlantic City, so when people would come by looking for him, he had his staff say that he was in Atlantic City. When the Hershey country club was founded in 1930 Milton Hershey donated the house to the club and it remained his primary residence until his death in 1945. Later the house was acquired in 1970 by The Milton Hershey school, then purchased by Hershey Foods for its corporate headquarters in 1977 then years later, purchased by the Hershey Trust Company, which now continues their business at that location. Tour tickets are released on the 15th of every month for the following month and tours are held only on Saturdays. The tickets are sold on a first come, first serve basis, so it's best to plan ahead to get your tickets. the tours typically last 60 to 75 minutes and will require a good bit of standing and walking and there is no seating available. The tickets are only sold online and must be purchased at least one day in advance and they are not sold at the mansion. There is a 10 guest maximum per tour and you need to arrive 10 minutes prior to your tour at the bottom of the front porch steps. There is free parking available in the adjoining lot and while walking the grounds and taking as many pictures as you'd like on the grounds is admissible photography is not permitted inside the building. The docent and volunteers that run the program are well-versed and quite knowledgeable in all aspects of Milton, Hershey and his wife, Catherine, along with all the artifacts, original and reproduction furnishings that are located throughout the house. They were able to answer all of our questions, and even gave us some food for thought concerning the building of the house, cost of the house when built and the current structure of the house as it is today. A visit to the mansion is a definite must for anybody that's interested in the history of Milton, Hershey, and how he brought chocolate to the masses.

We are visiting the area and, staying about 30 minutes away, decided to make a trip to Discovery…read moreStation based on the website's description, which presents it as an engaging, interactive experience. Unfortunately, we found the visit quite underwhelming. The space itself is very basic, with limited exhibits and minimal interactivity. Much of what was on display felt dated and sparse, and it did not hold our attention for long. For a destination marketed as a hands-on discovery center, we expected a more immersive and thoughtfully curated experience. While this may be suitable for a very brief stop or for locals looking for something close by, it did not feel worth the drive for us as visitors. Overall, the experience did not align with the expectations set by the website, and we left feeling disappointed.

This is NOT the Discovery station building you see online or read about in the below reviews. They…read morehad a location change summer 2025 and the new space is quite lacking. Possibly good for 4 and under but we had been members for the last 4 years and as of right now are strongly considering not renewing. Some creative thinking and hard volunteer work could definitely improve the current space but it's not even 1/3 of what the old space was. **If the new space ups their game and adds value and better exhibits/ play spaces, I will remove or edit this review but I have ALOT of friends that have had the same lacking experiance and will also not renew the membership.