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 not for the Carrie Pearce exhibition, 'The Merry Makers,' my visit here would have been one of…read moreutter regret. This is a small museum and the draw is the even smaller collection of Grant Wood paintings. While you can take photos of most works here -- there isn't much of the permanent collection displayed -- the Woods are off limits to your photo shutter. That's just silly and the museum should embrace its few strengths. Ms. Pearce's paintings here made my visit. They are magical and were inspired by a woman named Ina who, many decades ago as a little girl, suffered from tuberculosis and was confined to a body cast for ten years. She underwent almost countless spinal surgeries. Her parents were permitted to visit just once a month. It's a heartbreaking story but the paintings here reflect the artist's vision of a girl who was forced to rely on just a few toys and the saving power of her imagination to survive. These scenes are dreamscapes meticulously and lovingly constructed. Due to the pandemic, at this time we are all in a state of our own cautious confinement. Having to withdraw from our family, friends, and neighbors, we now use time to explore our individual and collective imaginations. As we ruminate inside our homes, how will we picture and envision our future? It's scary right now but Ina is an example that we can thrive: in spite of all that she went through as a child, according to Ms. Pearce, Ina is 89 years old and healthy.

A lovely very small art museum that has a wonderful collection of Grant Wood lithographs from…read more1939-1940 which makes it worth the visit. Also a permanent collection of photographs of Native Americans early 20th century by Curtis. A room full of Royal Copenhagen ceramics from Art No era is quite impressive. Staff friendly.

Could the Sawmill Museum be Clinton's best kept children's activity secret? It's a definite…read morecontender in my book. Very unexpected museum right by the riverfront. I had no idea of Clinton's rich history as a logging mecca. The animatronics of the leaders of the logging industry was a nice touch. Children are free to run around and explore the various exhibits. I thought the replica of the logging cabin where workers lived was particularly impactful. There were maybe 3 bed areas in a tiny cabin and the information posted said something to the effect of up to 50 men lived in that small space. The large water table where you can explore how the logs got shipped down the river was fun for kids. Use the provided smock as the kids will get water on them. Excited for the forthcoming Thomas Dambo exhibit the museum seems to be spearheading.

This could be a wonderful educational place however I'm guessing extremely understaffed. The video…read moredemonstration s were not working. There was not anyone who could answer our questions about the displays which were not self-explanatory. There was a birthday party for young kids going on and they were running all over the museum. I was very disappointed in our visit. I hope things will improve soon

This is a gem of a museum. We were surprised at just how big it is. The displays are well…read moreorganized and the film is interesting. The steam boat was a bonus. The staff was also helpful and very knowledgeable. A must see.

This museum was more than we bargained for. It was only 5 dollars a person! We learned plenty about…read moreBuffalo Bill, but there's also a lot of history on the Mississippi River, Iowa history, LeClair history, and other US history. There's also an old one room school house! There is so much information here and so much to see that you could easily spent 4+ hours if you were thoroughly reading everything. The staff was very friendly and gave us some recommendations on other things to check out in LeClair as well.

We were in town mainly for genealogical research on my family which came to Carroll County in 1840…read more (Among other things, historians say my Great-great-great-uncle, David B. Emmert Sr., and his wife, Susan Price Emmert, were instrumental in founding the town of Mount Carroll.) So technically, this is the Carroll County Historical Society, and the Owen P. Miles Museum. Both a historic home and history museum, the museum complex is steeped in Carroll County history. The museum is generally open by appointment only. But during the summer it looks like they're open 9:30am to 1:30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Call ahead to be sure though. Give yourself at least an hour to tour the museum, and to view the very nice exhibits. In our case, Ronnie gave us almost four hours of her undivided attention that added enormously to what I already knew about my family. Compared with the disorganized local history section at the Mt. Carroll Library, the all-volunteer Carroll County Historical Society is a priceless resource, Thanks, Ronnie and Anne!

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.

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.

Pretty cool! Plenty…read moreof parking considering this place is WAY WAY off any beaten road. Love the building, the brick and stone look is in need of some work but, in good repair. Love the old steam locomotive and the 'jail' that was saved and maintained. Didn't get a chance to go inside because it was closed but, if the outside is any indication of what's in there, I'm sure it'll be good.

This is a local donations-only small budget museum in a former train depot. It looks like a layer…read morecake and they're particularly proud of the 8 chimneys. They're not open a lot and when they are you'll probably have the place to yourself. The bottom story includes exhibits on the old depot; there are also some personal effects of people who were connected with it. There is more information on Amboy and on the local industry, Sensient Flavors, on the second floor (Sensient gets a room to themselves). Kind of interesting. The gift shop has train-themed gifts; I picked up an engineer cap for the nephew.

A paradise for kids! This is such a thoughtfully designed place full of lots of different themed…read moreareas, from doctor's office to airplane, building areas, lego area, farm area, stage and dress up area, kitchen area, music room, sensory play area, a mini bank, dinosaurs and rocks... the list goes on. It is a large space with tons to do. My toddler was absolutely delighted to be here and could have played all day. A perfect place to bring kids, and it seems like it's geared toward kids between 0-10 years old. Also, there is a changing table as well as a kid sized toilet in the bathroom; they thought of everything! This museum is a fabulous resource for the area.

Wonderful museum for kids of all ages. There are two areas designated for very young kids. The rest…read moreof the museum has an arts room, puppet room, sensory room for children with special needs, areas to run and tumble, and places to build. There's a farm and garden area, and a restaurant section. Fun place to spend hours!