Mediocre food, service is the worst! Its a Thursday afternoon we got here around 1sh (serve until…read more2) waited 25 minutes for a BLT sandwich, chicken strips and a hamburger. The food was not brought out at the same time (I was served 5 minutes after my husband and son). The house is beautiful that's the only positive I can say about our experience today

I have eaten lunch here many times with my father over the years. So many great things on the…read moremenu. Butterscotch pie always a favorite. Had my father's funeral reception here. Buffet style and the food was delicious. Prices were great. Atmosphere always fantastic.

My kids love this place. There are a lot of things to do and explore. They enjoyed the slides,…read moremotion dancing theater.

Found this place on Groupon which k always check when I'm in a new place. It was $14 for two people…read moreso why not? I will say if you are a big science lover this one is not for you. There are a lot of kid activities but unless it gets updated one visit will be enough. I think it has potential to be great but there are about half of the items that were broken or stuff out that shouldn't be out, areas not closed off. There were a few cool things but i definitely wouldn't go back unless it was updated.

A very nice, pretty small museum. Bell grew up in Mentone, and when he died, he donated his…read morememorabilia there. Photographs, models, etc. It doesn't really cover the whole history of Bell Helicopters, just from his birth to his death. They do have a Huey, and two Bell 47s, one of which is restored as his personal helicopter, very plush and shiny. They are only open on Sundays, but the rest of the time you can call and make an appointment for a tour. I had seen the sign from the highway many times, I never had a chance to stop in, but this time I did, so I did. Things are nicely arranged. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable. There's a short movie about his life, and then you can walk around and look at the displays. There's a small gift shop. The local history museum is attached, and the Bell museum used to be in that building. There's also a memorial marker to him around the corner. We'll worth checking out if you are into aviation history and are anywhere nearby.

Have a 18month old that just loves this place. Great place for even older kids to play on the…read moreindoor play equipment. My son could live at the water table. Place is always clean, staff is always welcoming and bathrooms are always clean. We will be back many more times can't rate this place high enough on family fun.

Just barely three stars, and only three stars because my children seemed to enjoy our visit…read more Like someone else said, this children's museum has seen better days, and those days were probably about 20 years ago. Everything is very old, dingy and dated. There are literally computer printouts taped to the walls as decorations. Many of the exhibits have broken and dirty objects in them, like torn upholstery on the chairs, dirty play food, torn carpet. Now, there is some art that is laminated, but those are peeling off the walls and placed on the wall all crooked. All these things make the museum feel so neglected. We got there on a weekday right when it opened, and the staff was still vacuuming while the children were running around and playing. Really? You can't do this before you open? Children were running around and jumping over the vacuum cord. Then, when I went to the gift shop to buy some food, the same dumb vacuum was placed right in front of the door so that I had to walk around it. Each of these things are not very big, but it's little things like this that show lack of attention to detail and bad customer service. The restroom is extremely old, and the handicap stall that I visited did not have a working lock. The toilet seat was literally disintegrating. The whole museum is not very well ventilated, and I kept smelling kid farts everywhere I went. (FYI: Kids fart a lot.) This museum is two stories, but when we visited, the exhibits upstairs were blocked off and no one could use them. Our visit was contained to the downstairs portion. I came with low expectations, but this was ridiculous and disappointing. Well, disappointing to me. My kids had fun, which is the whole point of visiting a children's museum, right? Nevertheless, I most likely won't be back unless the children beg me, which probably won't happen because there are many other places to play that are not in a state of disrepair.

"Where it All Began…read more. In 1893 Wing and Mahurin began construction on Robert and Clara's Romanesque styled mansion. Same architect as the University of Saint Francis' Bass Mansion and The History Center both in Fort Wayne. Robert served as a 2 time state senator, assistant U.S. Commissioner for Indiana, huge investor in natural gas, (the reason Fort Wayne & even Chicago got natural gas when they did) and was a prominent lawyer. Clara helped form the first classes at the Fort Wayne Art School and was the co-founder of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. The couple was originally from the Muncie area but moved up here for business purposes. They were a very prominent couple during their years here in Fort Wayne. Not only did Clara leave her forever footsteps at the Art Museum, Robert's law firm is still going strong known as the Barrett-McNagny law firm serving the local area still today. They only had one child Bessie but unfortunately due to illness died at 11 months old. After Robert's death in 1901 the home was sold to William K. Noble who ran a lumber company that operated in 3 states. His family of 3 lived there for 22 years and sold the building for $50,000 to The Klaehn Funeral home. In 1935 the west side addition was added due to high demand. At this time funerals were no longer held in the residents home as they were done in the 1800s. Today there are over 14,000 square feet in this absolutely breathtaking mansion. No detail has gone unnoticed. It remained a funeral home for over 93 years. Until they left the building in 2018 and the Sturm's bought the building in 2020 to preserve its beauty. We want to preserve our precious history first and foremost. History is the reason why we are all here today! We are SOOO PASSIONATE about preserving and sharing this place with the world!" My friend Jesse from JMH Fotografy https://www.facebook.com/jmhfotografy?mibextid=2JQ9oc https://instagram.com/jmhfotografy?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ== was one of the invitees to do a Spooky Photo Shoot. Every room ( and there are lots of them ) have original wood work, beautiful pocket doors. Chandeliers, staircase is beautiful, stained glass, big open spaces. Since this was a funeral home for nearly 100 years there are bits and pieces of that history still here too. The building had a great vibe inside and out. They are raising money for more renovations so book an event. And call Jesse for photos. I was his assistant for the day. We had such a great time.

Amazing place and very beautiful atmosphere. Very welcoming and you will fall in love with the…read morearchitecture of the 130 year old building

Had no idea about the history of Circuses wintering in Peru. Outstanding collection of memorabilia…read moreand artifacts. It's great that some of the original buildings have survived. As a volunteer at a Museum where restoration is constantly occurring, I appreciate the work that these volunteers are doing. Of course there are pieces that are not yet restored, but they are always working on them and most importantly, they are saved. Doesn't matter if they get restored in 5 or 10 or 50 years. If it wasn't for the effort of the volunteers, these pieces would be lost to history forever. THANK YOU for that!!! For our visit, the regular tour guide was away, so we had her husband take us on the tour. He had mobility issues, but soldiered through to give us the full experience. We greatly appreciate your dedication to your visitors!! HINT: The office in front is not where you check in. Drive or walk down the gravel road just before the office - that's where the Gift Shop/Entrance is.

When you drive into Peru, (be it from Indy or Chicago or...Toledo?) don't think much about where…read moreyou're going or what in the world it could look like...because inevitably...you'll think big circus tent, lions, tigers, a man roaming the perimeter on a unicycle. In reality though...a man might be roaming the perimeter...so beware. It's more haunted circus than circus museum or Hall of Fame. BUT, Wait, Wait, Wait! You're getting the wrong idea...still go! Yes, doesn't a haunted circus call for more adventure and less asking yourself "why did I go to Peru?" once leaving than would a traditional Circus Hall of Fame. C'mon. It's like having the circus off-season in Florida in your Indiana back yard! Speaking of off-season...when I was there in August...a man from Texas was passing through (apparently "working the State Fair circuit" which is glorious to hear in person) and this Texan brought along Tigers and Elephants. Really. There they were...elephants in the Hoosier farmlands...roaming amongst antique circus wagons (as seen in Big Fish, which the owner won't let you forget). In a strange way...if someone asked where to go to get the real Indiana, the Indiana I would want people to know about: the Circus Museum & Hall of Fame is on the list. This comes from a kid who didn't like the circus and a man who doesn't like the circus (you know...taser-ing animals...caging animals...laughing at animals...) The folks that run the place aren't interested in you being there. Or it seems that way...so be prepared to twist their arm to figure out what's going on...but really, they don't have answers. What they do have though...is a key to their Gift Shop that's closed and grown-over. Ask them to open it and buy a tee shirt -- they're beautiful.

Truly this little museum was well-done and felt way more personal than the big national museums…read more The guys who work here were all very knowledgable and happy to share all kinds of tidbits about the displays with us. The park outside was cool and we enjoyed the special planes and aircraft in their collection here. This museum is also a Harvest Host.Grissom Air Museum in Peru, IN. We stayed in the parking lot which had 2 entrances, so an easy pull-through with our travel trailer and was mostly flat. A large 5th wheel also stayed the night and there was plenty of room for both of us. It is easy off-on IN Highway 31. There is some highway noise, but it died down in the evening and we slept well. It felt safe, maybe the proximity to the Air Base helped with that feeling. And we loved having the views of the aircraft displays out of our camper windows. We did patronize the Grissom Air Museum. Truly the little museum was well-done and felt way more personal than a big national museum. The guys who work here were all very knowlegable and happy to share all kinds of tidbits about the displays with us. The walk-through park outside was cool and we enjoyed the special planes and aircraft in their collection here.

It has a diverse collection of aircraft and a great value for the price! Definitely recommend…read morevisiting if you're in the area

I stumbled across the Elwood Haynes Museum while traveling on my recent Tenderness Tour in the…read moreKokomo area. While I'd heard about the museum before, I knew very little about it and I can honestly say that visiting it wasn't on my itinerary for my Kokomo visit until we happened to drive by it while searching for our evening dining location. The Elwood Haynes Museum is located in the mansion owned by Elwood Haynes, a Kokomo-based inventor credited with multiple firsts including being the first to produce cars commercially back in 1894. He lived in Kokomo until his death in 1925. Haynes also invented stainless steel. Seriously. Being that the Elwood Haynes Museum was actually a residence, you might guess that wheelchair access is kind of an issue. It definitely is kind of an issue, though kudos must be given for efforts to make the mansion as accessible as possible. You go up a rather narrow, somewhat steep driveway and park in the back of the house. If you have a high vehicle or an RV type vehicle, the odds you're going to achieve this are slim to none. There's only a few parking spots, a likely indicator that visits to the museum tend to be in smaller groups. The guide who was present for our visit acknowledged that the vast majority of visitors are out of towners rather than locals, though they do host local student groups. They've concocted a rather large, wooden ramp designed to provide wheelchair access. It likely meets ADA requirements in terms of grade, though be aware the wood itself feels a little flimsy. For those with limited range of motion or upper body strength, it may be advised to have a companion or assistant with you. You then enter via a side door that leads to your standard residential hallway. As this was a turn of the 19th century house, you can easily guess that hallways are rather narrow. I had zero issues moving into each room on the first floor - a bathroom on the first floor is largely wheelchair friendly with appropriate rails. The second floor would not be accessible to a wheelchair user, while the third floor, a small area, is not open to the public. They also have a basement area that is not open to the public. There's also an attached carriage house that had three of Haynes's vehicles within it along with a safe that had been created from the materials he invented. The Elwood Haynes Museum really is rather fascinating, though it's a rather quick view with a maximum of 1-2 hours needed to enjoy the entire museum. Admission is free, though donations are welcomed and somewhat encouraged in a low pressure sort of way. The exhibit, in addition to the vehicles, includes a wealth of photos, documents, inventions and other items related to Haynes, a figure who contributed greatly to modern motoring yet remains relatively unknown when compared to many others. The volunteer who was present was friendly and knowledgeable about Haynes's history and worked at a comfortable pace in explaining the museum. This was definitely an unexpected gem during my time in Kokomo.

For history buffs, or car buffs, or fans of invention, this is a "must stop" place to visit while…read morein Kokomo. The home of Elwood Haynes is partly a time capsule showing the Haynes residence and all those wonderful antiques you might expect. The other part of the building is the museum tribute to Mr Haynes and some of the other famous inventors/inventions of Kokomo. I hadn't done any research before going, so I was surprised to learn how many incredible inventions were created/discovered by Haynes. What is most commonly related to is that Haynes designed, funded the building of, and drove the first commercially built auto in the country! Local inventors (The Apperson Brothers) owned a shop and were paid by Haynes to build the frame and moving parts of the first auto after Haynes had bought a one horsepower engine that ran on gasoline. At that time, gasoline was considered a waste product from natural gas production and it was another of Haynes' inventions that made gasoline more usable as a fuel. On July 4, 1994, Haynes successfully drove his vehicle for an hour, covering about six miles. But that was just some of what this man accomplished. He discovered a means for making brass at the age of 15. He also invented the small thermostat that is used to regulate home temperature. He also created numerous alloys, including stainless steel and Stellite (used in blading small turbines and numerous other tools/equipment that should not rust.) The museum shows photos throughout the building from Haynes' life. Upstairs, the rooms are not maintained as living spaces, but rather, as tributes to the other inventors and "firsts" that Kokomo is known for. You will see exhibits about the Appersons, the first pneumatic rubber tire, first carburetor, lots of Delco radio inventions, and even some canning innovations. And of course, there are lots of exhibits about alloys and their uses. The staff is friendly and goes the extra mile to make sure you have all the information you desire. Note: Although the garage is off limits, you can still see three of the first cars produced in Kokomo through the windows. Review #2486

A sweet little gem of a museum. Pressed glass was made in and near Greentown all around the turn of…read morethe century in 1900 and this museum highlights the indiana Goblet and Glass Company. Many fine and very rare examples of pressed glass as well as artifacts from the factory are on display. The docent is very knowledgable about glass in general and Greentown's factory in particular. As of October 2012 the museum is open in the afternoons. Worth the short drive from Kokomo for antique pressed glass admirers because of the collection and the background information on manufactoring.