This is a destination spot, for sure. I live in Minneapolis and even the trip down is pleasant (I…read morerecommend going down the Wisconsin side of the river), with great views and frequent eagle sightings. Lake City is a very pretty place to stop and take a walk, with lots of good places to eat. Continuing down to Wabasha (back on the Minnesota side of the Mississippi) , it's a really pretty drive. The Eagle Center is equal parts educational and a place to get up close and personal with a variety of eagles. They also have demonstrations that are guaranteed to delight both kids and adults. Take a bit of time and walk around the town of Wabasha, which was established in 1854. Many of the old homes and buildings still remain in this very historic town. The Eagle Center and the town of Wabasha are great destinations at any time of the year.

Very educational and it was such a profound experience to witness this countries national symbol up…read moreclose to personal.

alot to see here. alot of info to take in and see. was fun and the people here are very educated in…read morethere area about history. would go abain for sure.

Little county pioneer museum! It's got a lot of strange farming equipment I don't recognize,…read morebeautiful landscaping, and great family friendly events like this local artist and authors' fair. They even have a pavilion where they give talks! Check it and and, yes, there's a Pokestop. Bring $10/person, $5/kids, if you want to explore the ground.

This a quirky stop to be sure. It is well maintained and easy to walk…read more The sculptures are all very different and so unique. The building wasn't open when we were there so we weren't able to learn more. Well worth the stop.

We love quirky places like this and thank goodness for the Kohler Art Museum in Sheboygan that has…read morerescued this and many other "untrained" artists' collections around the state. This is real Americana art. We arrived to a locked museum even though the website claimed it was open. Actually we weren't really sure how much was inside since most of the art was around the yard. It was very interesting and worth a detour.

A hidden gem definitely worth the scenic drive down from the Twin Cities…read more The collection of artifacts is extensive, and especially impressive when considering it was all amassed by one individual.

From the owner: Castlerock Museum has over two thousand years of history in a building that looks like a castle!…read moreSee authentic arms and armor from Romans, Dark Age Warriors, Vikings, Crusader Knights, and Renaissance "Knights in Shining Armor." New galleries cover American history from the Colonial Era through the late 1800's and include a hundred period firearms.

This was a sentimental visit for me. I've wanted to see the Little House in the Big Woods for…read moredecades. The site is open access. You park and can go right up to the house, day or night, any time of year. The door uses a rope latch system and there's a sign asking people to keep the door shut. The interior is small, but there's an information wall that's a good excuse to linger and read. The original cabin, of course, was long gone before the books were even published, and this new version was the result of a fundraising campaign in the 1970s.

Wonderful museum and super friendly staff. My mom, grandmother, and I had a wonderful timeread more

Perfect family destination to spend a weekend afternoon. Seriously, I've been adventuring with my…read morekids for years (we live in the Twin Cities, but a 1-2 hour drive is fine for us), and I had never come across this place before. It's truly a hidden gem. Besides being a top-notch county historical society museum -- complete with a "prairie kid" dress-up room for younger kids, maybe 3 to 7 years old -- there's an incredible maker's workshop in the back with *tons* of STEM-based activities to do and/or take home, for anyone of any age. We could have spent all day there. Family admission caps off at $12. Worth every penny. Again, I can't overemphasize this enough, it's a very exciting hidden gem within reasonable driving distance from the Twin Cities.

What a surprisingly nice small museum. We had a free afternoon so we checked out this place. The…read morebonus was our free admission with the NARM program. The woman at the front desk could not have been more friendly and helpful. There are many exhibits on local history, geography, culture, and industry that pack this museum. I really enjoyed the extensive displays around farming. They also had a traveling show on super hero which was OK. I could have spent more time given everything you could study. Definitely worth an hour or two of your time.

The Chippewa Valley Museum is a good place to spend an hour to get a sense for local history. It…read morestarts with the arrival of the Frenchman; continues through the logging heyday; moves to the peak days of small town factories; then into the present. There are things to read; artifacts to see; and a couple play areas for kids. Works for all ages. Takes about an hour to get through - unless you read everything. At the end, there's an ice cream parlor - for a nice treat. I found it an interesting lesson on how the locals adapted to changing conditions (forests, lumber, factories, modern times) to keep Eau Claire from becoming a ghost town.

I took my grandchildren to this museum and we loved it! 4 Floors. Lots of history. Activities for…read morethem. And affordable! The two ladies at the front desk were so friendly.

The Chippewa Falls Museum of Industry and Technology has actually been in place for several years…read morenow. It started out as the Cray Research Museum and was located in one of the Cray Research Buildings but after the company began to shrink, the museum closed up and the displays went into storage. Later on the CFMI&T moved into a building in downtown Chippewa Falls with the Cray collection. I recently made a day trip to Chippewa County from our place in Upnorth. The visit was partially inspired by John McGivern's "Around the Corner" program from Milwaukee Public Television. He did an episode in Chippewa Falls a couple of years ago that was recently rebroadcast. (You can see it online, if you look for it.) The CFMI&T was featured, which I've wanted to see since it moved out of Cray Research. To be upfront, many years ago, I did some work for Cray Research in CF and the museum is located inside the building I used to work in. Former Crayons know the building was built by the Mason Shoe Company to house their MIS department (look THAT up in your Funk & Wagnall's) with a huge, raised-floor, environmentally controlled room. When the day came that computers didn't have to live better than humans, Mason sold it to Cray Research and it became a training building. Now the shared building houses the Boys & Girls Club, using the old computer room (the raised floor is gone) and the old training rooms house the museum. As you might expect, Cray Research is the keystone of the museum. Seymour Cray was a genius's genius and the founder of the company. Born and raised in Chippewa Falls, he had a storied career. During World War II, Mr. Cray was part of the team that broke the Japanese code. After the war, he was one of the founders of Control Data Corporation and he built the world's first supercomputer, in Lake Hailie, for CDC. He left CDC to open Cray Research and in 1976, sold the first Cray-1 supercomputer, serial number 1, to the Los Alamos National Laboratory. That Cray-1 is in the museum. Sometimes it is called the "Hotel Lobby Cray" (among other nicknames) because it resembles a circular sofa. The design was the secret to its speed because the C shape shortened the distance signals had to travel. You'll find lots more examples of Cray technology here along with memorabilia and interpretive signage. Enough techno-geek talk. Chippewa Falls is also home to lots of other industry. Chippewa Falls is home of Mason Shoes that built a business by selling shoes out of catalogs. (Even Radar O'Riley sold shoes out of a catalog in an episode of M*A*S*H.) The museum houses not only a shoe making display from Mason, but also examples of fire apparatus by Darley (want to see how a fire pump works?) and a display (pun intended) of retail displays from Kell Container (now Great Northern Corporation) still rolling out miles of corrugated cardboard every year. You can play with some educational "toys" from Hubbard Scientific (you probably used some in school science class) and there is a massive display of breweriana from CF's most famous industry, Leinenkugel's Brewing Company. It's a very interesting museum that is open limited hours. (Check first to be sure.) Chippewa Falls has a lot to offer, so afterward, you can relax and have a glass of wine at a local winery or maybe before the museum you can take a tour of Leinenkugel's. Before or after, be sure to take in the Chippewa Falls Museum of Industry & Technology.

This place always is our go-to stop when going east of twin cities. It has a little for everyone…read morefrom toddler space to indoor playground upstairs. The water table is favorite of both our kids. I had to get a stuffed penguin in construction outfit when I saw the promotion.

This is the first children's museum I've been to that I've actually liked! We went on a Friday…read moreafternoon for something to do to avoid air quality warnings and I'm so glad we went. There were so many different activities and sections that I've never seen in play places before, like the car repair shop. Since it's so large, it also didn't feel like it was too crowded and overstimulation wasn't a problem. The water area was the favorite with testing out the water that launched the balls through tunes and mazes and even getting some to spin on water. The brain cave was also pretty cool with its colors. We also appreciated a separate toddler area that had the tree you could put leaves in and they shoot out the top. This kept us occupied for a long while. It's a little expensive for a family if you're not a member, but it was well worth it for us to break up a road trip and get some energy out. I highly recommend if you're in the area!