I didn't know too much about the Great Lakes so I thought I would visit this museum. The museum…read moreconsists of two parts: an indoor museum that is semi-interactive. There is a series of non-stop videos on the Great Lakes, maps, history, gift shop, etc. Everything is labeled and explained. The second part is the ship - Colonel James M. Schoonmaker. Both are self-guided tours. The indoor museum will take you about an hour if you read everything and see some of the videos. The ship, however, will take you at least an hour plus depending on how depth you want to know about the ship. The ship has two levels; bottom level is where the engines and storage are located. The top level is the deck that leads you to their living quarters. The living quarters is two stories with no elevators. The bottom level is accessible only by a steep, narrow iron ladder.

Nice museum. Appropriately priced. If you're not familiar with the area I can see it being better…read morethan say for a local. I wish they gave a little more information and explanations on some of the placards but over all its an alright way to spend an hour. I didn't do the boat tour as I am already very familiar with it from doing community service aboard it as a teen. Lol We all have a past. Im sure that it is very interesting to others though!

We visited Bowling Green to see family and were looking for a rainy day activity. We stopped by…read moreSnook's as recommended by a local and had a great time. The car collection itself is beautiful and well documented with signage. In addition to the cars are many other collections of related memorabilia. The owner, Jeff, greeted us and chatted a while about his collection. Jeff and the other staff were very friendly and welcoming.

Great museum! Worth the trip from Columbus. We would highly recommend this. Nice variety of cars…read more Beautifully restored.

This museum is worth the stop! It has many unique carved…read morepieces on display and on their carousel! A lot of history of carousels as well as Cedar Point. At the end of the self tour, you get to ride the center piece carousel!

I found the Merry-Go-Round Museum online while looking up things to do in the area. Honestly I…read morewasn't sure what to expect but once I saw the great Yelp reviews, we decided to stop in. It ended up being one of our favorite experiences in Sandusky! It's small but mighty with tons of intricately carved merry-go-round animals, some of which were crafted in the early 1900s. I learned quite a bit and the displays were so fun to look at. Your admission ticket includes 1 ride on the carousel which is in the center of the small museum (you can pay for additional rides). They made an announcement that they were starting it up so we took our spots - Nate got on a seahorse and I sat in a chariot. When I tell you that thing goes fast, I mean it. I think the operator said it gets up to 7 mph! I actually started to get a bit dizzy, but it was so fun and brought me so much joy. I couldn't stop smiling the entire time. They have an on site woodworker/carver which was so cool. The building that houses the museum is an old post office and it's definitely seen better days (it's 100+ years old), so I hope they can continue to house this museum there!

I am a self-proclaimed presidential history nerd visiting from Texas. I've read a biography on…read moreevery president in order through Eisenhower, and my bucket list includes visiting where each was born and their final resting places. Of course, I also make it a point to visit presidential libraries, national historic sites, etc. I've visited dozens of locations across multiple states. THIS. PLACE. IS. INCREDIBLE. I broke my visit up into two days. Did the home tour one afternoon and the museum the next morning. Honestly, I recommend doing it that way; there is just too much otherwise. It was jaw-dropping to hear about the history of the home, Hayes' descendants who lived there so long, and the son who pushed for it to become a living monument to Hayes' life. With 95% of the home original to when Hayes lived there.... I'm not sure I've ever been to a location that can say that. From Lucy's sewing machine used to sew civil war uniforms...to beds made by prisoners in the Oriental Room...to the bed in which Rutherford and Lucy died ...the house tour is just breathtaking. Shout out to my tour guide, Bill Y., for being such a cool guy! The museum took me all of two hours to get through, and I skipped the temporary exhibits. Two solid hours if you read 75-85%. LOTS of information. But the artifacts will give you goosebumps: Hayes' Harvard diploma 1845 Hayes' Dress sword and scabbard from the war Hayes' .32 revolver 1864/65 Lucy's wedding dress The chair Hayes sat in during the inauguration. Bible on which he sworn his oath A ring containing George Washington's hair And that's just a few... The information on the contested election was perfectly clear and well executed. This place is no doubt one of the top five places I've ever been in my presidential history travels...up there with Monticello. I can't say enough...totally worth your time. Every time I visit a presidential history site... I am overwhelmed with gratitude for people like staff and volunteers at these museums. I'm grateful to all who had the foresight to preserve and maintain our history. Only negative: I thought the gift shop, although appearing full, lacked options.

I brought my son here while on a roadtrip across the U.S. I love historical sites and presidential…read morehistory so this was an easy choice for a stop, especially since it is a fairly quick detour off of Interstate 80. $20 for adults gives you access to the museum and a one hour house tour. Kids aged 6 - 12 are $5. They give discounts for military, AAA members and senior citizens, but sadly none for educators (seems this place would be perfect for U.S. history teachers). The grounds are beautiful, the history is interesting, the museum is jam packed with information (though a bit haphazardly arranged, along with some overzealous motion detection security on some of the larger items). Our tour guide for Rutherford's house (Dick) was lovely and very knowledgeable. Overall worth the money and an interesting stop on our whirlwind tour of America and all of its idiosyncratic history.

It was about what I expected for 10 bucks based off the reviews but I still found some things…read morepretty cool and other things underwhelming. The crime scene photo room was underwhelming as I've seen worse in Facebook groups but everything else was really cool and there was a few photo ops. If your into weird and creepy its not a bad hour spent and the town its located in is super cute.

I gotta respect someone opening up something like this in Monroe. I don't know how they do during…read morethe week - I checked their hours and was surprised they are extensive as they are - but the MMoH was packed on an August Saturday afternoon! The thing is this place is so small it doesn't take many people for it to be packed but still. On this day dude was doing pretty well at ten bucks a head. This is a fun little museum if you're into the macabre but the operative word here really is little. The crime scene photo room is underwhelming but the embalmed animal cadavers in little tubes of fluid really packed a punch. There is a note from PETA or something similar saying they were all ethically sourced. The stand up selfie coffin is a lot of fun. I had my sister take dead and alive pictures of myself in it. And the chair that some local woman was found dead in that was supposed to have strange energy in it really did feel a bit uncanny when I sat in it, though I'm not sure how much of that might be paranormal placebo effect. I never thought the ouija board display would be my favorite part of this museum or that they even would have multiple ouija boards, let alone like a hundred. I didn't know they had such an enduring popularity or so many makes and models existed. This was also a little window into the ravages of the Great Depression as just about every decade from several ago to the 1910s was well represented except for the 30s. Some of the ouija boards even reeked of old school racism, with depictions of wild witch doctor Africans or sinister swami Middle Easterners. History ain't always pretty. Evil clowns, a Michael Myers and a Freddy Krueger were among the movie props. Others were less interesting. This museum is two floors but it's very small and even if you totally pore over everything here there's no way you could spend multiple hours here. The storefront to their right is vacant and the bookstore on their left is listed as permanently closed so it would be nice if they could expand here or relocate. Maybe have special night events, maybe pair it with a little theater that focuses on horror? I'd like this place to last but I feel like eventually it has to grow or die. Don't we all? We're all gonna be one of those skeletons one day....

Wow, what an museum!!! I don't mean to sound elitist, but…read moreone doesn't think Toledo, Ohio when it comes to world class art. This place is on another level of awesome! As is the glass museum across the street, this museum is free to visit. The exhibits here are world class and include a massive array of art over a 4,000+ year time frame. We also enjoyed the sculpture works outside the museum. I mean, who the hell doesn't want to get on a huge tire swing, play musical instruments or lay on a hammock made of glass?! Just blown away amazed with this place! Thank you!!!

Another museum that's a must to do! Get to know your US nation history. Go beyond what you learned…read morein HS. Amazing

Had a great tour,don't miss this one right i your back yard. The Museum is done very well .read more

I have always loved ships. I've toured a handful of historic ships over the years. U.S.S…read more Constitution? Check. WWII submarine? Check. Mid-19th-century schooner? Check. Early 20th-century Great Lakes freighter? Hmm... So perhaps this ship does not have the romanticism or historical significance of the others. It is an impressive sight, quite long and stolid. In operation from 1911 to 1980, it was the largest freighter in the world when launched and set some cargo records during its first few years before being eclipsed by ever-advancing technology. It was also well known for luxury which supposedly rivalled the famous trans-Atlantic liners. Up to the modern day it is recognized as a relic of the so-called Golden Age of Great Lakes shipping, but although I respected its achievements, I couldn't quite conjure up the reverence and awe that it seemed to be asking for. Obviously the ship has seen better days, but it could be spiffier. Many spots need a buff with Rust-Away and a new paint job. In any case, this would be a fun place to take the kids, and frankly it's one of the few things worth doing or seeing in Toledo.

Things to do along I-75 N/S to and from the Detroit area (2 of 2)…read more I had to slow down the clock and spend a little time here. The real destination was Detroit. That said, I had coffee at one place, ate a meat loaf lunch at another, pawed the car windows and did some test sitting at a few dealerships, drove around the University of Toledo campus (which I didn't know is a very good school for STEM disciplines), and put the cherry on top of these few hours by visiting the Toledo Botanical Garden. I walked the garden and took photos. It was warm and humid, so I didn't really relax and sit a spell. Like many public gardens, the Toledo Botanical Garden, out toward the western end of the city, mixes up formal garden spaces with European cues and more organic spaces, meaning they are natural in affect and display very little rigid planning. I was fairly amazed how, as you moved along, these different vistas came into view. Everything was cohesively put together and you could enjoy the different environments they've curated for you. The Toledo Botanical Garden is part of the city metro park system, which I learned from other reviews. Thus, being under this umbrella might mean that the park is free of charge ... and it is! For this aspect and for delivering more than I had expected, having pulled it from a "top things to do" list, I believe the Toledo Botanical Garden handily earns 5 stars.

A great place to come to get away from city spaces. Plenty of routes to walk around and take in the…read moregardens, sculptures, and art. There are some events that go on here in the evening, so would love to come back and experience one of those. Also, looks like you can take art classes here!

I was not a fan. I was there this past weekend and my wife and I went through the butterfly house…read more And they were almost all the same type of butterfly and there were not more than 50 or 60 butterflies that I could see. I would think a butterfly house would be full of butterflies to the point of them constantly in the air.

So many butterflies!…read more This was an option on our Perry's cave pass so we decided to give it a try. I have been in butterfly houses before but this one was definitely one of the best. You walk through the gift shop and the entrance to the butterfly house is in the back. It is a large greenhouse so on the day we went it was 95 degrees inside the building. About 5 to 10 degrees hotter than outside. Because of this we were only able to stay inside for 10 or 15 minutes because it was very hot. Upon entering there is a window that shows the butterfly hatching area. After that a greeter will fill you in on the rules of the butterfly house. After that you are welcome to walk around and explore the garden area. They have lots of plants to cater to butterflies and several water features. If you stand still the butterflies will land on you. Several benches are available to sit and enjoy the area. They also give you a great poster to identify the butterflies in the building. Not all of them are on the list but the greeter was very helpful and provided names for those we did not know. Great experience for any animal or nature lover!