There are two houses related to the Historical Society, The Yawkey House and the Woodson History…read moreCenter. This time I strolled to the Woodson House. It is only about a block from the Everest. I had been to this grand house a couple of years ago. At that time they had a great exhibit on the effect of the Civil War on the area. I met an older gentleman named George. We talked smart for over two hours. He was great at answering questions about the county. On this visit I hoped to talk with him again; but, alas, he was not there on this visit. So I checked out their new exhibit on rural electrification of Marathon County. I found it quite informative and interesting. You can "interact" with people who used to live in the county by telephone; and listen to their stories. This is a nice place to spend a couple of hours. You can learn a lot about the area. There were a couple of floods that decimated the town. The one in 1913 was particularly devastating. As I am prone to staying at the Everest Inn, I'll probably visit this museum again the next time I'm in Wausau. Hope to catch George next time, I could use another history lesson of Marathon County. If you are a history buff (who isn't?) it would behoove you to check this fine little museum out. There is no entry fee; but leave a donation of a couple of bucks. It's the right thing to do.

From the owner: Tour the historic Yawkey House Museum. Visit the Woodson History Center to tour our free rotating…read moreexhibits. Visit our research library to learn about your family history or the history of Marathon County. We have thousands of historic photos and documents, plus access to ancestry.com and newspapers.com.

This is NOT a stuffy ol' museum!…read more When logging was the primary industry in northern Wisconsin (late 19th - early 20th Centuries) the logging was all done in the winter. The ground was frozen and logs could be moved without slogging down in the mud that would happen during Spring and Summer. A camp would spring up until the area was fully logged out, then over the summer, the camp would be relocated, anywhere from four to ten miles further away, in the next stand of lumber. Camps were sometimes named but often just numbered. Often a town would spring up around the camp but die off as soon as the camp was moved. Some survived, Laona is an example. In Laona's case, the Connor Family built a successful sawmill here, which is still in operation. When Camp 5 was logged out and moved on to Camp 6, a farm sprang up so the company could supply the camps with meat and vegetables for lumberjacks with voracious appetites. Descendents of the family that started it all decided to preserve the old lumber camp and farm, and formed a foundation to operate and preserve Camp 5. It's on the National Register of Historic Places, and you'll find the historic farm (some of it still operational) and a logging museum as part of the old logging camp. Special events are held throughout the season (check the website for schedules) and it is all very educational while being fun! There's a guided tour of a managed forest that shows you how modern logging operations differ from the clear-cut-and-move-on method of logging from the 19th Century. You'll find displays of stump pullers, skids, water tanks and other logging equipment from the past. Check out the retired, heavy equipment and a Wisconsin Central switch engine that you can enter. Kids will enjoy the petting zoo, although the managed forest tour might not hold the attention of youth who haven't learned about the history of logging in Wisconsin. Be sure to visit the operating blacksmith shop! There's only one way to enter the museum, and that's by steam train! Climb aboard the Laona and Northern Railway for the three mile ride to the museum. You can sit in an open-air observation car behind the locomotive, or opt for riding in an antique passenger car or a caboose. (Yes, you can ride in the cupola.) The season runs from mid June to almost Labor Day each season, plus some Fall dates. Check ahead. A flyer with coupons is available at most hotels and tourist info kiosks in a 50 mile radius. There is a gift shop and lunch is available with a limited menu (freshly grilled burgers, brats and hot dogs) at prices you might expect in a captive situation. All in all, it's a fun couple of hours for the family. (Don't tell the kids they'll be learning something!)

This is not your average museum. There's no big fancy building with a marble entryway and…read moredressed-up docents. There *is* a big old steam train to ride on (you can even climb up a little ladder and see what's what). My husband went here as a kid and was dying to share it with our little rascals. You buy your tickets then hop on the train (it leaves maybe five times a day) for a short ride (15 minutes?) to an old logging camp. There are a couple of buildings with old equipment and pictures (and a buffalo hide rug that grossed my kids right out), which are good to browse through for a little while. Then you can pay extra for a pontoon boat ride (they take you on this very muddy river, tell you about the logging camp history, and hope for some wildlife) or take the included-with-train-ticket wilderness tour. We didn't take the wilderness tour because the kids were having too much fun in the petting zoo. There were goats, chickens, ducks, a little cow, and turtles to look at in their enclosure. They had adoptable kittens, too, but we resisted their fuzzy adorableness. There is a concession stand on the grounds (crazily expensive, as they all are) and the old camp slaughterhouse, which was eerie. There is a little nature trail with signs, but the bugs made sure we didn't get much out of that. There is a store they call the Cracker Barrel store, but it had zero in common with Cracker Barrel restaurants. It was full of souvenirs and candy (fudge and gummy), and that's where you buy the pontoon boat tickets. Next to this building is the Nature Center, which is a taxidermist's dream come true. Lots of dead stuff in there (again, the kids found it gross) but also some cool minerals and ammonites (I loved them!). We were there for about 2.5 hours and were ready to go by then, but it was a fun little place. It's staffed mostly by high schoolers, with train enthusiasts running the steam engine. We hopped back on the train for the return to the depot, where the kids got to line up and blow the horn. That was COOL. The guy in charge enjoyed it more than the kids, I think.

A really beautiful stop both inside and out! The Birds in Art annual exhibit is obviously the fan…read morefavorite, but it's definitely worth a visit even when that isn't going on.

Who knew you could find an outstanding art museum on the way to Northern Wisconsin. My wife had…read morebeen to the Woodson Art Museum a couple of years ago and suggested that we stopped as we passed through Wausau. The Woodson family were rich dudes who are from Wausau and when they wanted to do something with all their money, they turned their estate into an art museum. The main focus of this museum is on birds. Bird drawings, Bird pictures, bird sculptures, the gardens are filled with various sculptures including Birds. The museum is beautiful, the grounds are exquisitely nice. They would be a great setting for a movie or maybe your wedding. But, truthfully, although the paintings and pictures were wonderful after seeing the hundredth picture of birds I knew I had enough. However if you are an aficionado of paintings, sculpture and birds this is a must-see museum. The museum is free and the staff is helpful. I was a little bummed that the museum shop only sold postcards and books. I'm sure if they sold faux paintings and faux sculptures they could make a killing. This museum is highly recommended. If you are in Wisconsin or near Wausau it's worth your time.

Cool venue but strange exhibits. Interesting way to spend an hour when you have some time downtown…read moreAppleton.

While I'm not specifically a Houdini nut, I love a good quirky museum. One of the things I really…read moreenjoyed about visiting this spot was the building itself, formerly a Masonic temple built in 1923. The flooring and woodwork were beautiful. But as far as the Houdini exhibit, I wasn't blown away. Several of the interactive pieces were not working. I did enjoy that you could get inside some of the items, like the milk can and a straight jacket, but I wouldn't recommend a trip here just for the Houdini exhibit. The History Museum at the Castle does have other exhibits, which depending on what's in house could make your visit more worthwhile.

As a former resident of Hearthstone Drive in Edison, NJ, this place had a little personal…read moreconnection. Most of the house was in the style of the 1880s with the decor and furniture. Queen Anne architecture, they said, I can't give specifics on this. But downstairs in the basement is more of the museum with interactive exhibits. There's even a cycle you can pedal to power up the room, it even makes a Thomas Edison figurine start to dance. It's kinda bizarre, but it is fun. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Plenty of parking in the private lot. Oh and don't forget to remove your booties before you leave!

Peggy, our tour guide, did an excellent job touring us around the place. She is very knowledgeable…read moreand engaging. She is also accommodating and friendly and it made the experience memorable especially for my friend who visited Appleton from Manila. We enjoyed everything about the tour. Thank you, Peggy!

We visited here last weekend and noticed there was construction to navigate around. Luckily it was…read moreSaturday and Peking garage was free. Inside we were able use our reciprocal membership for 50% discount. The museum is decent size and stayed for about 1 hour. Water table was really nice and had a stem room for activities too. But our son did not spend too much time in either. He did more of the play exhibits like the rope bridge and store front. There isn't too much for infants like there was at the greater Wausau children's museum. Great location to walk to downtown but probably can't entertain your kids too long.

This is such a fun experience for kids and adults! We got a year membership and have been 5 times…read morein the last month! Highly recommend!!

I am pleased to inform you that the Museum has expanded over the years and has changed for the…read morebetter. A historical home is set up with period furnishings. Also two additional exhibit halls are featured. I think the current set up will appeal to a broader range of people. Photographs are still featured but not as many as before. They now have period displays such as snowmobiling and fishing. The Summer hours are still Tuesday through Saturday 11 to 3PM. I think the hours posted on Yelp are wrong. A big sign is displayed in front of the Three Lakes Library during opening hours.

What an awesome little museum tucked behind the library. A great way to spend an afternoon when you…read moreare tired of the water. Every building offers amazing historical artifacts about early life in 3Lakes. I especially like the displays of the Northernaire and the resorts. Excellent selection of books related to the area are located in the new visitor's center, located in the back of the library. If you are visiting 3 Lakes or live there and want something new to do--visit the Three Lakes Museum. They also have a fun Wine & History event held on Labor Day weekend with wine provided by the Three Lakes Winery!

Had so much fun learning about Green Bay! We were here on a quick trip and our tour guide Al was…read moreincredible. He gave us some food and music insights and was very knowledgeable about the history of the area. We were new to riding a Segway and Al was patient, friendly, and a helpful instructor. We'd like to have a Segway tour of every new city we visit now! Would absolutely do this again in a heartbeat.

While visiting some friends in the Wausau area, they suggested we do a Segway tour of Green Bay!…read more We decided on the Packers Heritage Trail Tour! Man, it was so worth it! We learned so much about the town of Green Bay and about the Packers as well! Nick, the owner/tour guide was so awesome and patient with us, as we asked him so many questions, and asked him to take tons of photos of us! If you have never been on a Segway before, no worries, Nick the owner/tour guide or another tour guide will give you an instructive and informative "rules of the road" for a 15 or 20 minute class on how to use the Segway's properly! Each Segway has their own names too!! Like, "Pink Cat", "Claude" and many more!! This is a must do when in the town of Green Bay!!