MamaSprout Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 (edited) Hidden gems especially appreciated. We've done the big museums in Chicago, Indianapolis and the Air Force Museum (and the Air Zoo). We've done most of the quirky campus museums in Ann Arbor and the Henry Ford. We like nature walks and kayaking, but don't want to build a vacation around them. We all like galleries, and have exhausted Saugatuck/ Douglass/ Holland/ Grand Rapids area. DH doesn't have a passport, so we can't cross to Canada (not enough time to get him one... He'll have one after this, though). Anything to do around Oshgosh? My plane geek would like the EAA museum. Thanks for any favorites you can share! Edited July 18, 2017 by MamaSprout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 I can send you PM tomorrow, I'm near a Great Lake and have some suggestions! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternallytired Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Have you done any of the lighthouse tours? I know there are several on Lake Michigan (Sable Points Lighthouses are the ones I know about), and I like the history of those. Have you toured the USS Silversides (sub) in Muskegon, MI? Checked out the Mackinac bridge? Can't help you with WI, though. Sorry. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 House on the Rock, in Spring Green, Wisconsin. It's hard to describe! https://www.thehouseontherock.com/HOTR_AttractionMain.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 I just adore the Sleeping Bear area. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 Have you done any of the lighthouse tours? I know there are several on Lake Michigan (Sable Points Lighthouses are the ones I know about), and I like the history of those. Have you toured the USS Silversides (sub) in Muskegon, MI? Checked out the Mackinac bridge? Can't help you with WI, though. Sorry. Yep, done them all, lol. Really liked the Silversides! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttt Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 (edited) Discovery World Milwaukee is on the lake. You can take a tall ship tour out on the lake. Right next door is the Milwaukee Art Museum and lakeshore parks. Milwaukee Public Museum is 10 minutes away. Milwaukee is great for families. Our children's museum membership participates in the ASTC Travel Passport Program, so we get into Discovery World and the Public Museum for free. (Things like the boat tour or IMAX films would be extra.). So a membership w/ ASTC benefits could really pay off for you. I just looked and the EAA Museum in Oshkosh would be free for two adults and 2 kids as well. This list http://www.astc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ASTCTravelPassport_6pt_May-Oct2017-1.pdf includes all the free sites in WI, there's lots of good stuff. https://www.discoveryworld.org https://www.discoveryworld.org/exhibits/sailing-vessel-denis-sullivan/ https://www.mpm.edu https://mam.org Edited July 20, 2017 by ttt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted July 20, 2017 Author Share Posted July 20, 2017 Discovery World Milwaukee is on the lake. You can take a tall ship tour out on the lake. Right next door is the Milwaukee Art Museum and lakeshore parks. Milwaukee Public Museum is 10 minutes away. Milwaukee is great for families. Our children's museum membership participates in the ASTC Travel Passport Program, so we get into Discovery World and the Public Museum for free. (Things like the boat tour or IMAX films would be extra.). So a membership w/ ASTC benefits could really pay off for you. I just looked and the EAA Museum in Oshkosh would be free for two adults and 2 kids as well. This list http://www.astc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ASTCTravelPassport_6pt_May-Oct2017-1.pdf includes all the free sites in WI, there's lots of good stuff. https://www.discoveryworld.org https://www.discoveryworld.org/exhibits/sailing-vessel-denis-sullivan/ https://www.mpm.edu https://mam.org Nice! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 (edited) I'm not sure if you care about my answer, since I have no idea how far away Oshkosh is, other than very far away? But, since you asked Great Lakes, and we do have a couple of those: The Niagara Power Authority has a free museum about hydroelectric power that's pretty neat. Buffalo has a science museum that's just another science museum, imo. I'm not entirely sure what the best place is to learn about the construction and functioning of the Erie Canal and its locks... there's a partially open air museum in Amherst or thereabouts that has some stuff about the history, and you can get a boat trip in Lockport that takes you through the locks. And if you're into architecture, there's at least a couple of Frank Lloyd Wright houses you can visit. ETA: 11 hours and 700 miles if you're not going through Canada (through Canada, same time, but only 600 miles). Edited July 21, 2017 by luuknam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 If you go to Oshkosh next week, it is the Air Venture show (July 23 -30). Lots of stuff to see and do, starting Sunday. Dh and his brother are airplane geeks, especially military aircraft and have gone several times, taking a couple of our kids with them. Friends of our who homeschooled their children go every year (they own a plane and are pilots.) Their daughter is a Navy pilot who will be flying in her P-8A Poseidon next week. You said that you've done the big museums in Chicago, but have you checked out the Oriental Institute on the University of Chicago campus? A hidden gem. Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black-eyed Suzan Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 Chicagoland attractions you may not have seen:Morton Arboretum Chicago Architecture Tour I liked going up to the top floor of the Harold Washington Library Center - it's a beautiful space. It's been 15 years, so you'll want to check to see if it's still open. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 Also, you can *very* easily find fossils at Penn Dixie. It's pretty neat. It's still very far from Oshkosh though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttt Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Old World Wisconsin is not far out of Milwaukee https://oldworldwisconsin.wisconsinhistory.org 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professormom Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 House on the Rock, in Spring Green, Wisconsin. It's hard to describe! https://www.thehouseontherock.com/HOTR_AttractionMain.htm This was the first thing I thought of when I saw the title to this post:) There are also lots of bike trails nearby. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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