Stuhr Museum — Attraction in Grand Island

Hours are reduced to 10 to 4 during Covid, and there are SO many wonderful things to take in and enjoy on this property, so plan to make a day of it! We started in the Farm Machinery building because it closes at 1, and Michael is the sweetest man who is fun to visit with. We parked there and when we were done we parked near the main building because we packed a lunch and there are many places to picnic with tables and benches in the shaded park area. We also had 2 dogs along that are welcome on the grounds, just not in buildings so we took shifts with them. The Fonner Rotunda is very interesting as well as the Miller brothers sculpture in front. An amazing story behind that. Linda is so friendly and informative there! Then we walked over to Railroad Town (though you can drive and park there, too) and took in the buildings there. Shirley Mae in the Millinery shop is very gifted in her hat making and prices are reasonable from $40 and up for such beautiful ladies hats. The Mercantile also has a lot of precious little treasures, including the lady working there who was an absolute joy! Some of the living history staff are high school aged, and its awesome to see their interest in passing along their knowledge of the buildings. The Lesher house is a small Victorian house that had unbelievable craftsmanship. I could go on about all the details of the day, from the variety of trees and plants to the unique structure of the Stuhr Museum building being designed by the same architect of the Kennedy Center. Randy, the Blacksmith, is another treasure who has quite a story to share, especially if you're Military. He had the honor of being invited to DC and had dinner with Medal of Honor recipients because of what he does at the Stuhr Museum! So, pack a lunch and plan for a full day. Also, the Silver Dollar Cafe offers soda and ice cream for dessert. We wrapped up our day in the main building, as it was getting hot and its air conditioned. The gallery has gorgeous colorful glass artwork on display by Deb Kubik, who is from Omaha, Nebraska. Its for sale as well. The gift shop has an array of interesting books and beautiful treasures as well as a friendly staff. Clean bathrooms, too! If you enjoy history, artwork, and outdoors, this is a fantastic...

This museum is like going to 5 museums in one. Also, customer service is by far the best I've ever experienced. Diving in, I didn't know what to expect, and as I drove to the front gate, the lovely lady first honored me for being in the Marines, then explained the museum(s). She directed me to the main building, where I ran into Scott. He gave me a run down of the building and the other experiences I was going to have. I'm so glad I didn't eat before I got there as scott directed me to the old Town where I met another fantastic woman who I asked what she recommended and she said the chicken salad sandwich, which was delious and it was cheaper than McDonald's. She told me to visit the buildings and I ran into another young gal who gave me insight to the town and told me to go to the wood working shop, where I met Jeff who gave me a tour of how they did wood working in the 1890s. Next was the machinery ( which I wasn't into until I walked in). Wow, you have to see it to believe it. As you noticed, there were so many places to tour, and I skipped some for you to discover for yourself. I got there at 11:00 am and left at 5:15 pm in total awe of how many experiences you can have in one museum. Be aware there is something for every age here. Plan on at least 2 to 3 hours of fun...

My personal take on this is, don't waste your time. Possibly I have a different idea of what a museum is, but from what I could see, this is an Events Center masquerading as a Museum.

Their brochure claims to have thousands of artifacts stored away in a warehouse but some of that stuff needs to be on display.

Hundreds of square feet of open marble floor space with water fountains and other glitz might make a good art gallery but a museum about prairie life, this is not.

Ok, I'll admit I was short on time, but no one ever pointed out to me anything other than the main building and the railroad cars and locomotive and one building across from the parking. It was mentioned that the church was being used for a wedding that day. Its possible, being in mid September that the "Railroad town" was closed for the season, but while being given a through rundown of the main building, nothing was mentioned about it.

Should I ever visit again, I may stay at the adjacent city campground, which I discovered by chance looking at the satellite view, and stay long enough to see the entire thing. Many museums are resorting to become event hosts to bring in money and clearly this is being done. Nothing against that, but it does take away from much of the museum atmosphere,...