Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum — Attraction in Leavenworth

Update: I spoke with Michelle and feel that appropriate response will be taken. I have updated my star rating to reflect the museum experience and management. Unfortunately, incidents like this tend to happen when those that can do something aren’t around. So, I don’t feel it’s fair to keep my review at 2 stars if effort is made to rectify the issue. I redacted the name for privacy and internal handling.

I am so genuinely sorry if your name is (redacted) and you work here. For about 5 minutes, two employees discussed, openly and in front of customers, the worth of (redacted) and whether or not they could get rid of her. It was beyond disgusting how little regard they had for this person. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the two continued on to discuss extremely personal matters loudly while disregarding the customers in the gift shop. I mean, discussing restraining orders, bipolar disorder, and personal police incidents is not what I would consider appropriate or professional in a customer service or retail setting. If that complete lack of professionalism hadn’t happened, I absolutely would have given 5 stars. The museum itself is incredible and jam packed with a seemingly infinite amount of nutcrackers. It was the first museum I was able to walk through entirely with my 3 year old. She was amazed by all of the different nutcrackers and characters so it drew her attention far more than other places we have tried. All in all, the museum part was a great experience. The gift shop… well, I just sincerely hope (redacted) is given a massive apology (at minimum) and the inappropriate and personal conversations in front of customers is addressed. My family and I visited 2/10/24 at...

My first issue - less a concern - is that this is not a museum. A museum is place that curates its materials and provides interpretation. Museums, in other words, teach us something new or re-frame our understanding of art, history, or the topic it addresses. The Nutcracker “Museum” is not a museum but a collection. The nutcrackers are grouped thematically and very little history or interpretation is provided. Be aware that you are paying a nominal fee to look at someone’s overgrown collection, not to visit a museum.

My other issue, which I feel is a significant concern, are several racist / Anti-semitic displays. I find the “Black History Month” display offensive. It is unconscionable in the 21st century to represent black people with Mamie and minstrel images. Some of the nutcrackers appear to be in black face. That there is no interpretation to discuss the bigotry these nutcrackers represent is doubly offensive. In a separate display of metallic nutcrackers, I found a head with a long beard, a hooked nose, and a skull cap. This strikes me as deeply anti-Semitic and again, the lack of interpretation or explanation (or apology!) is concerning.

While I know most reviewers have gushed about how unique and interesting this spot is, I would caution possible visitors to know what they are...

First I want to make it clear that this review is not on the museum itself, but rather about the old lady at the reception desk.

We really like the museum and each time we went to Leavenworth, we made it a routine to visit the museum. Last weekend was our most recent trip to the place.

This time, again we enjoyed the amazing collections of delicate nutcrackers, especially those antique carved wooden ones.

However, it had been a horrible experience when we brought a wine stopper to check out at the reception. When I handed the wine stopper to the old lady, she immediately changed her face and started accusing me of changing the price sticker to a cheaper one. I was absolutely shocked by the accusation and my brain just went blank. I didn't know how to respond as I never expected such a terrible thing to happen at such a nice little museum!

After a few minutes, when we exit, I told the lady I didn't do anything and her accusation made me very sad. Because she is such an old lady, I decided not to say anything else and make a scene.

But this incident did make our trip to the museum very upsetting and it felt like swallowing a fly if not worse. It's very unfortunate that someone could do this to anyone out of blank, be it an old...