The Voyage Home Museum — Attraction in Riverside

“Our spectro-readings showed no contamination - no unusual elements present.” This place rules. It was the first thing we added to our must-visit list for our roadtrip, and the last place we visited before making the journey home. I wish I could remember the guy’s name, I wanna say Tuvok but that’d be way off - we were a little overwhelmed and it’d been a long drive - either way, Guy Fleegman as I’ll call him for now (sorry dude), was awesome - super friendly and knowledgeable. There’s a world map on the wall with pins placed on the country of origin for visitors. It was amazing to see pins from Europe, Africa, and Asia on this wall in Riverside, Iowa. It’s a nice, quiet town that’s really leaned into the Kirk narrative - the streets are decorated with pictures of characters from the show. The post office shows off Star Trek collectible stamps. We didn’t get to see the actual Kirk Monument (they were renovating the area - it also seems like they move the statue around a bit? so definitely check in before you go searching for it) - but it was definitely worth a stop. It’s great that little places like this still exist - driving across the country, I noticed that many of the roadside attractions which made the American highway famous have had to close - there’s something sterile, homogenous, about the buildings which replace them - they lack character - they’re the architectural equivalent of a spreadsheet and they’re speeding like wildfire across the country. It’s important to find these little places, seek them out, and support them. Share the story. I’m sure there’s something closer to you than you think - and they probably need you. What...

This is must-visit place for any Star Trek fan in the area. It's a museum of lots of Star Trek artifacts: merchandise, fan-created props and even some props from the actual movies. You can find things from any Star Trek series (including Discovery) and movie. While it's not a large place, it does have a small fan-made replica of Star Trek classic-like bridge and transporter room. You can tell that this place is a labor of love for the (really nice) owners. You can also buy some merchandise to buy there. Connected to this museum is also a tiny section on the history of the city of Riverside.

In front of the museum, you'll also find a decently-large replica of the classic Enterprise (though it's labeled the USS Riverside). Make sure it's open when you plan to visit it as it does close at 3pm every day (or 4pm on Sunday).

On the other side of the street of this museum is the bronze statue of James T. Kirk. A couple blocks west of it, you'll also find the "Future Birthplace of James T. Kirk"...

Great little museum. The docent was very talkative and had lots of interesting information about the actors that visited and lots of info about Shatner. It's small but has lots of Trekkie stuff including a small setup of the Enterprise bridge and Captain's chair. Step on the transporter pad and press the button for flashing lights and sound effects! There is a small gift shop that has communicator pins, mouse pads, coffee mugs and glasses, and t-shirts. I really wanted a Star Trek uniform t-shirt but they didn't have any of those. Outside is an Enterprise replica parade float as a photo op. Across the street in the little park is statue of Captain Kirk. Trekkies fans will really like this little place and I can't say enough kind words about our museum guide. I wish I could remember her name to give her the credit...