National Museum of the Great Lakes — Attraction in Toledo

Fantastic museum for all ages and interests with an affordable entry fee that can be discounted in many ways (membership, AAA, children, etc.).

Exhibits range from maps, excerpts, and videos to beautiful artifacts from ship wrecks, fresnel lenses, and scale models of ships. You'll learn about the fascinating history of the Great Lakes throughout the ages as well as the people's who have survived along their shores. The museum itself isn't huge which saves on walking but there's so much packed into it that you could spend almost all day there between the museum and ship tours. The video productions are top notch, staff is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, and the atmosphere of the museum is clean and comfortable. Heck even the gift shop has great offerings.

The ship tours are self guided which is awesome because you can explore them at your own leisure. They have an app that guides you through the boats but I found the placards to be plenty informative and interactive. A volunteer aboard the freighter answered my many questions with joy and interest, you can tell he has a passion for what he does there. The volunteer was closing up the ship when he saw me still exploring its decks, he reopened doors he'd shut and personally guided me through the wheelhouse and even let me blow the ships horn. Huge thanks for your patience and love for sharing your knowledge.

This place blew my expectations out of the water, I arrived before noon and they were pushing me out after closing time. I can see why they call it a national museum, it's world class. Weather you are with the kids or on your own, in for an hour or the whole day, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to make the National Great Lakes Museum what it is. I can't wait to...

This place is brilliant! Everything you've ever wanted to know about the Great Lakes and surrounding areas is contained in the National Museum of the Great Lakes.

There are loads of artifacts, and interactive presentations. There's also heaps of hands on exhibits for kids young and old. For instance, when I was there I had to have a go with the interactive railroad car. The car is loaded with coal off of a conveyor that is driven by a hand crank. Little chunks of foam "coal" fall out of a trap door to fill the railroad car. After hauling it up an incline, through a sliding door, the coal is dumped back onto the conveyor. Pretty cool if I may say so myself!

In the front there's an area where a short is film is played which depicts the formation of the Great Lakes. Lightning flashes on the big screen and there's a resounding thunderous boom in surround sound. The whole video might go for twenty minutes at best; but it's very entertaining to watch - especially with all of the lighting and sound effects.

If you've never been on a Great Lakes freighter, the Museum of the Great Lakes has got you covered! The SS Col. James M. Schoonmaker, which was built in 1911, was once the largest bulk freighter in the world. It costs an extra $4 to take a tour of the ship, and it's worth every penny. The museum crew has done a beautiful job restoring her back to her original glory. All of the original oak accents are in the officers' chambers. Everything on the ship looks original. Be prepared to spend at least 40 minutes touring...

I was in Toledo for a morning meeting and spent the afternoon at the National Museum of the Great Lakes. I wish I was able to spend all day! What a great place!

I started out watching a short movie about the Great Lakes inside the museum and then went to their new exhibit, the Tugboat Ohio. The Executive Director of the museum gave our group a personal tour of the entire boat. It was very informative and we were able to go into nearly all parts of the vessel.

After touring the tug, I spent about an hour and a half walking around the museum ship Col. James M. Schoonmaker (named after a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient). What an amazing ship! The engine room, the cargo hold, the captain's quarters, the galley, the wheelhouse, everything was open to tour and much of it still in original condition.

I was only able to spend about one hour touring the museum after the ship and that was barely enough time to do so. There is so much to see and do in the museum. I will definitely be going back when I can...