Friday was to be our final day of adventure. At the time we weren’t sure if we were going to do any more on the weekend. We decided to rest at home in the end. For this final day, we decided to head up to Kenosha, WI to see what they had. We knew they had old PCC streetcars they ran and that there were a few muesums around. For the museums, we visited the Civil War Museum, the Dinosaur Discovery Museum and the Kenosha Public Museum.
Our first stop was the Civil War Museum. This is the only museum that charges admission. The others are donation only museums. Emily and I have an affinity for Civil War history, having met as Civil War reenactors. This museum was very fascinating for us. It had recreations of a village before and after the war, and follows certain personalities during the events of the war and how they changed. While Em and I really enjoyed the museum, the kids did not. Daniel was a bit spooked by all the mannequins, and Jason and Meredith just were not interested. Jason was eager to get to the dinosaurs.
We left the Civil War museum and headed to the trolley stop. We didn’t have too long to wait before the streetcar came along. The streetcar costs 50¢ for adults and 25¢ for kids. You could if you wish ride the streetcar all day. It follows a loop that goes between the Metra stop and the lake.
We got off the streetcar near the museum. The museum itself is just across the street from the stop. Before going in, the kids had to pretend to be dinosaurs on the grass by the sign for the museum. The museum building itself is beautiful and old.
The museum is primarily one room full of dinosaur skeletons. This was exactly what Jason wanted! He loved it! We walked around and named the dinosaurs off their signs which helpfully have the pronunciation for you.
When we left the dinosaur museum, we got back on the streetcar. This time we rode completely around the loop once and then got off near the Kenosha Public Museum, our final stop for the day. This museum is known for the mammoth skeleton it houses. The museum itself is mostly built around the mammoth and has a wonderful collection of artifacts from early man. This is a really impressive museum, and perhaps even more so because it is a donation only museum. We ended up running out of time at this museum and only saw part of the exhibits in the upper level. We will have to make another trip to see more.
After this museum closed, we headed to the lake shore. Earlier in the day, Daniel saw the beach to the north of the museums and said he wanted to go there. We hadn’t planned on that so we offered the compromise of walking along the lake before we left. Daniel and Meredith quite liked seeing the water splashing on the rocks. Jason was a bit nervous to get too close.
We then headed toward the lighthouse to get a better look before we left. It was a great way to close up the day. We loaded back into the car and headed home for a weekend of relaxing at home. We really enjoyed these small adventures near home. We will be doing these things again.
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