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To Infinity and Beyond!

March 2, 2013 by admin

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We recently traveled to Sparta, WI to explore the Deke Slayton Memorial Museum and the Local History Room Museum.  Both of these museums are located in the same building.  Since neither museum is very large, we don’t recommend that you plan to make a day out of these particular visits.  Instead, consider wrapping a trip to the IMG_1586museums into a grander plan of bike riding and exploring the surroundings.

The Deke Museum is on the 2nd floor of a historic building.  There is a small admission fee to enter for children over 5 years of age, and adults.  A lovely little gift shop is immediately off of the entrance area.  But its location was irksome as it drew in our children immediately, and we had to work a bit to refocus them on the actual museum.

The entire Deke Museum’s exhibit space can’t be much more than 1,000 square feet.  But it is chock full of interesting facts, memorabilia, and antiques.   The rear of the floor is a children’s exploration area.  You will find Legos, puzzles, a Space Capsule to crawl inside, and space and flight suits for the kids to try on.  There is a wall of trivia for older kids.  And there are some freebies for you to take home, which include paper airplanes and bookmarks.

Tip:  Remember to look up!  The exhibits utilize ceiling space, too!

We can’t caution you enough about choosing to enter the LHR museum.  This museum, located on the first floor, offers IMG_1588free admission.  But you’ll end up “paying” through your interaction with the greeter.  He had to be one of the most overbearing individuals we have met in quite some time!  Yes, he was knowledgeable.  But he destroyed our time within the LHR museum by hounding us with facts, following our progression through the exhibits, and refusing to pick up on our social cues that we preferred to experience the museum on our own.  They offer a scavenger hunt for kids but our children were so off-put by the greeter, that they wanted nothing to do with the game.  You may luck out on your visit and not run into this particular individual; but you’ve been warned.

We chose not to eat lunch in Sparta, though there are quite a few options (locally owned and chains) available if you want to stay in town.


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