Wheels O' Time Museum, Illinois, United States

5WItraveler2000 5:00 PM Jul 1, 2011

Diamond in the rough
I had read a couple of online articles about this place so I had my doubts. It looked like a warehouse with a couple of trains parked outside. When I walked in I was surprised at all of the neat things. The car displays were great. They had some of the best shaped older cars I have ever seen. They had a bunch of areas when you could almost relive the past in. This was a great place to show children how things were 50-80 years ago. My favorite was the old radio station set up. There were lots of old jute boxes to play old songs to get a feel for the era. The toy displays were great. They had a lot of hands on old electronics to try. There was a section of old tractors and trains. The mock ups of old house rooms were very interesting especially the living room with working train in. They did not have air condition so the place was in the high 80s the 1st week of July. I would wait until there is a much cooler day to visit. This was definitely a place to bring anyone to check out the past. The cost was $6.00 per adult and around $4.00 per child. This was a diamond in the rough place to check out with all the nice displays. Bring some change to play some music (it was just about a dime to play). They did have water and soda pop for sale at cost in the museum. I would definitely plan on visiting if you have a few hours to spare in the Peoria area or are taking a nice mid-morning drive in the not too distant area. Great place to visit.

4pvmom 5:00 PM May 27, 2007

Family Friendly Museum Experience
Wheels O' Time Museum is a combination Transportation and History Museum. It contains automobiles ranging from old Packards to 70's muscle cars; a train, fire trucks, bicycles, Catepiller tractors (which is headquartered in Peoria) etc. There are display exhibits such as an old time gas station garage, grandma's kitchen, and blacksmith shop. All the displays and exhibits are nicely documented and most provide some sort of interaction (buttons to push, noise to make, etc.) They encourage hands on and nicely indicate when something is hands off. My husband and I had a great time playing with everything. Also, bring a pocket of change (nickels, dimes) to play the player piano, circus game and old time jukeboxes. (these are used as fundraising to maintain the museum). Admission was 6.00 for adults/children over 11; 3.50 for children 11-4; under 3 free. There are group discounts and you can pick up picked up a 1.00 off coupon at the tourist center. They also give 1.00 off AAA discount. wheelsotime.org