Peoria Riverfront Museum

Wow, what an incredible experience! My family opted to purchase the pass, which granted us complimentary entry to numerous other museums and science centers. Additionally, we received discounts on tickets to other attractions if the entry fee was free. This trip allowed us to immerse our kids in diverse cultures. From the vibrant car culture, which encompassed various subcultures like bikers, truckers, low riders, and artists of all kinds, to the fascinating planetarium show, we were captivated by the exhibits. We were so impressed that we ended up wanting to watch several more shows. However, I must admit that the lady at the counter was not particularly receptive to our requests. We wanted our daughter to participate in the scavenger hunt, but it seemed like she was having a rough day or perhaps didn’t enjoy her job. Despite this, we managed to get our daughter involved. The gift shop at the museum was also quite extensive and offered a wide range of souvenirs.

We didn't get to see much because our toddler ended up getting too tired but the staff were super friendly and we saw some gorgeous art. The gift shop was probably my favorite part because they had cello socks. (I got super geeked about that as I am a cello player lol) But they had a wide variety of items from toys and notebooks to magnets and room decor.

Tons of fun!! The dinosaur exhibit was very, very cool! We all enjoyed it. I discovered Neil Welliver (artist of the winter landscape) through one of their art displays and he might be a new favourite for me!

Nice place to hang out the afternoon for us on a warm Saturday. The concession stand was decent. The planetarium shows were very cool. Very friendly staff.

This museum was a fantastic experience!!! Not only were there several wonderful exhibits, including some gorgeously detailed cars, and several art instillations (both professional and folk), but the entrance also included shows at the planetarium! Also, if screens are your thing, they have a theatre with the second largest screen in Illinois! The real treasure, though, were the staff. Multiple guides were present around the exhibits, enriching the experience with many fascinating facts and stories behind particular pieces, and one gentleman in particular guided us through a great deal of artworks, ensuring that we found something entertaining for both the adults and children in our group! I can't thank them enough, as well as everyone who makes that museum possible!!!

really lovely museum experience! interesting array of curation, great for science and art lovers. we didn't do the large theater experience, but it sounds cool if we ever went again in the future. The best thing about attending was the incredibly welcoming and informed staff. parking was easy and you're right next to the river to enjoy the views as well.

This is really a very good place for the Family and Friends, Caterpillar history and displays of machines, interactive displays and the planetarium is really nice. The family loved it, very nice Peoria!

The Peoria Riverfront Museum is a lot larger than it seems like it is going to be. It's connected to and shares a parking garage with the Caterpillar Visitors Center. We visited the museum on the last weekend of the Jim Henson Muppets Exhibit and it was BUSY. We got there about 45 minutes after the museum opened and there was already a line out the door. They were saying it was a 3-4 hour wait to get into the Henson exhibit but it ended up being closer to 90 minutes for us. The museum did route the line through other parts of the museum, so we at least got to slowly look at the other exhibits. Once we got to the Henson exhibit, we were there for about 20 minutes or so. It was a normal museum sized exhibit. I expected it to be busy but not that busy, if we had known beforehand the wait time we probably would've skipped it. The museum employees were somehow all polite and helpful despite the madness that was occurring inside. I could've sworn I heard someone say that the museum was going to stay open later as well in order for everyone that was lined up to be able to see the Henson Exhibit. There's also a small snack bar in the back of the main lobby. The main museum garage is free to park in but it is shared with the Caterpillar museum. There were maybe 100 spots inside of the garage and it was completely packed when we pulled in. We got lucky and found a spot though.

One of the best place to visit in Peoria. Great learning place for the kids. Excellent presentation at the planetarium. I love to visit it all the time. This is a must see place in Peoria.

Peoria Riverfront Museum Is the only multi-disciplinary museum of its kind in the country. It is a non-profit multidisciplinary museum of art, science, history, and achievement. Representing a unique private/public partnership, the museum is privately funded by donors and members while operating in a building owned by the County of Peoria.

Well the good side is that it wasn't a bad museum, only $20.00 for adults, it was a bit small. Loved the Duryea, well taken care of due to its age, I did miss out on the Jim Henson exhibits, and the spacesuit is a replica (disappointing). There is a caterpillar museum next door if interested in that kind of stuff Still wasn't that bad

What a delightful museum! We drove up from St. Louis specifically for the Jim Henson exhibit, which was definitely worth the 2.5 hour drive and $20 ticket alone. The rest of the museum we did get to see while waiting in the long line was stellar. The Solititude exhibit had some cool pieces on loan from the Crystal Bridges in Bentonville. My friend was able to see a Planetarium show, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Apparently it's narrated live, not pre-recorded. Some of my experiences looking at the art were made ever better by some of the absolute friendliest museum staff I've ever encountered. They were happy to share fun facts and show you nuances in works. They seemed so happy to have so many new folks visiting - one of them told me they had tripled their prior attendance record. Wow! I'll definitely be back for a day trip in the future, what a neat place.

Had a great time visiting Peoria and this museum with my wife. It wasn't too busy. Most of the foot traffic was in the Jim Henson exhibit. They had all the Muppets, videos, and sketchings on display. It is definitely worth seeing. We toured the other exhibits (e.g., Richard Pryor). There was less traffic in those. There were some cool things to see. The museum was clean, no issues there. There was a Christmas village set up outside with crafts and such. We stayed long enough to get access. There were your standard crafts, candles, dog treats, handmade items, etc. Industry Brewery was selling their beer (that was our first stop, haha). For the price, it definitely made a worthwhile visit.

Came to the museum specifically for the Jim Henson exhibit. It was worth the drive from the Chicago burbs! I loved the exhibit. I spent an hour in that exhibit alone. And then about another hour for the rest of the museum. $20 adult admission to museum. You can also choose to add on movies for a fee. Parking garage is free with admission or can park on the street.

Review Visit: October 29th, 2012 The Peoria Riverfront Museum is the spiritual successor to the Lakeview Museum. The Lakeview Museum is a place that I cherished due to going there often as a kid. When they announced it was closing and they were going to build a new museum on the riverfront, I was excited and sad. Excited to see this new place yet sad at the closing of a childhood memory. Matt, Erin, and I decided to check it out as it was too late in the day to travel far but still early enough to see some sights. As we approached the counter and paid, I was super surprised at the cost to get in. I want to say it was around $15-18 a person. The museum was new, big and exciting so I was expecting a fee to get in but not that steep of one. Regardless of that, we paid and went about exploring. At the time of our visit, it was fairly empty so we had the entire place to ourselves. The first thing I got distracted by was this giant circulating thing hanging from the rafters. It was blue and slowly spinning. The thing was mesmerizing to watch. Erin and Matt had to remind me we had the rest of the museum to explore, so I finally looked away and we started walking around. Up first was a Caterpillar exhibit. The company Caterpillar is a huge part of the identity of Central Illinois. It's also one that I don't have much interest in. I grew up around people that worked for Cat, around Cat's production facilities and even worked for a company that worked for Cat for a few years after high school. I can say that I have had sufficient Caterpillar information in my life, so beyond seeing some of the displays, there was no interest in any of us on the overall showing. We moved on to some art hanging on the walls and a few other odds and ends to look at. At a certain point, I think we went down one level and encountered a kids and teens area. This was the REALLY interactive part of the museum. The stuff I like. We came across a lot of fun machines to play around with. One of them was a pitching machine that would measure your throwing speed. Another was an arm wrestling machine. If I remember right, you could set the resistance and try to force the metal arm down. You can see a glimpse of that in the photos below. We moved on from those and encountered some other things to play with but they were meant for little kids so we were too big for them. After that, we left. We spent maybe an hour here? I remember leaving and thinking... that's it? I do feel like we missed something. There is a planetarium in the museum but after paying the hefty fee to get in, we were kind of strapped for cash and we weren't sure if they were showing anything at the time of our visit. I would love to return as they have a revolving main exhibit that always seems interesting. They had a Lego one at some point but I couldn't find anyone else that liked Legos enough to go check it out. I really do think we came at a time when there wasn't a big exhibit going on and we only got to experience half of what the museum has to offer. Should I get to go back, I will update this post accordingly.

Do you want to experience the vast history of oldest city in the state of Illinois, which has the Spanish, French and French flags flown over it along with Forts built and Father Pere Marquette visited, visit the museum with the info on such a dynamic city! The earthmoving Capitol of the world! There is an IMAX theater, a Planetarium and street scenes from the past Peoria. You'll be shocked at all that The Peoria area has invented and given Peoriaians and all communities in the 3 county region. Caterpillar national museum is right next door also... 2 awesome museums!

Haven't visited the museum, but we did visit the outdoor Holocaust Museum (It's free!). It took us a few minutes to find, but it was worth the walk. We asked several people for assistance, and many were unaware of it, even locals. This piece displays 6 million buttons which represents the 6 million Jews who were killed, and the 5 triangles represents the 5 million enemies killed. Visiting here... May we never forget...

We went down to the museum to see the shark exhibit. Its was fantastic! They had many things to see, and enjoyed the trip. The staff was friendly, and even met the president and CEO John who visited with us for a while giving us ideas to see while there. Excellent experience all the way around.

I visited the Peoria Riverfront Museum a few weeks ago and had a nice visit. I think the most important thing to note is to check to make sure that no parts of the museum are closed because they are setting up a new exhibit. We visited when one of the galleries was closed as they set up a new exhibit. It's a smaller museum to start with - made smaller by the fact that not everything was open. We were able to enjoy a room used for the Ken Burns quilt exhibit and two small rooms housing art and some history of Peoria. While there were some interesting pieces (and we did spend a bit of time in that part of the museum), it just wasn't a large museum and we didn't spend much time. If there's an exhibit you're interested in, definitely check it out!

Love this museum! We watched an astronomy show and the show guide is very knowledgeable and explained the show so well. We were impressed. The moon exhibition was very nice too. I enjoyed this experience.

Today I was there with 5 family members and we enjoyed it all together and mars exhibit was amazing to see and the movie that we watched a movie.

This was my first time at the Riverfront museum and I was impressed. The planetarium was the highlight

Went and saw the BodyWorksRx installation. It was very nice and done very well. Had a great educational component to it. We went on a weekday over Christmas break. And, although I would say it was busy, it wasn't crowded.

The museum is a wonderful way to spend a few hours with family. It has good science exhibits, some history, a beautiful Tiffany exhibit, and art and culture of the region. There is a children's area and it is lots of fun for kids as well adults. We spent half our time in this area. The planetarium has informative and engaging shows. It is included in the entry fee. The presenters engage the kids/audience. The staff is very pleasant and helpful. Parking is free and covered. Last but not the least the location is picturesque. Take a stroll on the river front and get clicked with giant Lincoln statue. It is also closed to restaurants and fast food places.

Nice, modern, informative museum that can be done in 2-3 hours. As mostly all information can be found online for free, I judge museums based on their artifacts; things that cannot, or are not, online for close inspection. The PRM has lots of those, with (obviously) a special focus on the history of Peoria from prehistoric times onward. The Dome Planetarium show was a particularly nice surprise, and included with GA tickets. It wasn't narrated by a prerecorded voice in the sky, but a live human, who asked for audience questions before and after the presentation. He made the show interesting, informative, and interactive. And there are shows with different information throughout the day! So you can go to the planetarium for 30 minutes, see the rest of the museum for an hour, then go back to the planetarium for a totally different presentation. I would go back if there were a special exhibit I was interested in, but everyone else in the area (visitors and locals) to check it out at least once.

This was a great little interactive museum right near the river! The cost for me and my 2 kids was about $40 and worth every cent. It's small compared to the museums in Chicago but this had lots of interactive exhibits and we went right as it opened so there weren't tons of people in there. My kids had a blast. Some stuff we did twice. If you are in the area make sure to check it out! Oh and in summers there's a great farmers market close by that looked real good.

Had a truly splendid time here at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. I've been here once before when I was really sick so I couldn't enjoy it as much as I did during my recent visit. I took a nice walk and it was just beautiful; the atmosphere is serene and calm and the theatre is super comfortable. They have some nice snacks and drinks and I really liked the giant movie screen. Definitely coming back here again.

I definitely did not expect it to be soo good The staff was amazing the tickets are value for money It's basically a place for kids but adults will also enjoy it The science experiments are so awesome The planetarium show was the best They had a dome shaped screen where it felt as if you are just gazing the stars and galaxies. Its very educational for kids They have a sculptor park too If u are in peoria you should definitely see this place

This is a jewel for Peoria. The exhibits are wonderful-planetarium is extraordinary. So greatly appreciate they change the exhibits from time to time. A must!

We've been members for over 2 years now, thanks to birthday gifts from relatives. Full disclosure, I rallied against this museum when it was being put forth as an idea, because frankly Peoria needs to save some money. I also rallied against the whole weird deck thingy at the Riverfront, and I really hope the museum doesn't go the way of that. Anyway, the museum is great for my kids. My son is 9, twins are 6. They like the kids play area, about half of the sports area (anything that moves, they don't dig the interactive displays), and they like to run around the river exhibit doing the various activities in there. They also love the Street, especially the hands on area, but they like to glance at the displays and run the movie. The planetarium is nice for them, but if you remember how awesome the planetarium was at Lakeview, you're not gonna be too impressed. But it's fine, just a little small. The display is right on top of you, and the equipment is right in the middle taking up valuable seating space. Kinda weird. We've been through the touring exhibits, and they liked the kid related ones well enough. Titanic was kind of a bust for them, except the sheet of ice, but the laser thing, dinosaurs, etc. are all good. My husband and I have been to two movies at the "I-Max" and it was fine. About what you'd expect from a ginormous screen. The one good thing is the concessions are about half the price of a regular theater. All in all, it's not a bad place to spend a few rainy or snowy days. The parking is generally hassle free, and if it's nice enough you can walk the Riverfront, too. There are issues starting to show, though. Displays keep breaking, and they are not being fixed. There are displays that were broken in early Spring when our last membership expired that are still broken when our new membership started up in early August. The signs stating that the exhibits are broken are even the same, sad signs, more tattered and woebegone now. Plus, I've noticed a shift in staff since the Spring. We were just there yesterday, and getting anyone to give us information was like pulling teeth. Not sure if there's been a change in management, or maybe some pay cuts, but the employees seem more sullen now. I'm just hoping it's not going downhill like the junk across the street and that eventually, we're seeing it sit empty and lifeless like the Sears block before it. DISCLAIMER: I would NOT pay the entry fee to get into this place for one day. If you live in the area, get a membership. You're gonna be paying half that for a family of five, anyway, and you're not going to be impressed with the ratio of coolness to expensiveness. If you're only here temporarily, see if there is a compatible museum in your area to join, and you can use that card as either a discount or free entry into this museum (and many others).

BIGGEST WASTE OF MONEY!! They charged full admission and didn't mention that only 1/4 of the museum is open. Highly disappointed and wish I could get a full refund. Would not recommend this place to anyone.

The building is full of cool things to see and do. Last night we went to Romance Under the Stars at the Dome Planetarium. It was delightful. Very well done. Interesting. Chocolates, wine & water were served. If you want to experience something beautiful, stimulate your imagination and learn something by accident, try this. Highly recommended!!

After finding out I could visit the museum AND planetarium shows for free on the Yule Like Peoria night, I arrived ready to see all this building has to offer. We were able to purchase beer at the movie concession stand and take it in all the areas except the museum exhibition hall which was nice since it was Friday night. We first went through the kids/athletic side which was mildly fun. It has areas to test squeezing strength and throwing speed which had the high score at 97mph so apparently a Chicago Cub had just went through before us or you can manipulate the system. Since we aren't kids, we were in and out in about 10 minutes. The river walk-through was pretty interesting but we would never need to go through it again. The main exhibition hall had a display of historic pictures of women artists and then some actual paintings. It also had a quilt display. We were also able to sit in an empty theater room and listen to a presentation on the history of Peoria from the Indians to present. There is a room just for Peoria history with some mock up of buildings and interesting facts. This room was my favorite. The planetarium was severely disappointing!! MUCH smaller that Lakeview with chairs that barely recline so you have to be seated only in one particular section to truly see the whole show. Also, the roof is so low! It makes the shows way too close you to be able to see. We saw two shows for free and sat in two locations but weren't happy with the view either time. The display equipment is huge and in the center of the room so there is a bunch of dead space in front of it with no chairs or anything. Poorly designed for sure. We literally LOL'd at the laser light show and crept out after 6 minutes of laughing. It's like some people with low quality laser pointers are standing in the back drawing designs on top of the starry sky. If you like to be able to count pixels, these are the lasers for you!

I have twin toddlers just under 2 - so this is written from that perspective. They loved the little kid area where they could play with water and blocks, but other than that there wasn't much for them to see or do. As an adult I was not really interested in the basketball/sport thing at all...very ho-hum. The river exhibit was just fine - nothing spectacular. No art exhibit at all the day we were there. What else is there to see/do? Not much. Someday I'd love to check out the planetarium when the kids are older. We went on Free Museum Day and, honestly, I would never ever pay $10 to come. We were there about an hour and then ready to go.

Who says Chicago gets to have all the cool attractions in Illinois? Okay, okay, it's not (nearly) the Museum of Science and Industry cool. But if you want to burn a few hours and learn about the ecology of the Illinois River, or test your athletic skills, or play with water or do other fun hands-on stuff, this is the place to go. The building is gorgeous and new, and underground parking is remarkably cheap (50 cents / hour, $2 max, free if you find a spot outside the garage). There is also, unexpectedly, a theater in the building along with a concession stand, if you feel like pairing up a planetarium visit and The Hobbit 3D. There are lots of windows, especially opening out onto the Murray Baker Bridge, and even some at toddler level for the little ones. Overall I was impressed by the design that went into the building. Half the building is reserved for art galleries, if you're into that kind of thing. Definitely worth a couple hours if you're in town.

Museum on the whole was fun, well maintained, friendly helpful staff, and our family had a nice afternoon visit. My review is primarily on the "Be the Astronaut" exhibit. I've always been a big NASA fan and grew up during the age of the Apollo missions. This exhibit knocked my socks off. The capsules in particular were fantastic. Huge "windshields" in each, controls that actually felt like the heft and quality that you'd find in the real thing. Everything functioning correctly. The kids had fun and learned a few things. It definitely held their interest. We spent close to an hour just in the Astronaut section. Glad we chose to spend our free afternoon as we did.

We only used the IMAX theatre, so keep that in mind as you use my review. It was clean, well kept, and friendly staff. The 3D glasses were clean and smudge free. The museum seemed good, but more geared towards adults. Lots of reading.

My family and I enjoy this museum very much. Often, the kids (13, 10, 6, 3) will request to go here over the local children's museum. The younger kids enjoy playing in the water, building with the foam blocks, while the older kids enjoy the exhibits and the planetarium. I've enjoyed the rotating exhibits and always look forward to seeing what's coming through next. It's worth it to buy a membership if you live locally.

We visited the Peoria Riverfront Museum on Saturday 4/9/16 as part of the member sharing weekend with the Peoria Zoo and Wildlife Prairie Park. The entry fee of $11 per person was waived since we are members of the Zoo but we decided to pay an extra exhibition fee of $3 each for the Prohibition exhibit. I am a lifelong Peoria area resident and this was our fist visit to the Museum. We were excited about seeing ALL of the historical Peoria area information like the areas Military presence during the various wars, the areas sports history (including past professional teams such as the Redwings ladies baseball team and the Caterpillar Cats basketball team plus the area's sport venues of the past. We also anticipated exhibits that highlighted the medical communities past history plus how the bridges that spanned the Illinois River in past decades were built. Well.....none of the above was ever mentioned in detail in any Museum exhibit. The Military was completely ignored as were the professional sports teams. There was little or no mention of the past medical community facilities or how the Illinois spans came into existence. Nothing about the areas educational facilities including Bradley University was mentioned. We missed the Planetarium show since the next show was 30 minutes after we decided to depart. On a positive note the old Court House clock mechanism was interesting as was the Duryea car on display. I'm sure people with children enjoyed all the kids activities that were available. The building itself was also very modern. After anticipating a comprehensive accounting of the Peoria area's historical past we left disappointed and grateful that this was basically a "free visit" (outside of the $3 charge for the Prohibition exhibit which was nice). We believe Peoria has so much more history that wasn't even mentioned that should have been included.

Really enjoyed my trip to the museum. Went with some other family members and all enjoyed the visit. Tiffany and Disney exhibits were both very good. Also enjoyed the Peoria Players exhibits as well as the hands-on exhibits. Even found some great items in the gift shop

There were a lot of fun interactive things that we thought were for kids, but us adults kept going back!

Just saw Star Wars Awakened at the theater. The screen is huge! Really enjoyed the movie! The staff is awesome, even reserved seats for us so that the 3 of us could sit together, next to our son who uses a wheelchair. Will definitely be back!

I'm a repeat visitor to the Peoria Riverfront Museum. I am originally from Chicago, and have spent most of my life within close distance to the Field Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Adler planetarium, the Art Institute, etc, and I've had the distinct pleasure of visiting all of them several times. The Peoria Riverfront Museum is not any of these (which target specific audiences from a large population), and it is really unfair to compare it to any one of these museums. Instead the PRM has tried to engage everyone within the community, and I believe that they have done that very well. The IHSA exhibit will get your blood pumping, the river museum combines river history with river engineering (along with a huge fish tank), there are two art galleries with rotating exhibits (Chihuly!), a history exhibit with some fascinating information about Peoria (not just about Caterpillar), and a phenomenal planetarium. This museum has a lot of varied things to see and do, some of which I have preferred over others, but in general, everyone from any age group can find something rich and enjoyable to see and do. I especially like the extra things that they do, including the in-lobby mobile exhibits, demonstrations, and the stream table. I've really enjoyed the Museum and plan on visiting again! PS: It should be stated that they have the single best movie theater in ALL of Illinois. PPS: Prices have changed to $8 Adult admission (definitely worth it considering you will spend at least this much in gas driving to the next closest museum) and $13 Adult admission to a GST movie (compare that to $12 for IMAX which is smaller than GST).

Great for kids! I was unsure based on reviews if it would be fun for kids, my 2.5 year old loved it!

Made for a fun road trip. Got there too late for the planetarium but there was plenty to check out. The chihuly glass exhibit was there when we went. It was really neat but it would have been cool to see how some of the pieces were made. Lots of stuff to interact with in the sports area. Informational movies on history and ecology of the area. A few cool things for younger children to play with. I won't lie, the place was pretty empty so we played with everything we could get our hands on even though we had no children with us at all. It is on the small side so if you rush everything you might be disappointed. But we spent almost 4 hours in there with out seeing the planetarium and we had a blast.

For what we paid to get in I expected more. The interactive sports stuff is cool but I think if you've done it once, you don't need to come back again. We were not there at planetarium show time, so this review is for the museum itself.

I planned on taking my children next weekend but it has come to my attention that the museum management was offered and has refused to accept military veteran articles. Not only were these items rejected, it was made very clear that military and veteran interests would "never" be a part of the Riverfront Museum. Peoria has a rich history of men and women answering the call to defend freedom; many paying the ultimate price. This absolutely should not be ignored especially as we lead up to Memorial Day rememberances. I, as a former Marine, will NOT visit the museum until this policy changes and I encourage every veteran and/or family member of a veteran to do the same.

After voting on this to become a reality, I was sorely disappointed. The movie theater is good, although not the IMAX the politicians promised. The Caterpillar Experience is a "must see". The planetarium is good too, but this review centers on the museum. You can cover this museum in about a half hour. You essentially walk around and read some plaques and look at some photos. The kids area was very small without too many activities. Felt the museum was kind of a joke. See the other parts, but don't waste your money on the museum.

A great museum! I visited it with family over the Thanksgiving Holiday and was blown away! The museum has an exhibit for everyone: the history buff, kids, art lovers. The Peak Performance exhibit is so fun to play in. I also recommend catching a show in the Giant Screen Theater. The screen is truly amazing!