amana heritage museum

We really enjoyed seeing a little bit of history from the area, don't miss any of the rooms as there is something for everybldy.

We enjoyed going through this museum as it had photos, printed explanations, actual letters written by people from that time, artifacts and furniture and all laid out in a good progression through the building. The house itself had been lived in by an early Amana family so one got a feeling for what life was like at that time.

Great background information. Short film in historical building. We were on a Village Van Tour which took us here.

Very nice displays explaining when, how and why the communal community was started, how it operated, when, how and why it ended. We will go back next time we have company that is interested in going. We didn't have time to view the video or finish looking at the displays. Might need a couple hours to do it all. They have quite a few artifacts from when the colony was operating. The price was reasonable.

The video is very nice, but the selff-guided tour does not add much to what you can read on your own. The $7 entry fee is steep for what you get. If you know nothing about Amana, and don't want to read up before you arrive, then this might be worth a visit. Otherwise, read the guides and give this a pass.

My mother and I visited this terrific museum on a recent trip to Amana and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The tour started with a brief film about the history of the community that gave us the right amount of context for our self-guided walk through the exhibits in the Noe House. Just seeing walking through the collection of original buildings was fun.Amana was a truly communal society for many decades, and it was especially interesting to learn how the many families contributed and shared their labor. Community events and traditions are presented through a range of historic photographs and objects as well as art works. The transition from communal to individual ownership during the Great Depression was very well presented in the museum. The decision to change arose from a catastrophic event and was by no means simple and straight-forward: most family homes did not have kitchens as everyone ate at the communal kitchens. The Amanas have remained a center for hard work and innovation-- and this museum is a wonderful way to learn more about this unique place and the people who built it. Check out the wonderful crocheted animals and the children's toys, see the prototype of the original Radar Range. Don't miss the museum shop-- there are some great craft pieces and books for sale!

Besides having very poor signs directing guests to the front door of the museum, the staff was EXTREMELY rude and acted like we were simply a roadblock in their personal life. I don't know why they have a museum if not to educate the visitors about what their ancestors accomplished while developing such a magnificent community. Everyone, in several parties, was quite disappointed to not have the opportunity to experience the history of the Amana Colonies. If this is the best presentation that they can offer to the public, I recommend that they close the facility and not attempt to further insult the interested people that go well out of their way to visit the Amana Colonies.

I was unaware of this community until I read the brilliant Iowa State Guide, so, completely altered my plans for this area, and what a joy it turned out to be. Having read much about American Immigrant history the Amana Colonies came as a complete surprise and this informative museum filled me in on the history of the fascinating journey that resulted in the Colonies.The colonies are well worth spending a day in, touring round the separate villages, so, make the time and enjoy.

We gained much information from Barbara at the Church of True Inspiration in Homestead and we learned some additonal things at this museum as well.

This was the most enjoyable part of our time here, mainly because we were not familiar with the history. Knowing that made all the difference in what we did and enjoyed while we were there. Spent about an hour here. Entry fee of $7 was worth in it our opinion. Make sure you watch the 20 minute movie before you go through the museum. It's self-guided, mostly black and white photos with descriptions of daily life and many implements of daily life. Highly recommended!

If you have to visit anything in the Amana's, visit the Heritage Museum. It's full of so much history and you get to see what they used back then :)

Many people come to the Amanas for the food and the shopping, but if you are there, you must make the time to go through the Amana Heritage Museum to truly understand the history of these quaint little towns.

We were on our way back from Wisconsin to St. Louis, MO and decided to detour to visit the Amana colonies. Our first stop was at the Amana Heritage Museum. There is a $7 fee per person but worth the price. We first watched the film which was preceded by a long discussion on the history of the Amana colonies by the woman working at the museum. She was very informative. After the film we toured the museum which is contained in three separate buildings. We enjoyed this very much. The remainder of the day was spend walking around Amana and visiting numerous shops. We are planning a return trip to visit the remaining six villages in the colonies.

We went here not realizing there was a $7 fee for entrance. However, the lady was informative as to what we would see. We really enjoyed the 20 min. film explaining the history and formative years of the colonies and thought it was well worth the time. The rest of the exhibit and buildings were quite interesting, it was a self-guided tour after the movie and you could take your time to look around. Later in the day we went back to buy an item in the nice gift shop that we had seen earlier, but no one was there to take our money so we just left the money + tax on the counter and left with the item. It was the best we could do!

The Heritage Museum is the best of the heritage sites we visited (with the Church being second). The video presentation is a must for those wanting to know more about the Amana founders. The pictures are compelling, and background a capella singing from the current church congregation was also very nice. The person at the museum was a descendent of an original Amana family, who was candid about answering questions regarding the experiences of those who were in Amana at the Great Change and who had a sense of humor. There are displays of artifacts of family life and some nice souvenier type things as well. We spent more time here than we expected to. We paid the $15 (for the whole family, not per person) to visit the various heritage sitse in the Amanas. We were glad we did, and we really enjoyed our visit here.