National Museum of the Great Lakes, Toledo

4.8

#2 of 7 in Museums in Toledo

Specialty Museum · Hidden Gem · Museum

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National Museum of the Great Lakes reviews

TripAdvisor traveler rating

355 reviews

Google

4.7

By S1881JLrobertg

We spent approximately three hours at the museum, including tour of the barge and tugboat. Reminders of the dangers of travel across the Great Lakes, fortunately most of the major tragedies were...

We spent approximately three hours at the museum, including tour of the barge and tugboat. Reminders of the dangers of travel across the Great Lakes, fortunately most of the major tragedies were... more »
By amycN5105OB

What a great museum! Really informative and full of great, pertinent information. We also got to go on the large freighter the Schoonmaker. This was a great experience and you got to see how the...

What a great museum! Really informative and full of great, pertinent information. We also got to go on the large freighter the Schoonmaker. This was a great experience and you got to see how the... more »
By 408elainej

We really enjoyed the self guided tour of the cargo ship. I think the app is necessary to get the full experience. The museum was also very informative. I wish the narration covered it too. The area..... more

We really enjoyed the self guided tour of the cargo ship. I think the app is necessary to get the full experience. The museum was also very informative. I wish the narration covered it too. The area..... more »

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Google

By Matt M

Excellent museum for adults and kids alike. The ship was so fun for walk around on and IN. You can actually go inside the cargo hold! We had to rush through the museum, as we cam late in the day, but it was pretty cool. Definitely worth a trip back. They are updating a park next to the museum, so summer '23 should be a great time to visit. Then goto Maumee Bay brewery for lunch 😁

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By Jan Smith

Didn't think this would be interesting, but went with a friend who wanted to go. Jack, the volunteer who showed us around the freighter, made the trip extremely informative. He had worked on the tug boat that is also on display, and had an infinite number of personal and anecdotal stories about the freighter, tug boat, and Great Lakes shipping history. Worth calling ahead to see which day he is volunteering!

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By Brandon Howard

Great museum, larger than I expected. Lots of great artifacts and exhibits. The lake freighter tour was awesome. We loved that it is self-directed and self-paced. Staff could have been more engaged, but otherwise, this was a great stop.

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By bonniegeen “Bonnie”

For a place covering a small footprint there is SO MUCH information and expertly planned and laid out to bring a wonderful experience for kids and we oldies. History of the great lakes, of GL shipping, role during wartime, role in industry, so much. Then you board the SCHOONMAKER cargo ship with all areas open to view and still so complete. What an experience!!!

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By Christian Nussbaum

A lot of awesome history and information. Met a few other customers who were very nice. Really cool checking out the large ships and the kids enjoyed it. They do have quite a few interactive things in the museum, but most of them no longer work and need repaired. Only reason for the 4 stars and not 5.

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