Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum

If you are looking for a day-long adventure in the middle of nowhere in Kansas, this is your place! There's plenty of free parking by the visitor center. Start in the visitor center / gift shop to buy tickets. Highly recommend the combo ticket (house tour & library) to save some money. The staff was super helpful in orienting us and making recommendations for how to spend the day. Try to arrive at 15 or 45 minutes after the hour because that's when the 24 minute video begins playing in the visitor center. The video was mostly just hype for Eisenhower and not super educational, but it's a good way to start the experience. The grounds includes the boyhood home, library, museum, place of meditation, and visitor center with gift shop. It's so convenient to have all of this history in one place! Make sure to take a picture with the Eisenhower statue in the middle of the lawn! When you buy your tickets, you are assigned a tour time. I recommend getting there earlier in the day because the tour times will fill up. The boyhood home is very small. You can only enter a few of the rooms, but you can look into all the rooms on the first floor. You cannot go upstairs. So the tour only takes about 20 mins, depending on questions. The tour guide told some good stories about Eisenhower's parents. Eisenhower, his wife Mamie, and one of their sons are buried in the place of meditation. There is only one small exhibit upstairs in the library. Currently it's about women voting for Ike. Don't budget much time for the library because it's quick to breeze through. The museum on the other hand is extensive, so budget several hours! There's a lot to look at and read. You can come and go if you need to take a break for a home tour or lunch. They currently also have a special exhibit on the Cold War. You could spend a whole day in there! There are picnic tables for resting and eating throughout the day. The gift shop has lots of gift options for browsing. Overall, this is a great historical place to spend the day! You will leave exhausted and full of information. Highly recommend checking out the World's Largest Belt Buckle on your way out of town!

Be sure to pay the extra money to see his childhood home. It is very humbling. Most of this museum is about his service in WW2 pre-presidency. I loved learning about the more personal side of Ike

We drive across 1-70 from Columbus to Denver several times a year and had tried stopping at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum once before (pre-COVID) when most of it was closed for renovation. So, on this trip, we planned out itinerary to give us time to stop and visit the museum. We allowed 2-3 hours and ended up spending almost 4 hours at the Library and Museum. I thought I knew alot about Dwight Eisenhower but was amazed at how much I didn't know about his career and his history. The site includes the Eisenhower family home, the Presidential Museum and the Library. You need to sign up for a "timed" tours of the house but otherwise, there are no time restrictions. There's actually not too much to see in the Library - most of the exhibits are in the Museum. There are also a number of exhibits around the grounds and a "chapel-like" building were Dwight and Mimi are buried.There's plenty of parking. Plan on spending at least 3-4 hours; you could spend the day.

I have driven through Kansas probably twenty times. Someone finally told me in passing that the Eisenhower museum and boyhood home was worth the visit and boy was it! The grounds are very beautiful and are a great tribute to a great American who gave his entire life to meaningful public service. As a Veteran it means the world to me how much care was spent to demonstrate that Eisenhower hated war and spent the rest of his entire life working to stop it from happening again.

My husband and I have visited all of the Presidential Libraries in the past, and this was our last one to visit. I have to be honest that I did not know a lot about President Eisenhower before our visit, but I went away with so much knowledge and information about him after my visit. The interior of the Museum was set up very well with a chronological order to the contents of the museum. It was also clearly marked by year, which made it very easy to follow, and I appreciated that. The content was also very meaningful. I enjoyed a lot of the videos with coverage from that time period. We also went into the library and watched a film there, as well as one in the gift shop area. The gift shop has plenty of varied items for purchase. The exterior of the museum can use a little sprucing up, with maybe a big bright sign, or some plants and flowers. Overall, it was a very informative and inspiring visit.

Another great presidential library. I have visited a couple libraries in the past and decided to see all of them with the 2 bush libraries left. The fountain is currently under repair but this library holds up with the rest with a positively slanted view of the person. Most yep users were born well after Ike but if you love history, it is worth a visit. Currently there is an exhibit of paint by number pictures by politicians and celebrities.

After a massive renovation, the Eisenhower Foundation had a chance to make a really interesting museum. Instead, what is there is a quite plain vanilla and white bread depiction of Eisenhower. More of a temple to his memory than a historical analysis of the complex challenges and decisions he faced. Don't get me wrong. If you have a family and you like to go around to historic places with them, by all means, bring them. There is still much to be learned here and it is nice to interact with. But if you are a serious history buff who wants a thorough understanding of what was going on and how we are affected today by the decisions that were made, then you might as well save the trip and just read a good biography on Eisenhower (the one I read was called: The Age of Eisenhower).If you are in the area, the Truman Library is much better in my opinion .Overall, the museum has enough to look at and admire. It's cleanly curated with short texts of information, which made it easier to read, and made me feel like I was getting the most out of the museum information. Not sure if the museum is as child friendly as others, but there's still enough for kids to see you and enjoy.Just note that there are almost no food options around the museum and in town. So if you go on a weekend or a Sunday, you may not get any good food afterward.

This was an educational and entertaining museum that brought back from childhood history class memories with President Eisenhower...I'd highly suggest purchasing timed tickets versus walk ins as this is a very popular Presidential Library and Museum.The museum displays go in chronological of President Eisnhower's life and career:Growing up in Abilene, Kanas, marriage, military career, World War II and Presidential career. The original displays are fascinating and I appreciate the brief but informative information provided at each display sign and the short movies presented. There's so much information to take in and I had a blast.The World War II section was the most interesting to me as I learned some details that I didn't get in History class back in the day.Overall, the museum was efficiently designed for maximum information in the space provided. Great work.The boyhood home was closed for renovation during our visit unfortunately. We visited the final resting ground of Ike and Mamie that was located in the Chapel like building. The gift store had some cool souvenirs and i bought my mandatory magnet to prove that I was here. heheheDefinitely definitely visit the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum if you get the opportunity. Enjoy!

I'm an Eisenhower fan. I think he had a lot of integrity, and despite being a multi-talented military genius, he strove for peace.I've read his most comprehensive biographies, so this museum didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. But it's well organized, not overwhelming. It works hard to break Ike's expansive and impressive life and career into small, important, but easy to digest sections.They have some awesome artifacts. Many of Ike and Mamie's personal effects, even a piece of their wedding cake! Ike's uniforms. Personal documents. Also does a great job of explaining WWII and Ike's presidency.In addition to the museum and library, there is also the "place of meditation," which houses Ike's final resting place, as well as Mamie's and a son's.This museum hits the highlights. Doesn't address the complexities (like Ike's long time affair). But it's a great supplement and full of wonderful artifacts.Please note the boyhood home is currently closed for renovations, hoping to open in the fall of 2022, and the library and visitor center is still closed.And the town of Abilene is quirky and interesting.Worth a stop on a road trip or as part of a weekend getaway.

When people refer to living on "The other side of the tracks," this presidential library shows that Eisenhower literally was raised right next to the railroad tracks. The house, museum, library, and all of the surroundings are consistent with the industrial/functional non-flashy style that Eisenhower brought to the presidency. This is a wonderful museum, that clearly shows quite a bit about how Eisenhower grew up, developed his military career, and stepped into the post World War II presidency, taking you through the '50s, and sharing his special relationship with his wife and family. I've been to all of the presidential libraries from Presidents over the past 100 years, and this library certainly rounded out my vision of the history of what's led us to where the country is today. The entry fee of $15 for the museum is reasonable, with a small additional fee for a tour of the home if you're interested. The staff was incredibly friendly and offered additional insight.