Best History Museums in Illinois

Illinois has 4 history museums we would happily take our own kids to. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is the one most families start with. Holographic theater and original artifacts trace Lincoln from a log-cabin boyhood to the White House and the Civil War. Illinois Railway Museum is the other name that comes up again and again. Don't just look at the trains, climb aboard and ride restored steam, diesel, and electric cars at America's largest railway museum. Naper Settlement rounds out the pick of the bunch. Walk through 13 acres of restored 19th-century buildings where Naperville's history comes alive. Also worth your time: Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

Published prices run from $11 at Illinois Railway Museum up to $15 at Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. 2 of the 4 listed here quote a starting price. The others vary by season or by what you add on, so check before you travel.

The history museums on this page are spread across Springfield (1), Union (1), Chicago (1) and Naperville (1), so it is easy to pair two into one trip.