Reviews of Living History Farms (Tourist Attraction)

Jason Es

it was a lot of fun. The staff is very knowledgeable. Please bring your shoes because you'll get your steps in .

Keisha Arndt

Fun for the whole family

Natalie Bensley

Absolutely one of the most interesting things for kids! My son didn't even mention electronics once :)

Jason Clements

If your interested in iowa history this is a great place to spend a half a day.

Michael Miller

This is worth a visit. I would suggest about 2-3 hours. The site is split by the freeway, so there is a "tram" pulled by a John Deere tractor to get you from one place to another. I thought this might be inconvenient, but I ended up waiting only a couple of minutes for a pickup.

Joseph Greene

Nice place to walk around and learn about history.

Sarah Simmer

Such a fun place to visit as a kid and now taking our own children. The weather didn't let us see the farm side but we still had a great time!

Beth Hendrickson

Absolutely awesome, loved it!

LeAnn Larsen

We enjoyed family Halloween at living history farms. The horse drawn cart ride was neat. The princesses and super heros we're great with kids.

LaKisha Elliott

Wonderful place to visit! We learned some history and even got to interact, which makes the experience so much more rewarding!Everyone from the period actors to the staff working in the gift shop were incredibly nice.

Bai Yung

I m very happy i came to this place. Our family dont have any farm industry background and very are not very interested in it either. However, we find this museum impress us because it is not just a museum. Its a living story museum. This place is huge, there is a lot of farm history you can see. The old town is very interesting that makes you feel you go back to West World. And there are numerous very friendly staffs in each building of the town would tell you all the stories behind their store. You and your family wilk enjoy very much

Elaine Bohling

Awesome experience and everyone is so friendly. Would recommend for all ages!!

Noe Ponce

Great place for kids, parents and grandparents!

Travis Bretey

Nice place. Interesting to see once

Jason McKibben

Wow!!! This place is huge. Great buildings and volunteers.

Jody Beck

We love Living History Farms. It was on our "must go to" list when we traveled back to Iowa to see family for vacation. Great docents in period costume. Great place to enjoy lunch too - great salads, nachos and cheese, plus more. One of our favorite places with great memories. Great place to volunteer, too. Lots of special events.

Trevor Thomas

Amazing time spent here

Randy Thomson

We drove from Omaha to Des Moines to visit Living Farms. We enjoyed the village shops and checking out all the old business buildings. The farms were great also. We enjoyed our time there. I recommend stopped there.

Jens Zalzala

I really enjoyed our visit. Talking to the historic staff was really fun and informative.

Diane Carpenter

To much walking when you have chronic pai n

Benjamin Luna

A fun place to take the kids

james myers

An excellent place to visit if you like history and antiquities. People "interpreters" are at key locations throughout the different buildings to explain and participate in actual life like circumstances for the era they are perpetrating.

Marcus Pitts

Very uniquely Iowan. Great place to educate children about farming history and what it was like living in the past. Definitely worth doing at least once.

Vahid Ellig

Bigger and better than I expected going in. Quite a lot of time and attention to detail went in to the setup. People are very knowledgeable about their area. The live demos impressive and thourough.

Lynne Sutherland

It is very fun you can see what it is like to be in 1850, 1750, 1950

Blue J

Our family enjoys The Living History Farms. The open space of the fields for the kids to laugh, play and learn is why we try to go every year.

Kody DePauw

Always enjoyed this place growing up. Seems pricey for what they offer. When we bought our tickets the lady told us it was wheelchair accessible. That was a lie we could only see the beginning before my clients wheelchair got stuck in the gravel.

Allie Cat

It Cinda fun ish I like to learn about history

Tara Nall

Great Easter experience for the kids.

Candace Morrison

Had a great time with my sister, daughter, n nephew!

Anson Family

Great staff working in each location. They do a great job reflecting the time period they’re representing. Love the authenticity all around!

Amanda Bieber

This was a great place when I was younger, but its looking a little rough lately. Something is definitely wrong in the Wallace Center, it has an odd smell. I hope they get the funds to repair to its greatness.

Sarah Rebecca Macbeth-Nuzum

Great all day activity, make sure you wear walking shoes! They do a great job keeping the place clean and the staff are very friendly!

Deborah Wallace

Family friendly & love to volunteer here meeting new friends from all over the world

James Hagan

Very interesting with a lot to look at. Took our 6Yr old granddaughter and she had a good time. The people working there were good to share information. The houses on the farm section were nice. Would've been nice to have more demonstrations and information on the farmstead part of the farms.

Debra Mauch

A must see well in Des Moines. Great for kids

ken neeld

Great time to step back in time, knowing presenters can explain there exhibit very well. Lunch on the grounds. Fun for all ages.

Michael R. Telgheder

Great pioneer living museum.

David Green

People were very nice and it is reasonably priced.

Andy S.

This is my kids favorite place to go during the summer. The volunteers are great at answering all of the questions the little ones throw at them. We always take the tractor back to the Ioway Village first and work our way back to the front.

Christopher Evenson

Brought a group there. Motorcoach driver. Low key historical enjoyment. Neat that they had people in each building, and knowledgeable. So friendly. If you have a mature group pick a day that has comfortable weather.

Chelsea Bauman

Absolutely wonderful. It was wonderful taking a day away from technology and watching the kids immerse themselves in history. They had a blast learning new things, seeing how our ancestors once lived and havent stopped talking about it since we got home.

Corey Stackhouse

Fun history all around

Harsha Cheedella

Nice place, good to go during mid summer.

Abby Feek

This was an awesome place! I figured on spending maybe an hour or two but we got there when they opened at 9 and didn't leave until 1! The staff was so friendly and knowledgeable. I learned so much and it was completely fascinating! We had a 14 year old girl with us and she loved it as well. I would definitely visit this place again! The only thing I would say is to make sure you bring water and wear walking shoes.

Susan Holle

Was there for wedding reception very friendly staff

Israel Avery

History is my least fav. subject in school but this has many options if you like history. Even though I didn’t enjoy my experience I would recommend this to others especially if you want learn about the history of Iowa even what the Native Americans did here.

Catherine Whisenand

The staff is awesome and so knowledgeable and great with the kids!

K W

Really nice. Coming back another time.

Josh Kirkpatrick

We brought our kids here a few years ago, when they were just 6 and 4 years old. We all loved it! What an amazing way to learn about some of our nation's history!

Brody Pfeiffer

Excellent family fun

Dottie Thompson

So much fun and educational. You walk through history on a farm from earlyish to 1900. Well maintained buildings beautifully preserved. All of the staff was friendly and knowledgeable. My five year old grandbaby wanted to make a deposit at the bank and the lady played along.

Dan Ocheltree

I hadn't been there since 5th grade and after we left I really regretted not returning sooner. It's not that I didn't remember what it was all about, but I didn't realize how much detail I'd forgotten. It was so neat to see them washing dishes after having cooked lunch with what people of the time period would have used. There was just so much cool stuff there! I feel like it's a pretty popular field trip, so maybe some people don't feel like they need to go with their kids since the school will take them. Having been in this boat myself, I'm glad we finally just went. I know I enjoyed it more than the kids, and the kids loved it. Do yourself a favor and make a day of this place. You won't regret it! We'll be back soon!

carla foster

It was a wonderful day with my church family Cambria Baptist church. All the kids an adults enjoyed themselves the kids all enjoyed going back in time to see what it was like. Great place to take your family

Ana Jenkins

Great place for families to learn about history and have fun.

Dennis Grimm

It was really educational. Showed you how farm's were run in the 1700, 1800, 1900's. Showed equipment used and what lifestyle was like. If you like history you will enjoy your time here.

jeffrey hitt

Unique place will worth the visit.

Michaela Hixenbaugh

Such a unique and fun experience for all ages. I love the Flynn Mansion. Staff and volunteers were friendly and knowledgeable. I like to visit every couple of years and am never disappointed. And a stop at the gift shop to grab some old fashioned sarsaparilla and rock candy is a must before you go.

Kristine Taylor

I love history, and this place is full of it! Just prepare for a lot of walking when you go, but it is worth it!

Niki Jones

Even though it was cold and damp, we all had a great time

Jordan pawley

This place was awesome, give yourself at least 4 hours. It's big, over 500 acres. And has separate towns you can visit based on specific eras in time. They have done an excellent job, and also have live reinactors in period dress to explain things and answer questions. It will be nice probably close to 5 miles when all is said and done. The price may seem steep but is worth it too see the entire thing. A great museum and worth the stop.

MARILYN Howe

It's history in the best way, seeing it and experiencing hands on chores.

laura garrett

This is a great place to take kids for a look at past iowa history

Gary Lange

We had a wonderful Halloween walk there whilst the kiddos got sweets.

Abigail Anthony

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the Living History Farms. Our favorite sites were the blacksmith and the newsprint buildings. The people working the sites were dressed in time era garments and were very knowledgable and friendly. Be prepared for some walking. Strollers are a good idea for families with small children. Lots of hands on experiences available.

Marlyn Copeland

It was very interesting and the guides were good in tell their facts along with a storyline. The whole area was spotless and we were there on a rainy day.defiantly worth going again without 24 kids to get it all

Skelleyton ⊘

An awesome place to visit for an afternoon. The interpretive staff and volunteers are amazing, and it's a great interactive way to experience history. Lots to see, so plan to spend a few hours if you want to see everything.

Riana O'Keefe

AWESOME place for young kids! The whole place spans across many acres so there is a tractor ride that takes you to each zone. It’s split up by centuries, 1700, 1800 & 1900. The 1900s area has a wonderful group of friendly and cute animals such as gentle baby cows, friendly adult cows and mellow horses. You can tell that the animals are well cared for and very healthy. Kids can pet the animals but do not feed them. It’s absolutely beautiful there and definitely a place you will want to take your family.

Jason

Really great to see the old buildings and people in period dress. 2 year old was bored walking through the old buildings but enjoyed the animals at the farm. He also enjoyed the watermelon for the 4th of July.

MLou Taylor Hyttinen

This place is incredible! So fun and interesting. Very professional staff and excellent interpretation.

Jamie Amble

Cool place to take the family. Wear some comfortable shoes and take a walk back in time to simpler days. Make sure you grab some lemon and gum drops from the gift shop.

Ben Kamp

It was so much fun! I loved giving my daughter the tour around it allowed me to use the years research and application in 18th and 19th century woodworking to good use. The only thing this place is missing is a woodwright. Oh and a chef cooking at the homes.

Sheryl J Brooks

Fun to explore and each building has Reinactor to give history and answer questions. They need keep cafe open later than 2pm for late arrivals until closing time though

Paul Oyen

This is a place where history comes alive. Such a great job of incorporating many significant landmark periods in both Iowa and National history. As the Industrial Revolution swept our nation, the rapid pace of average people changed most dramatically during the noted periods of time. This is a Must See!

Becky Balestri

Well informed staff, in period clothes. Great learning experience

curt Jones

Great relaxing day traveling back through history. Family friendly... kids can learn what life was like 150+ years ago.

Cherish Kasner

Lots to see! Great learning experience!

Night Communications

OUTSTANDING FAMILY ATTRACTION!

pam harrison

Nice place for school trips

Shelly Hamlin

The guides in each location are very friendly and knowledgeable. You can leisurely see the farm in a day. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Jay Udey

I did the 5k trail run with my daughter here and we had a blast. It was a ton of fun and pretty well organized for their first ever kids run. The warm up routine was great for the kids, the course itself was fun and the finish was great. I would give a 5 star review but I was pretty disappointed when the rest of my family along with my sister in law and boyfriend had to pay full admission in order to watch my daughter and I finish.

Randi C.

If you enjoy history, you will enjoy this interactive walk through the past.

360 Memory Lane

Such a great car show each year.

Victoria Samala

Will have to return as it was a rainy day but I still enjoyed my time. The mansion was fabulously fun.,I want a home like that.

Sharleen Agee

Great place to go with kids

Veronica Goldman

Chock full of history and jaw-dropping beauty!

Matthew konen

Always a fun time and the staff and volunteers are very knowledgeable. Very kid friendly!

Trae Blessing

Love this place. Small historic village, old mansion, historic farmhouse, blacksmith shop, church, general store, various other shops and period actors. Hosts various holiday events and fun runs. I enjoy this place every time I go. Good stop for tourists and locals.

Holly David

Family friendly and an overall great way to enjoy both nature and history.

Don Lester

Great park with lots to see

TJ McCloud

This place is a great learning experience for all ages! It allows inside looks into Pioneer life and is filled with great actors/workers representing multiple time periods. A definite summer stop if you're in town or even the living history farms race in the fall!

Sam Jones

Neat place to take the family, feels like you’ve traveled back in time

Shawn Baker

Great place to take the family.

Chris Matson

Fun place to visit and learn. Enjoyed the old rules baseball game.

Allie Lauritson

So much fun!!! I love visiting with the kids. It blows me away to visit the past. So excited for the new season to start. Definitely recommend the winter tea party☕

Thomas Selgrade

We went in the morning during the harvest festival. The weather was nice and it was not crowded. We enjoyed the different areas and had fun watching an old timey baseball game with candy and soda from the snack vendor. Great family fun!

MATT SHEPHERD

Great time and cheap

Rachelle Walter

It's always alot if fun to come here! Everyone is nice and has a lot of knowledge.

Gail Olson

Nice place though little crowded with over 600 students on field trips. Interpreters are friendly and knowledgeable. Military/senior/AAA discount on admission.

Marie Batson

We had fun here great place to take out of town friends

Robert Atzeni

My niece remembered this whenv she was younger about 9 now that she's a mommy of 3 wanted me to come with so she could go back in time. I was busy keeping up but the looks of aaahhh from her kids was overwhelming. Busy day picnic lunch and everyone sleeped all the way home so I know they were sent and overjoyed. Hats off to Living History Farms

Florice Dahl

It was very fun and educational! All my class mates and I loved it!! It's a great place to spend time with the family!

Enes Erdin

I took lots of pictures. It was a fantastic visit. They deserve every penny you spend.

Ashley D

Such a fun place to visit, each time I go I learn something new and last time the man in the doctor's office was so informative we ended up sticking around listening for nearly an hour alone and learned so much more interesting facts about the old days, medicine and the original doctor that actually owned and worked the building they have today(though most of the time he would make house calls back then), it was just so intriguing! It really is an amazing step back into time and so cool to have a place like this here in Des Moines. I think more non members would visit if the admission wasn't quite as expensive, but with just a single membership you get a plus one, even a non member in for free!

Arthur Miller

A fun place to explore.

Josh Baker

Tons of information given to us from the people working there. Great experience.

Brent Bloomingdale

Very in interesting place to visit. Lots of history. We started with catching the wagon ride over to the far side of the grounds and working our way back. You are allowed to take a picnic lunch in and they have nice a few nice areas to do that in. We caught a day where they had actors all dressed up in period costume and also had an fashioned baseball game going on. Lots of info and things to see. I would re commend checking it out. It took us a little over 3 and 1/2 hours to view it all.

Robert McMullen

Family Halloween was lacking storytellers. Disappointed

Courtney Donaldson

Absolutely love this place!! We get the family membership each year which makes it easy to justify a quick hour and a half long trip to the town on one day, and maybe a longer trip out to the farms on another day. The membership is well worth it when it allows you to register for special events and camps before the general public, and saves you money on each camp registration. If you do the camps, the membership pays for itself! We spend time at living history farms probably 4 to 5 times per summer, and my kids are still not sick of it after several years of doing it!

Luke Warren

Great place for family fun

sharon b feeley

Such a lovely, outdoor museum experience!

Mischelle Hamilton

So way back when my daughter-in-law booked the Church of the Land and the Visitors Center for her wedding, we read through the rules and I was very intimidated. While I understood the need for the rules as this is a living museum that needs to be protected, I was fearful that a careless guest would bring down the wrath of Living History Farms and cost our party all kinds of fines. I am happy to report that our fears were unfounded. Ann Marie was our contact for the ceremony at the church. She was so helpful explaining everything from where everyone should park to how to adjust the temperature to cute traditional things like ringing the bell after the wedding. The church is beautiful as always and it was a great choice. I'm at at a loss for the name of the young lady who was our contact at the visitors center for the reception but she was awesome. Not only did she help decorate, move tables and go find things we forgot, she hung around the venue until the very end. The space was very nice with all kinds of possibilities for arranging and good flow. The dance floor got well used as our guests danced away and I think everyone was comfortable in the space. Please do not overlook this site as a possible venue for whatever you are planning. You will not only get a very well cared for physical space but a very nice group of people to help. A++

Deb Wheelock

I had the benefit of visiting the farms about 37 years ago when they were truly "living history". The people employed there were required to live and work as if they existed during the era they were portraying. So you got a real picture of life then, and they could answer questions for us about the tasks they were performing . Not so anymore. What's more, the people visiting had a sense of the worth of the kind of museum experience they were witnessing. They appreciated it. Not so anymore. I saw alot of students there with 1 teacher for 30 kids. Not behaving. No respect for others. Teachers helping kids pee next to the trail instead of using the restrooms. Kids taking things that had been placed as examples of tools used in the era. Extremely disappointing. I wonder what happened? Is this just another example of how the latest grown generation has little use or appreciation for why we used to teach our children manners and respectfulness?

Michael Glen

Highly recommend visiting at least once in your life.

Lorne Wiggins

The place is very beautiful. It makes me enjoy the simple things in life. I saw a lot of farm animals and we also tried organic farm produce. A must visit place.

Donna Ross

Fun place! We even went on a super hot day (103° heat index) but the different areas had air conditioning and there was plenty of shade and breeze and we still had a great time! The staff are super knowledgeable about their respective areas and do a really good job playing their parts and are dressed according.

Gary and Louise Hicks

Excellent examples of farm life in various time periods. Well done.

Kate Challis

This is the best place to go with kids of all ages in all of Des Moines. Get a pass, and if you have to nix one, for sure nix the Science Center, which hasn't been updated in seven years. LHF continues to grow and improve. Except the weird moldy dome exhibit at the end, but nobody goes there for that.