Stamping Adventures -- The History Museum

 When it was decided that where we were going on vacation, I checked my Baseball Attractions Passport and discovered I could knock off two spots this trip (technically three but we've already been to the Louisville Slugger Museum). One was the Baseball Card Exchange and the other was The History Museum in South Bend.

I was curious why the History Museum was included since by the title and location alone I couldn't figure out why. Reading the description, I found out why. It is the home of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) repository. We've already been to the Beyer Stadium in Rockford so naturally we had to The History Museum.

The History Museum is located downtown South Bend. It is in the same building as The Studebaker National Museum so you might as well do both museum if you have time. It is open 10-5 Mon-Saturday and 12-5 on Sundays. Admission is $11/adult for just the Studebaker National Museum or $16 for both museums. We did both. If you do the just The History Museum, it also includes admission to the Oliver Mansion which is only open for guided tours at 1 and 2 daily, 2:30 on Sundays. We weren't going to be in town that long which is kind of disappointed as I love old mansions.

The AAGPBL repository is in the basement which is where we started. There was not a lot of memorabilia but what was there was a wonderful piece of history. I really liked that they showed all the teams and when they played. All of the AAGPBL teams were in the Midwest. The league did not last long but it was an important piece of history. 

Downstairs was also devoted to the history of South Bend. The exhibits were very well done. I liked the exhibit on mining in the area.

Also I finally got to see what Hard Tack looked like.

The hubby always likes when he can see money that was printed by each bank.

They had a lot of random items which seemed ordinary to someone that grew up in the 80s and 90s. 

There is also a really nice children's area in the basement. It has to be one of the best kids areas I've seen in a museum of this size. I'm just disappointed I couldn't go in the wagon.

Back upstairs we saw an exhibit on shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, including the Edmund Fitzgerald. That was a bit odd to see since it sunk in Lake Superior not Lake Michigan but it still a big piece of Great Lakes Shipping History.

Somehow we missed the Notre Dame Exhibit but it might have been closed due to the Knute Rockne Exhibit that was opening later in the month. 

Overall it was a great museum. I would have probably explored a little more if we had more time but we had to get to Dayton to see the Dayton Aviation Heritage Area before it closed. 

Even if you are not into visiting as many baseball attractions that Tim finds as you can, The History Museum and the Studebaker Museum are both worth checking out while in South Bend. There is a lot of history in both museums just waiting to tell their story.