Main Museum Center
Open Year Round
Your Main Museum Center Visit
We welcome you to Midway Village Museum and our Main Museum Center. Inside the Museum Center visitors engage and explore history through interactive exhibits in the more than 20,000 square feet of gallery spaces. Nestled among each permanent gallery are continually changing temporary displays. There are always new and exciting things for visitors to see in our galleries.
Advance ticket purchases are not required. You may also purchase your admissions when arriving to the museum at the Front Desk of the Main Museum Center.
Tour Days
Midway Village Museum is currently open from 10 am until 4 pm on and Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and closed on Mondays.
Self-Guided Tours of the Main Museum Center Exhibits
Your visit to Midway Village Museum will include viewing the Main Museum Center exhibits. Inside the Main Museum Center visitors engage and explore history through interactive exhibits in the more than 20,000 square feet of gallery spaces. Nestled among each permanent gallery are continually changing temporary displays. There are always new and exciting things for visitors to see in our galleries.
When you arrive to the museum, check in at the Front Desk to begin your visit. You can also browse the Gift Store for unique gift items to purchase.
Hours of Operations
WINTER: JANUARY 3 – MAY 5
Main Museum Center, Woodward Millhouse,
Old Doll’s House and Museum Gift Store:
Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm; Sunday Noon - 4pm
SUMMER: MAY 6 – OCTOBER 30
Main Museum Center, Woodward Millhouse,
Old Doll’s House and Museum Gift Store:
Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm; Sunday Noon - 4pm
Victorian Village Guided Tours:
Tuesday - Friday, 11am, Noon, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm
Living History Weekends* in the Victorian Village:
Saturday, 10am - 4pm. Sunday Noon - 4pm
FALL: OCTOBER 31 – DECEMBER 31
Main Museum Center, Woodward Millhouse,
Old Doll’s House and Museum Gift Store:
Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm; Sunday Noon - 4pm
NOTE: The Museum is closed on Mondays, with the exception
of May 29, July 3, and September 4
Admissions
Free admission for museum members and children ages 0-4.
Main Museum Center Exhibits
$9 Adults • $7 Child (ages 5-12) • $8 Senior (62+)
Victorian Village Guided Tours & Museum Center
$11 Adults • $9 Child (ages 5-12) • $10 Senior (62+)
Victorian Village Living History Weekends & Museum Center
$13 Adults • $11 Child (ages 5-12) • $12 Senior (62+)
NOTE: Special events at right are priced separately. Please consult midwayvillage.com for pricing.
Living History Weekends
Visitors will learn about life between 1890-1910 by engaging with costumed History Interpreters in the Victorian Village. A variety of different people, technologies, lifestyles and cultures will be on display. Discover how life in the Rockford region has changed over the last 125+ years, and also how life has stayed the same. Living History Weekends will often feature a unique historical emphasis, with a focus on different technologies, activities and historical elements. Check our website for details before your visit. Admission to Living History Weekends includes entrance to the Main Museum Center exhibits.
* Living History Weekends begin on Saturday, May 6 and run through Monday, September 4. Hours are 10am - 4pm on Saturdays, and Noon - 4pm on Sundays. Please note that on Saturday, August 5 our schedule and pricing will change for Tipsy History: The Roaring Twenties. The Village will be open from 1 - 9pm for this unique event.
Beginning Saturday, September 9 and running through Sunday, October 29, the Victorian Village will be open for tours by costumed History Interpreters. On Saturdays, tours will begin on the hour from 11am - 3pm. On Sundays, tours will begin on the hour from Noon - 3pm.
Midway Village Museum outdoor special events are rain or shine with no refunds on admissions. No pets are allowed on the grounds. Midway Village Museum is a smoke free campus.
There is also no drone photography allowed.
2023 Free/Donation Days (eff. 3/1/2023)
March: 1st, 8th, 14th, 15th, 16th
April: 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th
May: 18th
June: 14th, 17th, 20th
July: N/A
August: 15th
September: N/A
October: N/A
November: 1st, 8th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 21st, 22nd, 29th
December: 6th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 21st
Visiting at another time of the year? Download our 2023 Calendar of Events...
2023 Calendar of Events
The Calendar of Events details the hours of operation throughout the year, scheduled dates and topics of this year’s favorite signature museum special events, programs and fundraisers. This PDF document is approx. 761 KB.
Inside The Main Museum Center
As A Visitor You Will View The Permanent Exhibits Featuring Thousands of Artifacts Related To History
Many Faces, One Community: This exhibit features stories of Rockford’s immigrants from 1834 to the present. Arrive through the train depot, stroll along 7th and South Main Streets, visit an immigrant home, and apply for a job at the Swedish furniture factory.
Queen City of the Prairies: Only 20 years after its founding Rockford became an important regional center of government, industry, and commerce. Learn more about life in 1840s Rockford.
The Girls of Summer: Meet the Rockford Peaches and learn about these ladies who played hardball in the 1940s-50s.
The Missing Link: Socks, Monkeys and Rockford’s Industrial Past: Monkey around with red heel socks and view the Nelson knitting machines. Find the sock monkey that helped win Rockford the title of “Home of the Sock Monkey.”
Flight Gallery: Learn about local aviators like Bessica Raiche, and see Col. Bert Hassell’s 1928 SMI Stinson-Detroiter Airplane.
Industrial Gallery: Rockford’s industrial geniuses created innovative products that impacted the local and worldwide economy.
Adjacent to the Museum Center be sure to see:
Old Doll’s House Museum: Outside the Museum Center, the Old Doll’s House Museum has 30 miniature
homes representing different countries.
Woodward Millhouse: Tour an 1860s recreated mill with a functioning waterwheel located on Lake Severin.
Book your self-guided museum tour online or call us at 815-397-9112. You may purchase your admission when arriving at the museum. Tickets do not need to be purchased in advance, however you may choose to do so. Admission is on a first come, first served basis.
Midway Village is located at 6799 Guilford Road in Rockford. Parking is free and adjacent to the Main Museum Center building which is situated on the right side of the campus as you enter the grounds.
