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
SEASONAL SCHEDULE
JANUARY 2 – MAY 2
Tuesday - Sunday: Museum Self-Guided Tours
MAY 6 – MAY 9
Closed for Civil War School Programming
MAY 3 – MAY 30
Tuesday - Thursday: Village Self-Guided Tours (includes Museum Self-Guided Tours)
Friday - Sunday: Village Guided Tours (includes Museum Self-Guided Tours)
MAY 31 – JULY 6
Tuesday - Friday: Village Guided Tours (includes Museum
Self-Guided Tours)
Saturday & Sunday: Village Living History Weekends*
JULY 7 - AUGUST 3
Tuesday - Thursday: Village Guided Tours (includes Museum
Self-Guided Tours)
Friday - Sunday: Village Living History Weekends*
AUGUST 4 - AUGUST 31
Tuesday - Friday: Village Guided Tours (includes Museum
Self-Guided Tours)
Saturday & Sunday: Village Living History Weekends*
SEPTEMBER 1 – OCTOBER 31
Tuesday - Friday: Village Self-Guided Tours (includes Museum Self-
Guided Tours)
Saturday & Sunday: Village Guided Tours (includes Museum
Self-Guided Tours)
SEPTEMBER 22 - SEPTEMBER 26
Closed for WWII Days Event Preparation
NOVEMBER 1 – DECEMBER 31
Tuesday - Sunday: Museum Self-Guided Tours
ADMISSION PRICING & HOURS
Main Museum Center Exhibits Self-Guided Tours
$10 Adults • $8 Child (ages 5-12) • $8 Senior (62+)
Victorian Village Guided Tours & Museum Exhibits
$12 Adults • $10 Child (ages 5-12) • $10 Senior (62+)
Victorian Village Living History Weekends & Museum Exhibits
$14 Adults • $12 Child (ages 5-12) • $12 Senior (62+)
Free admission for museum members and children ages 0-4.
Hours of Operation (please check in at Museum Center)
Tuesday - Saturday: 10am-4pm • Sunday: Noon-4pm
Closed Mondays, with the exception of May 27 and September 2.
LIVING HISTORY WEEKENDS
Visitors will learn about life between 1890-1910 by engaging with costumed History Interpreters in the Historic 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 or Facebook 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 31 and run through Sunday, August 31. From July 7 - August 3 our Living History Weekends will run Friday through Sunday (see hours at left). Please note that on Saturday, July 26 our schedule and pricing will change for The Roaring Twenties. The Village will be open from 1 - 7pm for this special event.
Beginning Saturday, September 6 and running through Sunday, October 26, the Historic 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.
Calendar of Special Events
February 16 - Black History Month Lecture
March 8 - Sock Monkey Madness - Rockford Sports
March 9 - Women’s History Month Lecture
April 26-27 - World War I - The Great War
May 24 - Rockford Peaches Play Date in the Village
June 21 - From Field to Fork
July 26 - The Roaring Twenties
August 15 - 815 Day
Sept. 27-28 - World War II Days
October 25 - All Hallows’ Eve
November 15 - Rockford’s Hometown Veteran Heroes
December 13 - Christmas Truce in the Trenches
Special events are priced separately from our standard tour admission rates.
2025 Free/Donation Days
Jan: 28th, 29th, 30th
Feb: 4th, 5th, 11th, 13th, 22nd, 23rd
Mar: 5th, 6th, 11th, 19th, 25th, 27th
Apr: 1st, 3rd 5th, 9th, 15th, 17th
May: 1st, 13th, 14th, 21st, 22nd
Jun: 4th, 5th, 10th, 18th, 25th
Jul: N/A
Aug: 15th
Sep: 3rd, 10th, 11th, 17th
Oct: 1st, 7th, 16th, 18th, 21st, 29th
Nov: 5th, 6th, 12th, 18th, 19th
Dec: 3rd, 4th, 10th, 16th, 18th
Visiting at another time of the year? Download our 2025 Calendar of Events...
2025 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
You're in the Army Now: Camp Grant, Rockford's Legacy: Our exciting new exhibit uses a timeline-based approach with artifacts and stories to vividly recount the history of Rockford’s Camp Grant, where over 300,000 soldiers trained to defend our nation in World Wars I and II.
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.
