My eight year old son and I happened upon this wonderful museum one day. We spent several hours there due to the huge variety of things to see in such a small museum! The first half of our time was spent in the south side - looking at things from Joplin's history. It was wonderfully interesting, even for an eight year old!He later found the north side (the geology/mining section) and it lit up his interest again. Being able to go through the man made cave with samples of local crystals, geodes, etc, was very interesting. Then we climbed to the 2nd/3rd story and found a miniature re-creation of the old mining district - with working equipment. It was fascinating. . Together we'd try to figure out some really old pieces that I didn't understand. Finally we'd read the descriptions and gain additional understanding. He came (we came) to a deeper understanding of how hard and dangerous mining was back then. Great museum, with the highlight of seeing an antique fire truck,