***** (5 stars)
We began our exploration at the museum itself. The ground floor of the museum provides a fairly elaborate interpretation of some of Twain’s books, including Tom Sawyer, The Innocents Abroad, and his time in the gold rush territory of California. While these displays looked nice, they didn’t do a great job of conveying their message, especially to their intended audience, which seemed to be children.
The upper two floors of the museum did a much better job, displaying artifacts and artwork from Twain’s life and books. For those with the patience to read the detailed signage, there was a lot of interesting information here.
The museum ticket is available as a package that also grants access to other buildings down the street, and that’s definitely worthwhile. You can tour the homes that provided the inspiration for Tom, Huck and Becky, and all were interesting.
Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum
120 N Main St
Hannibal, MO 63401
(573) 221-9010
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mark-twain-boyhood-home-and-museum-hannibal