TRACES Center for History and Culture050

Closing November 9, 2008: TRACES is a unique non-profit educational resource that explores the myriad of ways the paths of Germans, Austrians, and Midwesterners crossed in the Heartland and in Europe during World War II. Given the nature of the issues the museum explores, it's best experienced by older-elementary ages and up. The genuinely moving exhibits evoke various environments to tell the personal stories of POWs, immigrants, journalists, GIs, and more. And even though each individual display is small, together they pack quite a wallop - a piece of wall, a small fence...each element is expertly displayed to create a mood, with loads of information provided against that backdrop. Note: A small, curtained-off display at the end of the main exhibit space includes graphic photos of concentration camp prisoners and other disturbing images. Parents who don't want their children to see those images can steer clear of that section. A small on-site shop sells books and other educational materials.