You can gain lots of information from the Mennonite Information Center as you embark on your sojourn in Amish Country. The folks at the Mennonite Information Center can lead you to authentic, reputable places to visit for a true understanding of the Amish/Mennonite people in Lancaster Country.The Center also has an extensive collection of books for sale about the Amish/Mennonite culture, videos and brochures. If you haven't been to Amish Country and need some incite and direction, this is the first stop you should make.
The Mennonite Information Center, located on the outskirts of Lancaster, PA, has available a wealth of local information for travelers (aka tourists), places to shop off the beaten' track, as well as good dinning suggestions. If you are interested, there is a movie in the center highlighting the Mennonite history, faith and daily living traditions. There is also books, and other local crafts available for purchase. The Center also offers, for a fee, Amish tour guides who will accompany you in your vehicle, and direct you through the rural countryside, which is not usually experienced from the main highway intersecting Lancaster county. It may help to call ahead in busy tourist season to make sure someone would be available to be a guide. I have taken this tour twice in the past and I am not Mennonite. But I found it to be fascinating and informative. It is not fast paced and you need to allow a couple of hours minimum to really enjoy the experience and stop at the roadside shops to sample the handmade crafts, foods and treats.
My wife and I have always wanted to come here so we made it a special trip to go to the Mennonite Information Center. For $3.00 per person we attended the movie that explained the differences between the Amish and the Mennonite. They had a free movie also which was quite enjoyable. They have a very large gift shop as well.
We arrived just at closing hour, but the staff was very friendly and still took the time to allow us in, and to talk to us for a while. This is a must visit, even if its only to the store. Congrats to the staff for your great service!!
What an education. This was not a boring stop and the information they are able to provide about the locals and customs was off the hook. My 17 year old was just as interested as the rest of our group. Just minutes off the main highway.
Back in the 1920s a Baptist pastor in Florida built a life size version a Biblical Tabernacle. The Mennonites eventually bought the replica and moved it to Lancaster. While I have read the Biblical description many times, it was really interesting to see a hard copy version. The guide did a good and accurate job of describing it. They also have a good movie which describes the history of the Amish & Mennonites for their origins in Europe to the present day in the USA. It really helped to tie thing together.
The people are very knowledgeable and the tour was well done. It was nice to see what it looked like for the ancient Israelites.
This place isn't going to win any excellence awards, but it's high-quality nevertheless. It really breaks down into five things:1) The Tabernacle tour (cost): very worth it, especially if you have Judeo-Christian interests. Very cool depiction of the original tabernacle to scale, and the guide who runs it, while not always the most charismatic person, is very knowledgeable and connects the presentation well to Jesus Messiah. About 40-45 minutes.2) The Postcards of Faith video (free): an overview of the Amish and Mennonite cultures. Looks like it was made in the 90s, but still good stuff. About 20 minutes long.3) Who are the Amish video (cost): a more in-depth explanation of the Amish. A bit dated, but does a fantastic job at educating about the Amish, their history, and dispelling certain myths about them. About 20 minutes.4) The gift shop. Some neat items, especially from Mennonites around the world.5) A short exhibit saying similar things to the video. Pretty good quality. Probably 5 to 20 minutes, depending on how thoroughly you read everything.Friendly staff, openly evangelical, good place. Definitely worth checking out if you have the slightest interest in the Amish, Mennonites, or the Tabernacle.
I actually stumbled across this exhibit while dining in nearby Strasburg with my sister. She spotted the brochure in the hallway there next to Isaac's Restaurant. As it was a short ride to the Mennonite Visitor Center where it was housed, we thought "What the heck--let's go!" It was not hard to find--it is on Rt. 30 just east of Lancaster. If you are heading INTO Lancaster, it would be just past Dutch Wonderland--make a left onto Millstream Road. Then it will be right there on your right. The Visitor Center has tours of the Tabernacle every hour on the hour from 8 to 5 until November--the hours for the last tour get earlier and earlier for winter. $8 for adults, kids 6-16 for $5.50. Groups get a cheaper rate--call ahead. Ph: 800-858-8320. So we go in and buy our tickets at the desk, and start to noodle around to kill 20 minutes before the next tour. They have some REALLY cool stuff there! Lots of displays of area history, and the gift shop has amazing Bible-oriented items that will knock your socks off--kits to make your own mini-tabernacle, beautiful maps, DVDs, books, replicas of artifacts, etc. So then it was time for the tour, and a really pleasant fellow takes us (just the two of us!) into a lecture room with benches. One wall is a giant painting done by local high school kids of what it may have looked like when the Tribe of Israel was encamped during the flight from Egypt--massive! Our guide tells us that this particular tabernacle replica was created in the 1940's by a Baptist minister in St. Petersburg, Florida. He used measurements and descriptions he took right from the Bible. It was on display down there for a number of years, but didn't get that many visitors. I don't recall how it ended up in the hands of the Mennonites, but since they put it up, it has had thousands of visitors every year. Then we followed him through a door, and WOWEE! We enter a real life-size tabernacle! You can't actually go in the area where the priests would have walked around, but you are kind of standing outside the pillars looking in. You can even look through windows into the Holiest of Holies and view a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. I don't know how accurate the portrayal is, but it certainly caused my sister and I to automatically whisper and tiptoe around. Our guide explained all the structures and the ritual uses of all the trappings. Great short tour for those interested in history and the Bible. I'm not sure it would be the best tour for younger kids--they may be bored. But if you have a spare hour and are tired of outlet shopping, trains, and putt-putt golf, check it out--I bet you whisper, too!
Based on other reviews we had arranged for a tour guide to join us in our own family car (4 adults, 2 teenager). Our guide Lois was just wonderful, she shared so much with us about Mennonites and Amish that we much better understood and valued the experience. Thanks to her we visited several places at our own speed and got to talk to some Amish people as well. This is definetly a strong recommendation when you explore this area and are interested in the way of life of Amish and Mennonites.