Visitor Center

Start your visit at the Visitor Center, where you can pick up a map and guide, and a menu of audio tour stops. Park rangers are available to answer questions and help you get oriented.

 

Visitors stop at the Visitor Center first for an orientation from National Park staff.

NPS PHOTO

 

Start your visit to the National Historic Site at the Visitor Center.

NPS Photo

Allow yourself about 30 minutes in the Visitor Center, which is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Exhibits tell about Herbert Hoover's childhood and the tallgrass prairie. The 12-minute film "Adventure and Great Undertakings: Herbert Hoover's Childhood in West Branch" is played on request. Temporary exhibits and artwork by past artists-in-residence are also on display. Children can become Junior Rangers by completing activities in the Junior Ranger activity booklet, available from the Visitor Center.

Federal Recreational Lands Passes are on sale at the Visitor Center. Books are available for purchase from the Eastern National Bookstore inside the Visitor Center.

 

• Audio Tour Stop 101: Visitor Center Welcome and Listening Wand Tutorial (2:15)

  
  

  As part of the National Park System this park commemorates and interprets the life, career, and accomplishments of our nation’s 31st President.

  Credit/ Author:

  NPS

  Date created:

  2010-06-22

  Download Original File:

  heho-101-VISITOR-CENTER_TUTORIAL_WANDS_POUND-KEY-REV-2.mp3 500 KB

  Audio Transcript
  Welcome to Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. As part of the National Park System and in cooperation with the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association, and the city of West Branch, this 187-acre park commemorates and interprets the life, career, and accomplishments of our nation’s 31st President.
  (music) Today you will explore the neighborhood where Herbert Hoover was born and spent much of his early childhood. As you explore the site’s historic grounds and buildings, you’ll have the chance to immerse yourself in the landscape Hoover saw, and the activities he participated in as a child.
  To ensure that you experience all of the park’s resources and history during your visit, please stop by the Visitor Center, or any of the three waysides, to pick up a free copy of the park’s site map. The message stops for the audio tour are numbered and titled on this helpful guide, which means you can enjoy the audio program in any order you like.
  To learn more about the natural or cultural significance of a particular building or feature on the map, please enter the corresponding three-digit number on your audio wand’s keypad. In some locations the messages are ‘layered,’ so after the main message is finished, you will be prompted to press the # key to access the additional information.
  To end a message before it’s finished, press the “Stop” button located on the bottom center of the keypad. To hear it again, simply re-enter the number. You can adjust the volume by pressing the up or down arrow.
  For your convenience, the Visitor Center and its restrooms are handicapped-accessible. Visitors may borrow a wheelchair and scripts of the audio program. In addition, there is a short film about Herbert Hoover’s early life. Park rangers and volunteers are available to assist you and answer questions from 9 am to 5 pm.
  Ready to begin? Please remember to watch your step while you visit the site, and keep an eye out for posted safety messages.
  Enjoy the program!

 

Take a Virtual Tour

This is a stop on the virtual tour of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site.

Cultural Landscape »