Just weeks after the National Museum of Military Vehicles held its grand opening, the Dubois museum has been ranked among the top 10% of the world’s most popular attractions, according to a popular travel website.
The museum recently won a 2022 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award for being in the top 10% of attractions worldwide. The award celebrates businesses that have received great traveler reviews from all over the world on TripAdvisor in the last 12 months.
“It’s gratifying to recognize what a sustained team effort we have made here, to the best of our ability,” museum co-owner Dan Starks told Cowboy State Daily on Friday. “This recognition shows that a whole lot of us here at the museum are working to do a lot more to provide a great experience.”
Every single one of the 41 reviews of the museum on TripAdvisor is five stars, meaning that the guest’s visit was “excellent.”
“Our family went to visit this museum and we were truly amazed at how well laid out everything was,” one commenter from Montana wrote. “The amount of thought and care the owner made to make such an impression on everyone in our family was remarkable. We’re so glad to have had the opportunity to get to go see such wonderful displays.
“If I could’ve given a higher rating, I would have because it’s that amazing,” the reviewer continued. “I highly recommend taking the time to go see all the military history on display.”
Some people even made accounts on the website just to write a review about the museum.
“DO NOT MISS THIS ! I’ve been in all 50 states, many museums, this is the best yet,” a reviewer from Tennessee wrote. “This is better than Smithsonian, it’s so informative, gives history of our wars even has a huge gun exhibit of the arms from each war, I’m guessing well over 150 guns on display. Skip Jackson come to Dubois and enjoy the friendly people and don’t miss this museum. Trip Advisor should have this #1 ‘to do.’ Also, the drive to the museum is beautiful, with lots of antelope along the way.”
The 140,000 square-foot museum boasts more than 500 vehicles in its collection and more than 200 historically significant firearms. Owners Dan and Cynthia Starks spent $100 million of their own money to fund the museum.
“These reviews tell me we’re really focused on the right things to give our guests the experience we hoped to deliver,” Dan Starks said on Friday.
Starks previously told Cowboy State Daily that despite a lack of marketing, the museum drew in more than 40,000 visitors in 2021, at least 10% to 20% of whom were veterans.
