Civil War Tails at the Homestead Diorama Museum

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Children's Museums

Civil War Tails at the Homestead Diorama Museum

Name: Civil War Tails at the Homestead Diorama Museum
Address: 785 Baltimore St, Gettysburg, PA 17325, Gettysburg, PA, US
Telephone: (717) 420-5273
Rating: 4.9

★★★★☆ 4.9 (202 reviews)

📍 785 Baltimore St, Gettysburg, PA 17325

📞 (717) 420-5273

🌐 www.civilwartails.com

Visit Website 📍 Get Directions

🕐 Hours

Monday	11 AM–8 PM
Tuesday	11 AM–8 PM
Wednesday	Closed
Thursday	11 AM–8 PM
Friday	11 AM–8 PM
Saturday	10 AM–8 PM
Sunday	Closed

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About Civil War Tails at the Homestead Diorama Museum

Unique battle exhibits in historic digs. Handmade dioramas with cat soldiers depict key battles & scenes in a historic former orphanage. The museum features over 10,000 handmade cat miniatures depicting Civil War battles, with each cat created to scale using a 1:1 soldier ratio. Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars by 202 visitors.

Quick Facts

Type: Diorama Museum
Specialty: Civil War battles depicted with 8,000+ handmade cat soldier miniatures
Best For: All ages
Location: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Hours: Open until 8 p.m.

💡 Did You Know?

⭐The museum features over 10,000 handmade cat miniatures depicting Civil War battles, with each cat created to scale using a 1:1 soldier ratio
🏛️The exhibits have been developed over 30 years by two sisters (Rebecca and Ruth) in a historic former orphanage building in Gettysburg
⭐In addition to Civil War dioramas, the museum features Samurai cats depicting the Battle of Sekigahara, as Gettysburg's sister city connection inspired this expansion
⭐The dioramas are viewable from both bird's-eye perspective and eye-level perspective to allow visitors to experience what soldiers would have seen during battles

💬 What Visitors Say

💡Request a personal guided tour from Ms. Rebecca or Ms. Ruth, the creators. Reviewers highlighted that their detailed storytelling about specific regiments and historical details (like the 1st Michigan and Andersonville) provides a far richer experience than a generic tour.
💬Plan to spend extra time examining the dioramas from multiple perspectives—use both the bird's-eye view and eye-level viewpoints to understand how soldiers experienced the battles, and revisit different sections to discover new details you may have missed.
🕐Visit in the evening (open until 8 p.m.) if you want a more peaceful experience and the opportunity for one-on-one conversation with the creators, as reviews suggest the museum offers personalized attention to visitors.
💡Bring kids with an interest in either history or cats—multiple reviewers noted the creators are particularly welcoming and patient with children, making this an especially family-friendly experience despite the Civil War subject matter.
💡Explore the Samurai cats exhibit depicting the Battle of Sekigahara, the sister-city battle to Gettysburg. This unique collection showcases the creators' extensive research beyond just American Civil War history.