Mennonite Information Center - Lancaster, Pennsylvania - Mennonite and Amish Information Center

The Mennonite Information Center is situated at Millstream Road two miles east of Lancaster, Pennsylvania on Route 30. It aims to teach people about the way of life of the Orthodox U.S Anabaptist sect the Amish and Mennonites. It is open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 5pm April to October, whereas November to March it opens from 8.30am to 4.30pm and is closed Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Thanksgiving Day.

There are several Amish communities in the United States with the largest populations in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana, but due to large population growth, new settlements are continually being formed. Lancaster County has the world's second largest settlement, and the information center gives visitors an insight in to their history and beliefs. The Amish way of life is less materialistic so visitors can see how their traditions have been maintained since they emigrated from Switzerland to the United States in the early 18th century.

Guided tours of the Amish country life are provided by people with a Mennonite or Amish background. Visitors can be taken by bus, car, or van for a minimum of two hours on a guided tour, which can be booked in advance in order for the trip to be tailored to the individual or group's own interests. The options available for the tour include trips to Mennonite and Amish owned farms, shops, stores, one room schools, windmills and water wheels.

The three hour coach tour must be booked in advance and costs $105. The mini-coach tour also requires advance booking and can take up to 26 people for a minimum of two hours at $75. There are two other tours with vehicles for 1-7 people costing $44 and 7-14 people at $48, which again are a minimum of two hours and as with all the trips a further charge is made for each additional hour taken.

A 45 minute guided lecture tour is also provided of the Biblical Tabernacle Reproduction, which was created in the late 1940s in Florida and was later purchased by the Mennonites. Guides explain the history, construction, function, and spiritual significance of the tabernacle and its furnishings. Apparently more than 30,000 people visit the Tabernacle each year.

The theater at the information center shows a 30 minute three screen feature called Who Are the Amish? The presentation uses original music, narration and photos to relay the facts about the Amish people and is shown on the hour from 9am to 4pm. Subjects covered include Amish population growth, what it is like being an Amish child, Amish farming, and why they live in the way they do.

There is an opportunity for tourists to experience first hand the lives of the Amish community by taking vacations at working farms or bed and breakfast lodgings. Alternatively there is an on site book store, which sells theological and social literature about the Mennonite and Amish faith. DVDs, lesson materials, model kits and posters can also be purchased at the shop.