The United States of America is a fairly new country in comparison to others. San Marino does have 1,116 years on us, but in the short 241 years that Americans have shared together, we have racked up some glorious and some shameful history. We have created magnificent museums, institutions and monuments to honor our history. As a country that is facing a lot of political and social division, we can look to our history to remind us to learn from our nation's prior mistakes and to celebrate our country's victories in the arts, social justice, wars, and unity. Take the time to visit the best museum in your state and maybe in the states around you, too.
1. Alabama.
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham enlightens each generation about civil and human rights by exploring our common past and working together in the present to build a better future.
2. Alaska.
The Anchorage Museum connects people, expands perspectives, and encourages global dialogue about the North and its distinct environment.
3. Arizona.
The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) enriches our world by collecting, preserving, and making accessible an astonishing variety of musical instruments and performance videos from every country in the world. MIM offers guests a welcoming and fun experience, incomparable interactive technology, dynamic programming, and exceptional musical performances. MIM fosters appreciation of the world’s diverse cultures by showing how we innovate, adapt, and learn from each other to create music—the language of the soul.
4. Arkansas.
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art welcomes all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Crystal Bridges takes its name from a nearby natural spring and the bridge construction incorporated in the building, designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. A series of pavilions nestled around two spring-fed ponds house galleries, meeting and classroom spaces, and a large, glass-enclosed gathering hall.
5. California.
6. Colorado.
Designed to ignite imaginations of all ages about Colorado history, the History Colorado Center and hub for civic engagement creates a rich experience for visitors through exhibits and programs that blend technology, media, environments and artifacts.
7. Connecticut.
The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History displays rich collections, which provide a remarkable record of the history of the earth, its life, and its cultures. Conservation, augmentation and use of these collections become increasingly urgent as modern threats to the diversity of life and culture continue to intensify.
8. Delaware.
The Air Mobility Command Museum houses over 30 aircraft varying in roles and sizes—cargo haulers, fighters, helicopters, a presidential aircraft, and even a bomber. The museum has a little bit of everything! Learn about the humanitarian and war efforts the men and women undertook to help aid those in need and support the U.S. military.
9. Florida.
The Vizcaya Museum and Gardens has been described as “the finest private house ever built in America,” “a jewel among Miami’s skyscrapers and subdivisions,” and “some Noah’s Ark of decorative arts,” its exteriors offering the “manic tranquility of the great European folly gardens.”
10. Georgia.
The Center for Civil and Human Rights explores the fundamental rights of all human beings from a safe place. Leave inspired and empowered to join the ongoing dialogue about human rights in your community.
11. Hawaii.
Pearl Harbor Tours is proud to feature a number of exciting historic tours to the site of the United States entrance into World War II. All of their tours take you to Pearl Harbor’s Visitor Center and the USS Arizona Memorial for a time of reflection and remembrance. The tragic attacks of December 7, 1941 shook the island of Oahu, and the United States, forever. The lives lost and that tragic day are things that we want to remember and honor.
12. Idaho.
The Basque Museum and Cultural Center provides a look into the Basque heritage through exhibits, collections, and tours. As a cultural center, it's a gathering place for events and educational opportunities in which people of all backgrounds can participate in Basque activities.
13. Illinois.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidenatial Library and Museum is considered to be the first major Experience Museum. Designed, created and produced by BRC Imagination Arts, the museum combines priceless historical artifacts with BRC's innovative and contemporary storytelling technologies. Visitors are offered an engaging, emotional and educational experience through immersive, "you-are-there" exhibits.
14. Indiana.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is recognized as one of the most highly visible museums in the world devoted to automobiles and auto racing. The Museum’s collection encompasses race cars from many series, including IndyCar, NASCAR, Formula One, Sprint, Midget, motorcycle races, and drag racing. The collection encompasses motorcycles, dragsters, cars and other vehicles that have set world land speed records at various points in history.
15. Iowa.
The John Deere Museum educates visitors about the history of tractor and engine design and manufacturing in Iowa's Cedar Valley.
16. Kansas.
Experience treasures from around the world and through the ages at one of Wichita’s top-rated attractions, the Museum of World Treasures. Find your inner explorer—there’s something for all to learn from the past.
17. Kentucky.
The Kentucky Derby Museum is one of the premiere attractions in the Louisville region, celebrating the tradition, history, hospitality and pride of the world-renown event that is the Kentucky Derby.
18. Louisiana.
New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) is New Orleans’ oldest fine arts institution and opened on December 16, 1911 with only nine works of art. Today, the museum hosts an impressive permanent collection of almost 40,000 objects. The collection, noted for its extraordinary strengths in French and American art, photography, glass, and African and Japanese works, continues to expand and grow, making NOMA one of the top art museums in the south.
19. Maine.
The Maine Maritime Museum celebrates Maine’s maritime heritage and culture in order to educate the community and a worldwide audience about the important role of Maine in regional and global maritime activities. The museum accomplishes its stewardship through discriminate collection, preservation and dissemination of historic materials and information, engaging educational programs, relevant and compelling exhibitions, and a unique historic shipyard, all connecting the past to contemporary and future issues.
20. Maryland.
The Baltimore Museum of Art is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA today has 95,000 objects—including over 1,000 works by Henri Matisse, the largest public holding of his works in the world.
21. Massachusetts.
The Harvard Museum of Natural History. You won’t find exhibits like these anywhere else in New England. Comprehensive in scope yet intimate in scale, the museum presents a rare glimpse at the exotic and a fresh look at the familiar.
22. Michigan.
The Michigan History Museum offers you Michigan's rich past, from the time of the state's earliest peoples to the late 20th century.
23. Minnesota.
The Minneapolis Institute of Art inspires wonder with extraordinary exhibitions and one of the finest wide-ranging art collections in the country. From Monet to Matisse, Asian to African, 40,000-year-old artifacts to world-famous masterpieces, Mia links the past to the present and enables global conversations.
24. Mississippi.
The Mississippi Museum of Art is a “museum without walls” – an inviting public space that offers relevant and meaningful cultural experiences to both the Jackson community and the state of Mississippi.
25. Missouri.
The National World War I Museum and Memorial. Soon after World War I ended, Kansas City leaders formed the Liberty Memorial Association (LMA) to create a lasting monument to the men and women who had served in the war. In 1919, the LMA and citizens of Kansas City raised more than $2.5 million in just 10 days. The equivalent of roughly $34 million today, this staggering accomplishment reflected the passion of public sentiment for the Great War that had dramatically changed the world.
26. Montana.
The Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University is a Smithsonian Affiliate, recognized as one of the world's finest research and history museums. It is renowned for displaying an extensive collection of dinosaur fossils, including a T. Rex skeleton! MOR delights visitors with changing exhibits from around the world, permanent indoor and outdoor regional history exhibits, planetarium shows, educational programs, insightful lectures, benefit events, and a museum store.
27. Nebraska.
The University of Nebraska State Museum at Morrill Hall promotes discovery in natural science through research, scientific collections, learner-centered education and public exhibitions. They collect and preserve organisms, fossils and artifacts to foster scientific understanding and interpretation of Earth’s past, present and future. They enhance stewardship of the natural and cultural heritage of Nebraska. They recruit and mentor future scientists and educators, promoting scientific literacy, stimulating curiosity and discovery of our natural world and heritage of diverse cultures.
28. Nevada.
For almost its entire 80-year history, the Nevada Museum of Art has provided significant arts education programming for the public, school-aged youth, teachers, and artists in northern Nevada. Providing rich cultural programming for the community and region has been a central focus of the museum’s educational mission, and the museum seeks to further this important foundation of work.
29. New Hampshire.
The Strawberry Banke Museum is a 10-acre living history museum. As a living history museum, Strawberry Banke strives to preserve the history of the place and people who lived in this neighborhood. The museum seeks to preserve wherever possible and apply the formal principles of Adaptation, Preservation, Restoration and Reconstruction when assessing rehabilitation at the museum.
30. New Jersey.
A visit to the Emlem Physick Estate today offers a look back at our Victorian past as evidenced by its architecture, decorative arts, customs, and the lives of one particular Cape May family, the Physicks.
31. New Mexico.
The New Mexico Museum of Art’s “open door” policy encouraged artists working in New Mexico to exhibit their work, since Santa Fe’s commercial gallery network was years away. That welcome, mixed with the excitement about New Mexico that was generated by the tourism industry, enticed artists with formal training from other parts of the country. The resulting blending and cross-influences of Native American, Hispanic, and European-based cultures created a unique body of work that is the basis of the New Mexico Museum of Art collection.
32. New York.
The National September 11 Memorial and Museum serves as the country's principal institution concerned with exploring the implications of the events of 9/11, documenting the impact of those events and exploring 9/11's continuing significance.
33. North Carolina.
The North Carolina Museum of Art is actively building the state's collection with recent acquisitions. The Museum’s history begins in 1924, when the North Carolina State Art Society was formed. Its mission: To generate interest in creating an art museum for the state. In 1928, the society acquired funds and approximately 75 paintings by bequest from Robert F. Phifer, a North Carolina native and businessman.
34. North Dakota.
The National Buffalo Museum is a 6,000-square-foot facility housed in a rustic log building at the Frontier Village in Jamestown, North Dakota. Museum exhibits focus primarily on the history of bison in the plains culture, but displays include Plains Indian artifacts; a wide variety of artwork; the 19th century firearms used by bison hunters; remains of prehistoric bison; and other wildlife of North Dakota.
35. Ohio.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is the world's foremost museum devoted to the celebration and preservation of rock and roll music. Music gives us a microphone to speak to the world. And music has the power to bring generations, nationalities and people together. Now more than ever, it’s critical to study and understand how music is changing our world as well as reflecting it.
36. Oklahoma.
The Science Museum Oklahomaenriches people's lives by revealing the wonder and relevance of science.
37. Oregon.
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, collaborating with partners, will ignite an education transformation at the intersection of science, technology and design, and weave a thriving innovation district into the fabric of Portland that spreads opportunities across the Northwest.
38. Pennsylvania.
The Please Touch Museum enriches the lives of children by creating learning opportunities through play. This is where lifelong learning begins and curiosity is encouraged. Their mission is to change a child’s life as they discover the power of learning through play.
39. Rhode Island.
The Museum of Natural History and Planetarium is Rhode Island's only natural history museum and is home to the state's only public planetarium. For more than a century, the museum has served as a unique educational, scientific and cultural resource by offering exciting exhibitions and programming that provide ways for children and families to learn about our world and its people.
40. South Carolina.
The Gibbes Museum of Art is an art museum in Charleston. The Gibbes houses a premier collection of over 10,000 works of fine, principally American works, many with a connection to Charleston or the South.
41. South Dakota.
The South Dakota Air and Space Museum is filled with treasured artifacts that showcase the wonderful journey of America and the history of those who risked it all for the innovation of aviation and sacrificed for the science of aerospace.
42. Tennessee.
Find art, history and culture at one of the largest museums in the nation, the Tennessee State Museum. Interpretive exhibits begin 15,000 years ago with prehistoric people and continue through the early 1900s, with special displays of furniture, silver, weapons, quilts, and paintings. The museum’s Civil War holdings of uniforms, battle flags and weapons are among the finest in the nation. Visit the museum’s changing gallery for special exhibitions.
43. Texas.
Nearly 8 million visitors from around the state and all over the world have explored Texas history and culture at the Bullock Texas State History Museum since it opened in 2001. This year, the museum will feature special exhibitions that examine Texas music icon Stevie Ray Vaughan, the phenomenon of music festivals such as Woodstock, the lives of those intertwined in the domestic slave trade, as well as the role Texas plays in the evolution of electronic gaming.
44. Utah.
The Natural History Museum of Utah illuminates the natural world and the place of humans within it. The Natural History Museum of Utah scientists study the past to understand pattern and process, with the belief that this knowledge provides a basis for people to make informed decisions that affect the future. The philosophy of sustainability is a fundamental framework for evaluating such choices. The museum provides opportunities for students and visitors to better understand their interactions with the natural world and provide a framework for individual and community decision-making.
45. Vermont.
Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home. His father was born in a log cabin and called from the humblest rank in life to preside over our nation during the most momentous period of its history. One generation later, Robert Todd Lincoln, the only child of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln to survive to adulthood, became Chairman of the Pullman Company, the largest manufacturing corporation at the turn of the 20th century. He built his Georgian Revival mansion in 1905 in the scenic village of Manchester. It became home to only Lincoln descendants until 1975, longer than any other Lincoln residence. It is the Great American Story.
46. Virginia.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is a state-supported, privately endowed educational institution created for the benefit of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret art, to encourage the study of the arts, and thus to enrich the lives of all.
47. Washington.
The Museum of Pop Culture is a leading-edge nonprofit museum dedicated to the ideas and risk-taking that fuel contemporary popular culture. With its roots in rock 'n' roll, MoPOP serves as a gateway museum, reaching multigenerational audiences through collections, exhibitions, and educational programs, using interactive technologies to engage and empower visitors. At MoPOP, artists, audiences and ideas converge, bringing understanding, interpretation, and scholarship to the popular culture of our time.
48. West Virginia.
For more than six decades, the Huntington Museum of Art has been defined by a vision, a vision of bringing the world of art to the people of West Virginia and the Tri-State region. That vision, nurtured by the generosity of museum founders and supporters, has led to the creation of a truly distinguished fine art museum, the largest between Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Richmond. It boasts an exceptional collection, innovative exhibitions and educational programs, a landmark facility, and an extraordinary 52-acre site where art and nature blend in harmony.
49. Wisconsin.
The Milwaukee Art Museum collects and preserves art, presenting it to the community as a vital source of inspiration and education.The 341,000-square-foot museum includes the War Memorial Center (1957) designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, the Kahler Building (1975) by David Kahler, and the Quadracci Pavilion (2001) created by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.
50. Wyoming.
The Mission of the National Museum of Wildlife Art is to collect, display, interpret, and preserve the highest quality North American wildlife art, supplemented by wildlife art found throughout the world. The museum enriches and inspires appreciation and knowledge of humanity’s relationship with nature.
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