Museums, Oklahoma City

Visiting the Elsing Museum is a unique experience for exploring fascinating specimens that provide a glimpse into the past and information about the foundations of this world we inhabit. The Elsing Museum comprises an extensively rare collection of some of the world's most amazing gems, minerals, natural art, Indian artifacts, oriental artifacts, and much more. http://www.visittulsa.com/listings/Elsing-Museum/579/

Experience Wichita like it’s 1865. Old Cowtown is a living history museum that lets you immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and activities common to a Midwestern cattle town. https://www.visitwichita.com/listing/old-cowtown-museum/25660/

Experience the world-renowned architect Tadao Ando’s “Arbor for Art” in Fort Worth. The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth maintains one of the foremost collections of international modern and contemporary art in the country. See the work of Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko. https://www.fortworth.com/listings/modern-art-museum-of-fort-worth/4178/

The Kimbell's permanent collection contains holdings ranging from the third millennium B.C. to the mid-20th century, and includes major works by Fra Angelico, Velazquez, Bernini, Rembrandt, Goya, Monet, Cezanne, Picasso, Mondrian and Matisse. https://www.fortworth.com/listings/kimbell-art-museum/2703/

Designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson (1906-2005), the Amon Carter Museum of American Art houses a preeminent collection of American art including painting, sculpture, and works on paper; it has been a Fort Worth institution since 1961. The collection spans early nineteenth-century expeditionary art to mid-twentieth century modernism and includes masterworks by artists such as Frederic Church, Stuart Davis, Arthur Dove, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Georgia O'Keeffe, and John Singer Sargent. The museum is one of the nation's major repositories of American photography and holds the archives of luminaries such as Nell Dorr, Laura Gilpin, Eliot Porter, and Karl Struss. https://www.fortworth.com/listings/amon-carter-museum-of-american-art/3652/

Built in 1899, Ball-Eddleman-McFarland House is Fort Worth's premier example of Queen Anne-style Victorian architecture. Turrets, gables, copper finials, a slate tile roof and a porch of red sandstone and marble highlight the late-Victorian exterior. The interior includes original ornate oak mantles, cornices, coffered ceilings, paneling and parquet floors. The house is available for individual and group tours. https://www.fortworth.com/listings/ball-eddleman-mcfarland-house/5368/

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza is located in the former Texas School Book Depository where significant evidence of a sniper was found following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The Museum presents the social and political landscape of the early 1960s, chronicles President Kennedy's assassination and its aftermath, and reflects upon his lasting impact on our country and world. https://www.jfk.org/

Phillip Johnson, a Kennedy family friend, constructed this stark and simple memorial to the late president. Located in the Dallas County Historical Plaza, this site is visited by hundreds of thousands of people annually. https://www.visitdallas.com/things-to-do/venue/view/6843/John-F-Kennedy-Memorial.html?ttd=1

The NRHC, located on the Texas Tech University campus, is a 27.5-acre museum and historical park with 50 ranching structures and objects dating back to the early 19th century. In addition to the historical park, the NRHC has 38 life-size bronze outdoor art pieces and a 44,000 square foot museum building with six galleries featuring permanent, as well as temporary exhibits of art, photography and artefacts that capture historical and contemporary Western life. A dynamic institution that tells ranching’s story, the NRHC also provides a range of educational programs for children, youth and adults focusing on pioneer history, western culture, natural resource management and other current and historical ranching subjects. https://www.visitlubbock.org/nrhc/

The Alexander Majors House is one only four surviving antebellum houses in Kansas City, Missouri, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1856 for the family of Alexander Majors, the house served as both a family home and as the headquarters for Majors’ successful freighting company. The Majors House was built facing westward, overlooking what was then the Kansas Territory. Originally, the Majors House had nine rooms and nine fireplaces—one in each room. It boasts original floors of virgin white pine—non-existent today. The walls were originally plastered with white lime and hog-hair. The house’s main rooms consisted of an office, parlor, and dining room on the first floor, and three bedrooms and a family parlor on the second floor. Before the rear additions were constructed in the early 1900s, the Majors family’s kitchen was a detached outbuilding or lean-to. http://www.wornallmajors.org/explore/majors-house/

The sights and sounds of a uniquely American art form come alive at the American Jazz Museum. The Museum includes interactive exhibits and educational programs as well as the Blue Room, a working jazz club, and the Gem Theater, a modern 500-seat performing arts center. https://www.visitkc.com/business-detail/american-jazz-museum?cid=18602#sm.000184edndt4sfcyt9010c9rxvdb6

In 1856, the steamboat Arabia was traveling upriver to Montana with supplies needed for a small town on the Western frontier. The boat hit a snag in the Missouri River and sank near modern day Parkville. The Arabia was recovered more than a century later beneath a Kansas farm field with all of its cargo intact and in pristine condition. These artifacts are now on display at the Arabia Steamboat Museum, a one-of-a-kind establishment offering a fascinating glimpse into early Western life. https://www.visitkc.com/business-detail/arabia-steamboat-museum

See what a progressive farming community, spread across some 30 sloping acres, looked like in the mid-1800s. Missouri Town 1855 is composed of more than 25 buildings dating from 1820 - 1860. This living history museum uses original structures, furnishings and equipment. Also depicting the 19th Century lifestyles are interpreters in period attire, authentic field and garden crops, and rare livestock breeds. http://www.makeyourdayhere.com/missouritown

Year-round, visitors can head to Independence, where they’ll find the National Frontier Trails Museum, an institution that offers an in-depth look at Kansas City’s trailblazing history, including insights into Lewis and Clark’s exploration through present-day Jackson County. https://www.visitkc.com/business-detail/national-frontier-trails-museum

The Jesse James Birthplace Museum contains the largest collection of James family artifacts in the world. Tour the home where Jesse was born and raised alongside his also-infamous brother Frank. Jesse’s grave site at Kearney’s Mount Olivet Cemetery draws thousands of visitors each year, as does the Jesse James Festival, which takes place each September. https://www.visitkc.com/business-detail/jesse-james-birthplace

The Elisabet Ney Museum is the historic 1892 Austin studio of European-born sculptor and activist Elisabet Ney (1833-1907). It features her own work—large scale classical style portraits of 19th-century European intellectuals, statesmen, and royalty, as well as Texas notables—and exhibitions of contemporary art, both on the grounds and inside the building. Part of the 2.5 acre site features a historic prairie recreation. Admission is free and events are held year-round. https://www.austintexas.org/listings/elisabet-ney-museum/1523/

Founded in 1963, the Blanton Museum of Art is one of the foremost university art museums in the country and holds the largest public collection in Central Texas. https://www.austintexas.org/listings/blanton-museum-of-art/1580/

Museum presents traditional and contemporary Mexican and Latin American art and culture. https://www.austintexas.org/listings/mexic-arte-museum/1620/

The Austin Fire Museum is located in Austin’s Central Fire Station No. 1 in the heart of downtown Austin, Texas. The firehouse is Austin’s busiest station, which includes Quint 1, Engine 1, Engine 13, Austin EMS Medic 6, and the AFD Shift Commander. The station was built in 1938 and is a piece of history in and of itself. The station and museum are next door to the O’Henry Museum and Susanna Dickinson Museum and is just one block south of the famous Sixth Street District. https://www.austintexas.org/listings/austin-fire-museum/9033/

This museum is the one-time home the “Messenger of the Alamo,” Susanna Dickinson, a survivor of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo who carried the news of its fall to General Sam Houston. Her eyewitness account of the battle remains a benchmark for historians. Inside, the museum houses rare Dickinson family artefacts and a library area where you can peruse the history of early Texan life and other historic frontier women. Her home was opened as a museum on March 2, 2010, Texas Independence Day. https://www.austintexas.org/listings/susanna-dickinson-museum/5900/

The International Quilt Study Center & Museum's mission is to build a global collection and audience that celebrate the cultural and artistic significance of quilts. http://www.quiltstudy.org/about/

Beautiful architecture blends with memories of a time gone by at The Durham Museum. Making its home in one of Omaha’s most unique treasures, Union Station, The Durham Museum offers a fascinating look at the history of our region and offers a broad-range of traveling exhibits covering subjects ranging from history and culture, to science, industry and more through our affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution and strong ties with the Library of Congress, National Archives and the Field Museum. https://durhammuseum.org/our-museum/

Come and visit the historical Buffalo Soldier National Museum and learn more about not only African American history but American history as well. The goal of the Buffalo Soldier Museum is to interpret articulate collect display and preserve historical artifacts documents videos prints and other historical memorabilia which details the history of the brave men and women who overcame extreme adversity while gallantly fighting the great American wars. http://houmuse.org/visit/buffalo-soldiers-national-museum/

The Houston Museum of Natural Science houses the Burke Baker Planetarium, Wortham Giant Screen Theatre, Cockrell Butterfly Center, and over a dozen permanent exhibit areas that examine astronomy, space, science, Native Americans, paleontology, energy, chemistry, gems and minerals, seashells, Texas wildlife, and more. In addition, the museum frequently presents traveling exhibitions on a variety of topics.The Museum also maintains two satellite facilities: The George Observatory in Fort Bend County which houses one of the largest telescopes in the country that is available for public viewing; and The Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land which has exhibits on dinosaurs, mineralogy, exotic live insects, and more. https://houmuse.org/visit/houston-museum-of-natural-science/

The Children’s Museum of Houston is all-new and now twice as big! Rated the No. 1 children's museum in the U.S. by Parents magazine, the Children's Museum is A Playground for Your Mind. The Museum is packed with 90,000 square feet of innovative, interactive bilingual exhibits for kids, ages birth to 12 years, housed in a whimsical Robert Venturi-designed building.Free Family Nights are offered every Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.Permanent exhibits include: FlowWorks, Kidtropolis, PowerPlay, Cyberspace, EcoStation and many more. https://www.visithoustontexas.com/listings/childrens-museum-of-houston/19471/

The Health Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is a multi-sensory and ever-evolving interactive experience featuring health science advances and the intricacies and implications of how bodies work. The Health Museum offers year-long programs and camps for all ages, special events, corporate rentals and exhibitions including the DeBakey Cell Lab, which puts guests in the center of their own hands-on science exploration. https://www.visithoustontexas.com/listings/the-health-museum/19593/

The Witte Museum, where nature, science and culture meet, hit an exhilarating milestone in March of 2017, when the new Witte opened its doors to visitors after more than 170,000 square feet of renovation and expansion. Massive new exhibitions on dinosaurs, People of the Pecos and Texas Wild highlight changes at the new Witte, located on the banks of the San Antonio River. http://visitsanantonio.com/Browse-Book/Attractions/Witte-Museum

In the heart of the KIng William Historic District lies this intimate house turned museum. Focusing on Texas artists, it proudly holds over 400 works in its permanent collection. Works in all media - including paintings, drawings, prints and photographs - hang with ceramics and sculpture. Revolving contemporary exhibits highlight both local and regional artists, and represent the unique work of Texas talent. https://www.saalm.org/

Had it not been for Stax Records founder meeting Memphis music icon Rufus Thomas soon after he started his fledgling Satellite Records in 1957, Stax Records might never have become the soul and R&B powerhouse that it came to be. http://www.memphistravel.com/soulsville-stax-museum-back-better-ever

The Pink Palace Family of Museums refreshingly doesn’t focus on any one medium or aspect of Memphis culture. It gives visitors an in-depth and unique look at just about everything there is to know about the Mid-South, from cultural and natural history to region-shaping industries and rare oddities. http://www.memphistravel.com/pink-palace-museum-theater-planetarium

The Manned Space Flight Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational foundation offering extensive science education programs and a space museum. The cornerstone of its education mission is Space Center Houston, a leading science and space exploration learning center. It is one of Houston’s top attractions, the area’s No. 1 attraction for international visitors, the Official Visitor Center of NASA Johnson Space Center and a Smithsonian Affiliate. Since opening in 1992, Space Center Houston has welcomed more than 20 million people and hosts nearly 1.1 million visitors annually in its 250,000-square-foot educational complex. https://spacecenter.org/

Where Cardinals past and present combine to create an unforgettable experience. As the official home for St. Louis Cardinals legends, the Cardinals Hall of Fame & Museum is already considered a "must-see" attraction. Created to honor the players and personalities who have impacted the franchise, the museum features stadiums, players, championship moments and one of the world's largest team-specific collections of artifacts and memorabilia. https://explorestlouis.com/partner/cardinals-hall-of-fame-museum/?see_do_category=attractions

As a true preservation of Colorado’s western past, Ghost Town Museum is a fun and historic look back at an old west town during the late1800’s and early 1900’s. Lots of hands-on activities for all ages https://www.visitcos.com/directory/ghost-town-museum-museums/