Specialty Museums in the US

[MichaelB]

Visiting museums is always at the top of our list when traveling around the US, and most of the bigger cities have "general culture" museums. We've seen some specialty museums, however, that were really nice and easily among the most enjoyable activities of our domestic travel. Two examples are the Museum of Flight in Seattle and the National Automobile Museum in Reno. We especially enjoyed the Museum of Flight, even though we are not particularly interested in airplanes. The volunteers working there were clearly enthused, committed and quite proud of the facility, far more than any other we've seen, and we found their enthusiasm contagious - and the collection of exhibits is amazing.

What other specialty museums across the US stand out as "highly recommended"?

 

[CardsFan]

In the St. Louis area there are a few:

1. The Arch: yeah, a tourist trap, but the movie on building it is well worth the visit. No need to go up top.

2. National Museum of Transport: Not worth a big change of plans, but if you are in the area, worth a visit.

3. City Museum: Caveat, I have not been there, but I her it is great for kids.

 

[REWahoo]

Here is my personal favorite (you don't get any more "special" than this!): Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum

It's great that Barney, the chief artist, creator and curator, got to pass on the entire contents of the museum to a new and larger venue to display his work shortly before he died. As an added bonus, you can now enjoy an adult beverage while you tour! https://truckyardthecolony.com/museum

 

[brewer12345]

The world war one museum and memorial in Kansas City is incredible.

 

[jazz4cash]

In the DC area you could spend weeks going to the various Smithsonian Institution museums. Two of note:

The brand new National Museum of African American History and Culture:
You can now walk in with no reservation and usually no lines to enter.

In addition to the National Air and Space Museum in Downtown DC, check out the location out near Dulles Airport in VA. It is called the Udvar-Hazy Center and its where they store and display the really big stuff. They have SR71 Blackbird there and the Enola Gay.

 

[braumeister]

My personal favorite is the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH. It's so huge you can easily spend two whole days (or more) going through it. Extremely well done, and full of very enthusiastic volunteers.

Another favorite is the Cloisters in NYC. Run by the Metropolitan Art Museum, it's a magical place that has parts of medieval monasteries brought over and reassembled into a fantastic museum. Filled with incredible medieval art. I go there every time I visit NYC.

 

[cathy63]

On the San Diego waterfront, we have the USS Midway aircraft carrier which has been turned into a museum focusing on its own history. We also have the Maritime Museum which is a collection of historic ships to explore, including a Russian submarine.

I also like the Map & Atlas Museum in La Jolla.

 

[MissMolly]

The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY
https://www.corvettemuseum.org

The Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville (our daughter had her wedding there)
https://www.derbymuseum.org

The Louisville Slugger Museum (and they give factory tours)
https://www.sluggermuseum.com

Not a museum, but the Toyota Factory in Georgetown gives tours. Really, really interesting (and free)
https://www.tourtoyota.com/kentucky

ETA: I thought of another one. Not a traditional museum - Big South Fork Scenic Railway. You take a train ride though the mountains/forest of Kentucky to an old mining camp and learn about life back then. The train ride is gorgeous. We did this years ago when our kids were little.
https://www.kentuckytourism.com/big-south-fork-scenic-railway/

 

[Lewis Clark]

The Economy Museum at the Federal Reserve bank in St Louis is small and very well done.
https://www.stlouisfed.org/inside-the-economy-museum

The National Railroad Museum near Green Bay, WI is very interesting if you like trains.
https://nationalrrmuseum.org/

The Museum of TV and Radio in New York City has recordings of many old programs on both media.
https://www.nyctourist.com/museum-of-television-and-radio

I've been to seven or eight of the Presidential Museums. The are all excellent and great histories of the administrations as the events going on in the world at the time.

The Carnival Museum in Mobile, AL was much more interesting than we expected, in large part due to an excellent docent leading our tour.
https://www.mobilecarnivalmuseum.com/

The National WWII Museum in New Orleans is fabulous!
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/

National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, PA (near Lancaster)
https://nawcc.org/index.php/museum

 

[Janet H]

Museum Of Bad Art - Museum Of Bad Art – art too bad to be ignored

Spam museum - https://www.spam.com/museum

Mustard museum - https://mustardmuseum.com/

Corn palace - https://cornpalace.com/ (not really a museum but still interesting...)

 

[camfused]

+1 on the Air Force museum in Dayton. I would say it is probably the top flight museum in the world.

 

[Bamaman]

Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville--it's ever changing and surprisingly interesting for someone that's a fan of all kinds of music.

There are many U.S. Presidents' homes that are interesting museums. The Hermitage in Nashville showed how Andrew Jackson lived, and it's a completely restored antebellum mansion.

 

[Midpack]

I agree with many already mentioned.

If you have any interest in things maritime, let me add one Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic CT. Best time to go Spring or Fall, can be a little crowded in Summer and just not as much going on in Winter. It has the added attraction of being on the waterfront - a definite plus to me. You can go out sail or power during the visit, but the exhibits and displays will keep you plenty busy. I’ve been there dozens of times.

https://www.mysticseaport.org/

This may sound bizarre but I enjoyed visiting Graceland https://www.graceland.com/. I didn’t care for Elvis at all, and I’d avoided going to Graceland despite dozens of visit to our HQ in Memphis. Finally went to Graceland when I took a busload of employees to Memphis, and I was completely surprised at how interesting it was. I never would have believed it...

I’ve never been, but I suspect I’d enjoy the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland too.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

The Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Indiana, is one of the nicest little car museums I've toured. The inventory is limited, but ... they're nearly all Auburns, Cords and Duesenbergs, in an old Art Deco auto showroom with a grand staircase.

On the subject of car museums, I'll toot my horn for a place where I volunteer, the Wisconsin Auto Museum in Hartford, Wisconsin. Its featured marque is the Kissel, a high-end vehicle build in Hartford from 1906 to 1930. Three presidents rode in Kissels. Amelia Earhart owned one, as did William Randolph Hearst. The museum also has a nice Nash collection, including a rare Nash-Healey roadster like the one William Holden drove in the movie "Sabrina." A nice place to kill an hour or two.

 

[Gumby]

Here are some interesting off-the-beaten-path museums that the young wife and I have visited:

1. Land Cruiser Heritage Museum in Salt Lake City, UT. https://www.landcruiserhm.com/

2. International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago,IL. https://imss.org/

3. Black Hills Mining Museum in Lead, SD. Black Hills Mining Museum – The Official Mining Museum of South Dakota

4. La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, CA. https://tarpits.org/

5. Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/ns/grahambell

6. Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. https://fisheriesmuseum.novascotia.ca/

7. Owl's Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head, ME. Owls Head Transportation Museum | Owls Head Transportation Museum

8. Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, ME. https://www.mainemaritimemuseum.org/

9. Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA. https://www.battleshipcove.org/

10. Newport Mansions in Newport, RI. https://www.newportmansions.org/

11. Submarine Force Museum in Groton, CT. Submarine Force Library & Museum: Submarine History, Gifts & Memorabilia

12. Shoreline Trolley Museum, East Haven, CT. The Shore Line Trolley Museum Operated by the Branford Electric Railway Association, 17 River Street, East Haven, CT, 06512

13. West Point Museum, West Point, NY. https://history.army.mil/museums/IMCOM/westPoint/index.html

14. Skyscraper Museum, New York, NY. https://www.skyscraper.org/

15. US Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, MD. https://www.usna.edu/Museum/index.php

16. Crime Museum, Washington DC. https://www.crimemuseum.org/

17. Martin Luther King National Historic Park, Atlanta, GA https://www.nps.gov/malu/index.htm

18. The Brinton Museum, Big Horn, WY https://thebrintonmuseum.org/

19. (Not exactly a museum and not in the US, but incredibly interesting). The Convento dei Cappuccini in Palermo, Italy. Catacombe dei Cappuccini

 

[braumeister]

The Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Indiana, is one of the nicest little car museums I've toured.

That reminded me of another little one I enjoyed, the Pierce Arrow Museum in Buffalo, NY.

 

[Midpack]

10. Newport Mansions in Newport, RI. https://www.newportmansions.org/

+1000. Wonderful, if you only have time for two, The Breakers and Marble House are stunning.

Which reminds me of another - Biltmore in Asheville NC. We’re going back in Dec when the place is decorated for Christmas. https://www.biltmore.com/.

 

[timbervest]

When visiting Los Angeles

Be sure to check into:

• The Museum of Death Museum of Death in Hollywood and New Orleans
• The Museum of Jurrasic Technology The Museum Of Jurassic Technology
• The Bunny Museum http://www.thebunnymuseum.com/
• The Museum of Broken Relationships https://brokenships.com/
• The Museum of Neon Art https://www.neonmona.org/

 

[gerntz]

There's the Vent Haven Ventriloquism Museum in Fort Mitchell, KY. Loaded with dummies. Lots here would fit right in.

 

[gerntz]

We really enjoyed the Smashed In Head Buffalo Jump Museum Near Fort Macleod, Alberta.

 

[gerntz]

Here is my personal favorite (you don't get any more "special" than this!): Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum

It's great that Barney, the chief artist, creator and curator, got to pass on the entire contents of the museum to a new and larger venue to display his work shortly before he died. As an added bonus, you can now enjoy an adult beverage while you tour! https://truckyardthecolony.com/museum

I don't know. The Thomas Crapper toilet exhibition in London is pretty good.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Locatio...ton_Stoke_on_Trent_Staffordshire_England.html

 

[gerntz]

The Louisville Slugger Museum (and they give factory tours)
https://www.sluggermuseum.com

Attended a wedding reception there.

 

[nvestysly]

Some Interesting Places We've Seen...

Over the years, in no particular order:

Gilmore Car Museum (near Kalamazoo, MI) - you don't have to be a car fan to enjoy this place. Yes, there are lots and lots of cars but they're arranged in a manner that conveys the history of the time period in other aspects of daily life

The Henry Ford (Dearborn, MI) - the museum simply cannot be explained. It's an eclectic collection of all kinds of things. Mostly arranged in a sequence that makes sense but some come at you from left field. Lot's of history related to all aspects of life in the United States

The Ringling (Sarasota, FL) - part art museum, part millionaire estate, part performing arts

Deming Museum (Deming, NM) - one of the most interesting local museums we've seen. Some of it is simply a collection of collections but the American Indian pottery collection is second to none.

University of Wyoming Geological Museum (Cheyenne, WY) - who knew Wyoming was such a geological treasure trove?

Bruce Elder Classic Cars (Staunton, VA) - not a museum but a classic car dealer. Go ahead and pay for a "tour" and you won't be disappointed. The owner takes you on an hour long journey through time as it relates to automobiles and related history.

The Hank Williams Museum (Montgomery, AL) - Country & Western at it's best and worst. Hank Williams was one of a kind!

Kentucky Horse Park (Lexington, KY) - Horses? What's up with horses? You won't be disappointed. The daily horse show describes breeds from around the world. The number of race horses born, raised and trained here is amazing.

Josyln Art Museum (Omaha, NE) - Omaha has several very nice museums and this is one of the best in town.

Booth Western Art Museum (Cartersville, GA) - very few places like this exist. One of the best collections of western art in the country.

Abita Mystery Museum (Abita Springs, LA) - small town museum that shouldn't be missed! Have a beer at the nearby brewery.

National WW II Museum (New Orleans, LA) - This museum started out on a much smaller scale and grew to be one of the best in the country. Learn the story of Higgins boats and how they contributed to the allied forces during the war.

Golden Spike Tower (North Platte, NE) - Stop by to see one of the largest freight yards in the country. Overlook the yard from the top story of the observation tower and talk to local and train geeks about how the rail system works in the United States.

 

[COcheesehead]

The guy who founded the Discovery Channel built his estate in far west Colorado, the Western slope, and he added a resort and an awesome auto museum.
Classic Cars at The Gateway Colorado Auto Museum

 

[ERD50]

Here are some interesting off-the-beaten-path museums that the young wife and I have visited: ...

2. International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago,IL. https://imss.org/

... ]

I can't believe someone beat me to it! As soon as I saw the OP, I was like that guy "Horshack", "Ohh Ohhh - call on me!"


We went there this past summer. Since we make quite a few trips into "the city" we were looking for something different. Really fascinating. Our DIL is in the radiology field, and they have a couple rooms of the original, scary tubes there, that probably created more cancers than they cured.

Hard not to cringe when you see some of those tools from the days before modern anesthesia.

They had some medicine that contained opium "Paregoric", and DW swore her mother gave her that stuff. I was thinking, no way, that must have gone out in the late 30's. Later, I looked it up to show she was off base, but nope, was still available in the 60's.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paregoric

According to Goodman and Gilman's 1965 edition, "Paregoric is a 4% opium tincture in which there is also benzoic acid, camphor, and anise oil. ... Paregoric by tradition is used especially for children."

-ERD50