I love going to museums, and especially anything that covers an interesting or quirky part of history.
So I tried to list my favorite museums, and it turns out there’s a lot. No, these aren’t all the museums I’ve gone to. There are a lot that didn’t make the list. And this doesn’t even include zoos, botanical gardens, arboretums, and sculpture parks.
United States
- Musical Instrument Museum – Phoenix, Arizona
- Taliesin West – Scottsdale, Arizona
- Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) – Los Angeles, California
- Autry Museum of the American West – Los Angeles, California
- International Printing Museum – Carson, California
- Computer History Museum – Mountain View, California
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum – Los Angeles, California
- National Museum of the American Indian – Washington, D.C.
- National Geographic Museum – Washington, D.C.
- Smithsonian American Art Museum – Washington, D.C.
- National Building Museum – Washington, D.C.
- National Postal Museum – Washington, D.C.
- National Gallery of Art – Washington, D.C.
- National Museum of American History – Washington, D.C.
- Newseum – Washington, D.C. (closed)
- Kennedy Space Center – Orlando, Florida
- Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum – Atlanta, Georgia
- Museum of Science and Industry – Chicago, Illinois
- Edgewater Historical Society – Chicago, Illinois
- Museum of Broadcast Communications – Chicago, Illinois
- Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio – Oak Park, Illinois
- Swedish American Museum – Chicago, Illinois
- RV/MH Hall of Fame – Elkhart, Indiana
- Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art – Indianapolis, Indiana
- Evergreen Museum & Library – Baltimore, Maryland
- Clara Barton National Historic Site – Glen Echo, Maryland
- National Cryptologic Museum – Annapolis Junction, Maryland
- National Electronics Museum – Linthicum, Maryland
- American Visionary Art Museum – Baltimore, Maryland
- New Bedford Whaling Museum – New Bedford, Massachusetts
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston – Boston, Massachusetts
- Runestone Museum – Alexandria, Minnesota
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home & Museum – Mansfield, Missouri
- World Museum of Mining – Butte, Montana
- Montana’s Museum – Helena, Montana
- Miracle of America Museum – Polson, Montana
- Levine Museum of the New South – Charlotte, North Carolina
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Cleveland, Ohio
- National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- American Banjo Museum – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Fallingwater – Mill Run, Pennsylvania
- Museum of Fine Arts Houston – Houston, Texas
- The Printing Museum – Houston, Texas
- Space Center Houston – Houston, Texas
- Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum – Austin, Texas
- Pope-Leighey House – Alexandria, Virginia
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts – Richmond, Virginia
- Chihuly Garden and Glass – Seattle, Washington
- Seattle Art Museum – Seattle, Washington
- National Nordic Museum – Seattle, Washington
- Museum of Pop Culture (formerly the Experience Music Project) – Seattle, Washington
- Museum of Glass – Tacoma, Washington
- Northwest African American Museum – Seattle, Washington
- Living Computers: Museum + Labs – Seattle, Washington
- Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum – Wheeling, West Virginia
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin – Spring Green, Wisconsin
- Milwaukee Public Museum – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Grohmann Museum – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Milwaukee Art Museum – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Old World Wisconsin – Eagle, Wisconsin
- The House on the Rock – Spring Green, Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Historical Museum – Madison, Wisconsin
- University of Wisconsin Geology Museum – Madison, Wisconsin
- John Michael Kohler Arts Center – Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Canada
- Royal Tyrrell Museum – Drumheller, Alberta
- Royal Alberta Museum – Edmonton, Alberta
- Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies – Banff, Alberta
- Remington Carriage Museum – Cardston, Alberta
- Heritage Park Historical Village – Calgary, Alberta
- Studio Bell: Home of the National Music Centre – Calgary, Alberta
- Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre – Fort MacLeod, Alberta
- Vancouver Maritime Museum – Vancouver, British Columbia
- The Manitoba Museum – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Canadian Museum for Human Rights – Winnipeg, Manitoba
- National Gallery of Canada – Ottawa, Ontario
- Canadian Museum of History – Gatineau, Quebec
- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts – Montreal, Quebec
- McCord Museum – Montreal, Quebec
- Électrium – Hydro-Québec’s Electricity Interpretation Centre – Sainte-Julie, Quebec
- Pointe-à-Callière Museum – Montreal, Quebec
Europe
- The Belgian Comic Strip Center – Brussels, Belgium
- Imperial War Museum – London, England
- Museum of London – London, England
- Musée National Picasso – Paris, France
- Louvre Museum – Paris, France
- Kilmainham Gaol Museum – Dublin, Ireland
- Rijksmuseum – Amsterdam, Netherlands