The Smithsonian Institution – Washington DC
The Smithsonian Institute is a government-funded research and educational organization. It was created in 1846 to increase and diffuse knowledge among men. The Smithsonian has spent more than a century establishing an incredible collection of free public museums.
The museum collection is unparalleled in terms of size and items on display. The organization’s building in Washington DC was built using red Seneca sandstone in the Norman style, combining late Romanesque and early Gothic architecture.
The Smithsonian Institution was nicknamed The Castle and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1965.
Newseum – Washington DC
The Newseum is located in Washington DC, and provides visitors with interactive displays on news and journalism throughout history. The building has seven levels featuring 14 galleries and 15 theatres to explore.
You will find the largest exhibition of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany. The Newseum’s Today’s Front Pages Gallery displays the front pages from over 80 international daily newspapers. It is one of the most unique museum displays anywhere.
You will also find exhibitions on famous news items and history, including 9/11, the First Amendment, and the history of TV, radio, and the Internet.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art – New York City
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, known as The Met, is an art museum on Central Park’s east side. The Met is located along the Museum Mile in New York City, with other world-class galleries. You will find a permanent collection of over 2 million artworks inside The Met.
Artworks on display include pieces from Ancient Egypt, sculptures and paintings from European masters and a collection of modern art from the United States. You will also find African, Asian, Byzantine, Oceanic and Islamic art on display.
The Met is the preeminent art museum in North America and should not be missed on a trip to the Big Apple.
The Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida
No museum outside of Europe is home to more works from artist Salvador Dalí than the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. The museum is situated on the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus in the city’s downtown district.
You will find a collection of 96 oil paintings, over 100 watercolours and drawings, 1,300 graphics, photographs, sculptures, and an extensive library. Dali himself created all works, and the displays are rotated periodically.
Two of the museum’s most famous pieces are The Hallucinogenic Toreador and The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. In all, there are seven masterworks by Dali in the museum.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York City, New York
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) can be found in Manhattan. The MoMA is often cited as the world’s most influential museum of modern artworks.
Its collection provides an unparalleled overview of modern and contemporary artwork. You will find displays of architectural designs, drawings, sculptures, paintings, photography, prints, and more. More than 300,000 books, artist books, and periodicals are in the MoMA library.
You will find primary source material about modern and contemporary art history. In addition to great artwork, great food is available from the MoMA’s restaurant, The Modern, which Alsace-born chef Gabriel Kreuthe operates.
National Cowboy & Western History Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is located in Oklahoma City, a gateway to America’s wild west. The museum is home to over 28,000 American Indian and Western artefacts and artworks.
One of the unique aspects of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is its collection of American rodeo photographs, saddlery, barbed wire, and rodeo trophies. The museum is dedicated to preserving the American West with its collection of art and artefacts.
The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois
The Field Museum of Natural History sits next to Lake Michigan and is a part of the scenic Museum Campus Chicago complex. The Field Museum has over 21 million specimens, but only a small portion is on display at one time.
Some of the museum’s prized exhibits include Sue (the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus in the world), artefacts from ancient Egypt, a large and diverse taxidermy collection, an extensive collection of Native American artefacts, and much more.
The Cleveland Museum of Arts, Cleveland, Ohio
The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is on Cleveland’s east side. It is internationally renowned for its large collection of Asian and Egyptian art.
The CMA is home to various permanent collections with over 43,000 artworks from around the world. The museum remains true to the vision of its founders, as it is America’s only major museum that is free to the public.
The Kentucky Derby Museum – Louisville, Kentucky
The Kentucky Derby is the largest horse race in the United States and one of the biggest in the sport around the globe. The Kentucky Derby Museum is dedicated to the history of the race and the American thoroughbred horse.
You will find the Kentucky Derby Museum on the grounds of its home, Churchill Downs. The museum opened in 1985 and has been preserving the “Run for the Roses” history ever since. The museum is made up of two floors. There is a 360-degree theatre which shows the film, The Greatest Race. Exhibits showcase a horse’s path from training to the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs.
The Warner L. Jones Time Machine takes visitors back in time, allowing them to watch every Kentucky Derby from 1918 to the present.
