Southwest USA Museums and Culture

    Lyman Museum, Hawaii

  276 Haili Street - Hilo, HI           
Originally built for New England missionaries David and Sarah Lyman in 1839. Nearly 100 eventful years later, in 1931, the Museum was established by their descendents. Today, the restored Mission House is on the State and National Registers of Historic Places and may be visited by guided tour.
The Lyman Museum building, next door to the Mission House, houses a superb collection of artifacts, fine art, and natural history exhibits as well as an archives, special exhibitions and a gift shop. Visitors touring the two facilities can see the old Mission House and life as it was 150 years ago, as well as state-of-the-art exhibits on many aspects of Hawaiian natural history and culture…a rare and well-rounded view of the real Hawai`i, as it was, as it is today, and where it may be in years to come.
    San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum, California
   - San Diego, CA             
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No carrier has the history or the crew to match the Midway. A 47-year odyssey that spanned the end of WWII and Desert Storm, an odyssey in which more than 225,000 Americans took part.
    Cartoon Art Museum, California
  655 Mission Street - San Francisco, CA             
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The Cartoon Art Museum is committed to fostering and promoting a greater appreciation of cartoon art. This it achieves through collecting, cataloging, preserving and displaying the finest representations of original cartoon art as well as providing innovative educational programs designed to enrich the cultural life of our community.
    Contemporary Jewish Museum, California
  736 Mission Street - San Francisco, CA            
Since its founding in 1984, the Contemporary Jewish Museum has engaged audiences of all ages and backgrounds through dynamic exhibitions and programs that explore contemporary perspectives on Jewish culture, history, art, and ideas. Throughout its history, the Museum has distinguished itself as a welcoming place where visitors can connect with one another through dialogue and shared experiences with the arts.
    California State Military Museum, California
  1119 Second Street - Sacramento, CA           
The California State Military Museum is located at 1119 Second Street in the Old Sacramento State Historical Park. It is only a few minutes walk from the State Capital, The California State Railroad Museum and several other fine museums, parks, and tourist attractions. The museum, opened by Governor Pete Wilson in 1991, is the official military museum and historical research center of the State of California. This was reinforced on 11 September 2002 when Governor Gray Davis signed legislation making the museum a permanent museum under the California State Military Department and providing permanent funding for the museum. Finally on 13 July 2004, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation to amend the Government Code to make the museum the state's official military museum.
    The Contemporary Museum, Hawaii
  2411 Makiki Heights Drive - Honolulu, HI            
The only museum in the state of Hawaii devoted exclusively to contemporary art. TCM provides an accessible forum for provocative, dynamic forms of visual art, offering interaction with art and artists in a unique Island environment. TCM presents its innovative exhibition and educational programs at two venues: in residential Honolulu at the historic Cooke-Spalding house, and downtown at First Hawaiian Center.
    Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Arizona
  2021 North Kinney Road - Tucson, AZ           
A world-renowned zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden, all in one place! Exhibits re-create the natural landscape of the Sonoran Desert Region so realistically you find yourself eye-to-eye with mountain lions, prairie dogs, Gila monsters, and more. Within the Museum grounds, you will see more than 300 animal species and 1,200 kinds of plants. There are almost 2 miles of paths traversing 21 acres of beautiful desert.
    Black American West Museum, Colorado
  3091 California Street - Denver, CO           
Howdy! Welcome to the Black American West Museum! Founded in 1971 by Paul W. Stewart, the Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving and disseminating the contributions of Blacks in the Old West.
While famous for telling the story of Black cowboys, we are broader than this with interests in the stories of all those early Blacks who came west and performed as miners, soldiers, homesteaders, ranchers, blacksmiths, schoolteachers, lawmen, and every other profession needed to build up the West. In fact, the Museum itself is in the home of Dr. Justina Ford, Colorado's first Black woman doctor!
    Nevada Museum of Art, Nevada
  160 West Liberty Street - Reno, NV             
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The Nevada Museum of Art is the only accredited art museum in the state of Nevada. Recognized for following best practices as outlined by the American Association of Museums, the Museum is committed to continuous institutional improvement and change. With accreditation, the Museum joins the ranks of other significant institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Just 5% of all museums in the US earn AAM accreditation
    Colorado Historical Society, Colorado
  1300 Broadway - Denver, CO            
Founded in 1879, History Colorado, the Colorado Historical Society brings the unique character of Colorado's past to more than a million people each year through historical museums and highway markers, exhibitions, manuscript and photograph collections, popular and scholarly publications, historical and archaeological preservation services, and educational programs for children and adults. In short, the Society collects, preserves, and interprets the history of Colorado for present and future generations.
    USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, Hawaii
  11 Arizona Memorial Drive - Honolulu, HI            
USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park's mission is to restore and preserve the World War II submarine USS Bowfin (SS-287), and submarine-related artifacts on our grounds and in the Museum. Bowfin Park's parent organization, the Pacific Fleet Submarine Memorial Association (PFSMA), is a non-profit group that receives no state or federal funding.
    New Mexico Museum of Space History, New Mexico
  PO Box 5430 - Alamogordo, NM           
The mission of the museum is to educate the people of New Mexico and visitors from around the world in the history, science, and technology of space. The museum stresses the significant role that the state of New Mexico has played in the development of the U.S. Space Program through collecting, preserving, and interpreting significant artifacts relevant to the history of space.
    International Wildlife Museum, Arizona
  4800 W Gates Pass Road - Tucson, AZ           
The International Wildlife Museum is dedicated to increasing knowledge and appreciation of the diverse wildlife of the world as well as explaining the role of wildlife management in conservation.
Founded in 1988, the museum highlights over 400 species of insects, mammals and birds from around the globe. Some of the collections are more than 100 years old and all the animals found at the museum were donated by various government agencies, wildlife rehabilitation centers, captive breeding programs, zoos and individuals.
    Colorado Railroad Museum, Colorado
  17155 West 44th Avenue - Golden, CO           
The Museum is located just east of Golden, Colorado, at a point where Clear Creek flows between North and South Table Mountains. Display tracks, complete with rare three-way stub switches and century-old switch stands, hold many historic narrow and standard gauge locomotives and cars. The Museum building, based in exterior design on standard station construction of the 1880s, houses the largest known collection of historic records, mementos, artifacts, and pictures of Colorado railroads.
    Hawaii Army Museum, Hawaii
  P.O. Box 8064 - Honolulu, HI           
Helicopters, tanks, guns now silenced, and vacant bunkers welcome you to the U.S. Army Museum of Hawai'i. Once a bastion built to protect Hawai'i from invading forces, the structure now houses a Museum that tells the military story of Hawai'i, from ancient times to the Gulf War and the War in Iraq. Each of these hostilities is covered graphically in separate displays with photographs and sound effect creating a real "you were there" experience.
    T Rex Museum, Arizona
  3861 N. Oracle Road - Tucson, AZ           
The T Rex Museum Gift & Activity Center has fossils, replicas, science, art, astronomy, and hands on exhibits that take you through 13.7 billion years of history including 570 Million years of interesting prehistoric life in only 10 minutes with a real paleontologist guide. Bring all your questions for a real professional answer! And one of the largest selection of dinosaur related gifts, books, and such in America.
Every child has the chance to dig up real fossils, gems, minerals, semi-precious stones, arrowheads, and even real gold in our Dig Pit or Fossil Sluice. And they get to keep what they find!
During a visit to the T Rex Museum Activity Center kids get an education in science, history, and art while having so much fun they don’t even realize they are learning.
    Denver Firefighters Museum, Colorado
  1326 Tremont Place - Denver, CO            
The mission of the Denver Firefighters Museum is to preserve the history of the Denver Fire Department and firefighting through the collection and preservation of artifacts, documents and photographs. The purpose of the Museum is to educate the public about fire safety and the history of firefighting in Denver from its inception to the present. This is accomplished through interpretive exhibits, educational programming and scholarly research.
    Dinosaur Museum, Utah
  754 South 200 West - Blanding, UT           
    Pima Air & Space Museum, Arizona
  6000 E. Valencia Rd. - Tucson, AZ           
Pima Air & Space Museum, where history takes flight, is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, and the largest non-government funded aviation museum. You'll see more than 275 aircraft and spacecraft including many of the most historically significant and technically advanced craft ever produced, both from the United States and throughout the world.
    Sparks Heritage Museum, Nevada
  814 Victorian Avenue - Sparks, NV           
A trip to the Sparks Heritage Museum is a fun filled learning adventure, focused on the culture and history of Sparks and the Truckee Meadows. Designed with the entire family in mind, several interactive and lifelike displays compliment the collections. The diverse artifacts range from arrowheads, quilts, and antique furniture to agricultural implements, mining tools, railroad items, and casino paraphernalia. Over 3,000 vintage photographs are currently digitized. Photographic copies are available for purchase. The research library contains collections of family memoirs, oral histories and local area reference materials.
    Utah Museum of Natural History, Utah
  1390 E. Presidents Circle - Salt Lake City, UT             
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The design for the new Natural History Museum, created by Polshek Partnership (now Ennead Architects), embodies the Museum's educational and scientific mission to inspire wonder and discovery of the natural world and the place of humans in it.
    Nevada Discovery Museum, Nevada
  490 S. Center Street - Reno, NV           
As northern Nevada continues to grow, the region's cultural and educational offerings must also expand in order to keep young minds thriving. The Nevada Discovery Museum is designed not just to meet this need, but to raise the bar for fun, family-based learning throughout our community. The museum also aims to provoke new aspirations and collaborations among children, parents and educators. The Nevada Discovery Museum is a place of open eyes, open minds and open horizons. A place where tomorrow's dreams win their wings.
Located in the former Reno City Hall, the Nevada Discovery Museum will be one of the centerpieces of Reno’s downtown renaissance.
    The Children's Museum, Utah
  840 North 300 West - SLC, UT             
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    National Automotive Museum, Nevada
  10 South Lake Street - Reno, NV           
The mission of the National Automotive Museum is to collect and preserve the automobile for future generations, with an emphasis on items collected by William "Bill" Fisk Harrah, to tell the story of the impact of the automobile on American society, and to perpetuate the legacy of Mr. Hannah as a renowned collector.
    Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, New Mexico
  PO Box 2087 - Santa Fe, NM            
Inspiring appreciation for and knowledge of the diverse native arts, histories, languages, and cultures of the Greater Southwest.
    Museum of Southwestern Biology Division of Fishes, New Mexico
  University of New Mexico - Albuquerque, NM           
The long-term goal of the MSB Division of Fishes is to maintain, in perpetuity, the collection of fishes and supporting documents by using sound curatorial techniques and archiving the collections in optimal storage conditions. We strive to ensure that these collections will be available to future generations of ichthyologists and members of the scientific community.