Southwest USA Museums and Culture

    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!
    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.
    California African American Museum, California
  600 State Drive - Los Angeles, CA            
The museum occupies a 44,000 square feet facility that includes 3 full-size exbition galleries, a theater gallery, a 14,000 square foot Sculputure Court, a conference center/special events room, an archive and research library, administrative offices, exibit design and artifact storage areas.
    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.
    The Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf, California
  145 Jefferson Street - San Francisco, CA             
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The spirit and energy of San Francisco is manifested in the history of one of its most popular landmarks - The Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf. Bedecked by colorful waving flags and surrounded by a complex of gifts shops and entertainment sites, the museum welcomes guests to one of the world's most visited spots. Three generations of the Fong family have kept the Wax Museum a vital and changing San Francisco attraction.
As one of the world's largest wax museums, the fully restored San Francisco attraction continues to show all aspects of life from the ignoble Chamber of Horrors to the inspiring Hall of Religion, including the historic Library of U.S. Presidents, the spectacular Recreation of King Tut's Tomb and the unique Palace of Living Art, where the world's most famous masters, and their masterpieces come to life through the magic of wax artistry.
    Pacific Tsunami Museum, Hawaii
  130 Kamehameha Ave - Hilo, HI           
The goal of the Pacific Tsunami Museum is to promote public tsunami education for the people of Hawaii and the Pacific Region. The museum will also preserve the social and cultural history of Hawaii and promote economic development on the island of Hawaii as well as statewide. The museum will serve as a living memorial to those who lost their lives in past tsunami events.
    Mission Houses Museum, Hawaii
  553 South King Street - Honolulu, HI            
The Mission Houses Museum, a National Historic Landmark, is the primary program of the Hawaiian Mission Children's Society, a non-profit educational institution and genealogical society. The Museum interprets the "missionary period" of Hawaiian history, 1820-1863, which is fundamental to an understanding of contemporary Hawaii.
    Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Colorado
  2001 Colorado Boulevard - Denver, CO             
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The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is the Rocky Mountain region’s leading resource for informal science education.
A variety of exhibitions, programs, and activities help Museum visitors experience the natural wonders of Colorado, Earth, and the universe.
    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.
    Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum, California
  175 Jefferson Street - San Francisco, CA             
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Two floors and over 10,000 square feet filled with the strange, the unusual, and the unbelievable! See in person the incredible "Believe It or Nots" you've read about in the Ripley books and cartoons and seen on television.
    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.
    Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, Colorado
  1311 Pearl Street - Denver, CO            
Kirkland Museum has a nationally important display of 20th-century decorative arts, with more than 3,300 works on view of Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, Glasgow Style, Wiener Werkstätte, De Stijl, Bauhaus, Art Deco, Modern and Pop Art.
    The Children's Museum, Utah
  840 North 300 West - SLC, UT             
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    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.
    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.
    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.
    Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block, Arizona
  140 North Main Avenue - Tucson, AZ           
The Tucson Museum of Art connects art to life, inspiring discovery, creativity, and cultural understanding through meaningful, engaging experiences.
    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.
    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.
    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.
    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.
    Dinosaur Museum, Utah
  754 South 200 West - Blanding, UT           
    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.
    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.
    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
    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.