Southwest USA Museums and Culture

    The Beat Museum, California

  540 Broadway - San Francisco, CA           
The cultural epicenter of the Beat Generation. The museum features a large collection of photos, letters and first editions. Hundreds of people have already passed through the Beat Museum, and locals are adding more to the collection.
    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.
    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 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.
    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.
    Hollywood Wax Museum, California
  6767 Hollywood Blvd - Hollywood, CA           
What began as a family business has blossomed into a world famous entertainment company, Kuvera Attractions. Entrepreneur Spoony Singh built the Hollywood Wax Museum with the vision of bringing people close to their favorite stars. More than 40 years later, the Hollywood Boulevard attraction is the longest running wax museum in the nation and has expanded into other cities across the United States.
    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.
    Cable Car Museum, California
  1201 Mason Street - San Francisco, CA           
From the first run in 1873 to the present. Learn about the inventor, technologies, builders, rapid expansion, near loss and the ongoing efforts to save and rebuild the cable cars of San Francisco.
Houses a collection of historic cable cars, photographs, mechanical displays and gift shop run by the Friends of the Cable Car Museum - a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of cable car history.
    Pacific Asia Museum, California
  46 North Los Robles Avenue - Pasadena, CA           
Pacific Asia Museum is one of only four institutions in the United States dedicated exclusively to the arts and culture of Asia and the Pacific Islands. The museum’s mission is to further cultural awareness and understanding through the arts.
    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.
    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 State Museum, Arizona
  1013 E. University Blvd - Tucson, AZ           
At Arizona State Museum you experience the vibrant indigenous cultures of Arizona and northern Mexico through exhibitions, educational programs, a research library, and a museum store. The museum’s scholars and extensive collections are among the most significant resources in the world for the study of Southwest peoples.
    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.
    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.
    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.
    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.
    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.
    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.
    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.
    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.
    Laupahoehoe Train Museum, Hawaii
  P.O. Box 358 - Laupahoehoe, HI           
A small, community-run museum located on the beautiful Hamakua Heritage Coast of the Big Island of Hawai'i. Honoring the colorful history of the Hilo Railroad, which began in 1899 and lasted to 1946, when railroad tracks and facilities were irreparably damaged by a devastating tidal wave. The museum is located in an old railway company home, which is furnished as it would have been in the 1930s.
    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.
    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.
    The Children's Museum, Utah
  840 North 300 West - SLC, UT             
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    CU Museum, Colorado
  UCB 218 - University of Colorado - Boulder, CO           
The University of Colorado Museum of Natural History is an academic unit of the Graduate School at the University of Colorado at Boulder with a mission to contribute to knowledge of the natural world and the humanities through research, teaching, and public education. The Museum's collections number more than four million objects in anthropology/archaeology, botany, entomology, paleontology, and zoology.
The University of Colorado Museum offers a wide variety of K-12 and adult educational programs and activities throughout the year, including lectures, family days, and guided tours. The exhibition galleries are open to the public seven days a week, free of charge. The Museum and Field Studies Graduate Program offers students an opportunity to earn a Master of Science degree or a certificate in Museum Studies.
    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
    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.
    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.