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United States Museums and Culture

    Illinois Railway Museum, Midwest USA

  7000 Olson Road - Union, IL           
All of the buildings, track, locomotives and cars were assembled here at Union on what was once farmland. Our main line trackage was laid on the vacant right-of-way of the Elgin & Belvidere Electric railway. Why would rational adults freely contribute so much of their time and treasure to creating this repository of railroad history?
To answer this question, we must remember that at one time in our nation's past the railroad industry was the largest private employer. With so many families supported by one enterprise, the widespread interest in that industry is understandable....manifesting itself in special interest groups devoted to various activities such as taking railroad pictures or publishing books on railroads, building railroad models or just "riding the rails," The Illinois Railway Museum is probably the ultimate railroad historian special interest group. Originally formed to preserve one important piece of rolling stock, it has evolved into an educational and historic preservation organization recreating possibly the largest operating demonstration railroad showcase on the North American continent.
    Colorado Railroad Museum, Southwest USA
  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.
    San Diego Automotive Museum, Southwest USA
  2080 Pan American Plaza - Balboa Park - San Diego, CA            
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Feast your eyes on some of the rarest and most beautiful cars ever created at the San Diego Automotive Museum.
    Georgia Museum of Natural History, Southeast USA
  University of Georgia - Athens, GA           
The science portion of the museum has fourteen different collections in Archaeology, Arthropod, Botany Herbarium, Economic Geology, Herpetology, Ichthyology, Invertebrate, Mammalogy, Mycological Herbarium, Ornithology, Paleontology, Pollen and Plant Microspore, Rocks and Minerals, and Zooarchaeology as well as more than 325,000 alcohol-preserved fish specimens. In addition, there are exhibits, archives, and entertainment for children.[4] Its more than four million objects makes it one of the largest museums in the Southeast. Source
    New Jersey State Museum, Northeast USA
  205 West State Street - Trenton, NJ            
In 1895, the New Jersey State Legislature formally established the New Jersey State Museum in the capital city of Trenton with a mission to collect and exhibit specimens in natural history, archaeology, and industrial history. The State Museum was initially accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1974. Since 1983 it has been a division of the New Jersey Department of State.
    Staff House Museum, Northwest USA
  820 McKinley Avenue - Kellogg, ID           
The Staff House Museum located at 820 W. McKinley Avenue in Kellogg was constructed in 1906 by the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Company as the residence for Manager Stanley A. Easton and his bride, Estelle Greenough.
    North Carolina Aviation Museum, Southeast USA
  2222-G Pilots View Road - Asheboro, NC           
The North Carolina Aviation Museum is well into its second decade as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history, as well as honoring the heritage of the wonderfully wide, wide world of flight!
    Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Northeast USA
  2 East 91st Street - New York, NY              
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What is more life-like than life itself? The Cooper-Hewitt Museum in Manhattan asks this very question and provides a look at both the contemporary and historic design that helped shape our nation and the world. As part of the Smithsonian, one can expect an immense amount of information available for patrons that walk into this New York City museum. The curators strive to generate a more educational understanding of design and seek to show perspectives often overlooked by more conventional wisdom. The beauty of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum is not just within the museum itself but in the numerous programs endorsed by them as well. Visitors may find themselves in the design center watching today’s architects and designers formulating plans for tomorrow. They may find themselves in one of the museum’s renovation programs such as the Summer 2012 project on the Carnegie Mansion. Visitors may even find themselves attending special travelling exhibits endorsed by the museum such as the special summer exhibition of “Graphic Design-Now In Production” featured on Governors Island. The Cooper-Hewitt Museum is a very special destination and a true cultural landmark for any New York City experience.
    Reginald F. Lewis Museum, Northeast USA
  830 E. Pratt Street - Baltimore, MD            
Mission: To be the premier experience and best resource for information and inspiration about the lives of African American Marylanders. The museum seeks to realize its mission by collecting, preserving, interpreting, documenting and exhibiting the rich contributions of African American Marylanders from the state’s earliest history to the present and the future.
    American Merchant Marine Museum, Northeast USA
  Steamboat Rd - Kings Point, NY           
A glimpse at a map of the United States shows us that we are a maritime nation. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean; to the west, the Pacific; off our southern border, the Gulf of Mexico; in the north, the Great Lakes; and crisscrossing our states, great rivers like the Mississippi and other inland waterways.
Every hour of every day, ships of all types ply the waters in and around our nation. They leave our ports laden with U.S. goods bound for foreign markets, or arrive in our harbors with merchandise and materials for American consumers.
There are tankers traveling along the west coast with raw petroleum for our refineries; Great Lakes vessels loaded with iron ore, coal or other minerals for America's industry; huge containerships in Eastern ports, their box-like containers filled with manufactured goods; general cargo ships in the Gulf unloading pallets of coffee and crates of fruit; tugboats pushing and pulling barges carrying the Midwest's grain.
    Center for Photography at Woodstock, Northeast USA
  59 Tinker Street - Woodstock, NY           
CPW's galleries are free & open to the public Wednesday-Sunday, from 12 to 5pm year-round. CPW Offices, library, and darkroom are open Monday-Friday, 10-6pm.Staff are available by appointment.
    North Carolina Museum of Art, Southeast USA
  2110 Blue Ridge Road - Raleigh, NC           
The North Carolina Museum of Art's collection spans more than 5,000 years, from ancient Egypt to the present. The ancient collection includes Egyptian funerary art and important examples of sculpture and vase painting from the Greek and Roman worlds. The collection of European paintings and sculpture from the Renaissance through impressionism is internationally celebrated with important works by Giotto, Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, Anthony van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens, Antonio Canova and Claude Monet. American art of the 18th and 19th centuries features paintings by John Singleton Copley, Thomas Cole, Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins and William Merritt Chase. Modern art includes major works by such American artists as Marsden Hartley, Georgia O'Keeffe, Franz Kline, Frank Stella, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Murray and Joel Shapiro. Modern European masters include Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Paul Delvaux, Henry Moore, Anselm Kiefer and Gerhard Richter. Galleries are also devoted to African, Ancient American and Oceanic Art, as well as Jewish ceremonial art.
    Hollywood Wax Museum, Southwest USA
  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.
    Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Southeast USA
  3251 South Miami Avenue - Miami, FL           
Vizcaya is a National Historic Landmark; we're also a museum owned by Miami-Dade County and accredited by the American Association of Museums. Vizcaya is open to the public 364 days each year, and we invite you to visit this serene and stunningly beautiful retreat in the heart of Miami.
    Wisconsin Maritime Museum, Midwest USA
  75 Maritime Drive - Manitowoc, WI           
A great place to learn, play and explore the rich maritime history of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum offers visitors a unique place to spend hours learning about the sailors, shipbuilders and submariners who made that history, and to have some great family fun!
Founded in 1970 as the Manitowoc Submarine Memorial Association, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum has grown into one of the largest maritime museums in the Midwest. In addition to commemorating the maritime heritage of the Manitowoc-Two Rivers area and the submarines built here during World War II, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum is now a leader in preserving the maritime history of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region.
    Margaret Harwell Art Museum, Southcentral USA
  421 N. Main St. - Poplar Bluff, MO           
The Margaret Harwell Art Museum in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, owes its existence to the generosity of its namesake and benefactor, the late Margaret Harwell -- an amateur artist, businesswoman and civic leader. When Mrs. Harwell died in 1977, she left a part of her estate to the City of Poplar Bluff to establish a center for art classes and exhibits. In 1978, an Arts and Museum Advisory Board was formed to take on the task. In 1980, the city purchased the J.L. Dalton home, itself rich in local history and architecture, to house the museum.
    Kodiak Maritime Museum, Northwest USA
  P.O. Box 1876 - Kodiak, AK           
The only organization in the U.S. solely dedicated to preserving Alaska's illustrious maritime heritage, dedicated to the recognition and preservation of Alaska’s rich maritime heritage.
    Children's Museum of Lowcountry, Southeast USA
  25 Ann Street - Charleston, SC           
The Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry (CML) is Charleston’s first hands-on learning environment designed just for children ages 3 months to 12 years and their families. Since opening its doors on September 21, 2003, more than 450,000 visitors have explored the museum’s eight interactive exhibits, ranging from a full-scale shrimp boat to an area just for infants and toddlers. CML is the perfect family destination—many parents seize the opportunity to be a kid again and discover the exhibits with their child(ren), and each exhibit offers something for children of any age.
The mission of the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry is to spark the love of learning in all children of the tri-county area. Through hands-on, interactive experiences with the arts, sciences and humanities, children will develop creative thinking and problem solving skills and a belief in their own potential.
    Maritime Museum of San Diego, Southwest USA
   - San Diego, CA            
The Maritime Museum of San Diego enjoys a worldwide reputation for excellence in restoring, maintaining and operating historic vessels. The museum has one of the world's finest collections of historic ships, including the world famous Star of India.
    San Diego Air & Space Museum, Southwest USA
  2001 Pan American Plaza - Balboa Park - San Diego, CA             
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The San Diego Air & Space Museum celebrates aviation and space flight history through preservation of significant artifacts, presentation of dynamic exhibits, and commemoration of the men and women who forged aerospace history, educating the public about the social and historical significance of aerospace technology and its promise for the future and inspiring students to excel in technology, mathematics and the sciences, and encourage all visitors to become life-long learners in support of aerospace advancement.
    Confederate Memorial Hall Museum, Southcentral USA
  929 Camp St. - New Orleans, LA           
Confederate veterans of Louisiana founded Memorial Hall, also known as the Confederate Museum, in New Orleans in 1891 as a repository for their memorabilia from the War Between the States. These veterans and their families have donated more than 90% of the artifacts preserved and now exhibited in Memorial Hall. Ninety thousand of their war-related documents are housed on permanent loan at Tulane University and are available for research purposes. Thanks to the foresight of these men, their valuable relics and stories have been preserved for more than a century in our historic museum.
    Gem County Historical Society and Museum, Northwest USA
  501 East First Street - Emmett, ID
          
The Gem County Historical Society was started in 1972 and through dedications and efforts the Society was able to start the historical museum the following year. The Society today still oversees all aspects of the museum including the day to day operations. With the help of Memorials and other donations the museum has expanded to a Village which includes several other buildings all adjacent to one another.
    Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Midwest USA
  715 West Main Street - Louisville, KY             
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A nonprofit organization founded to promote and support art and craft excellence in Kentucky. In 2006, KMAC celebrated 25 years of supporting artists and providing educational programs to school children and adults. The Museum is supported in part by the Fund for the Arts and Kentucky Arts Council, a state agency of the Commerce Cabinet.
    Akron Art Museum, Midwest USA
   - Akron, OH            
The leading museum of modern art in Northeast Ohio. The origins of the Akron Art Museum go back to February 1, 1922, when the museum, then called Akron Art Institute, opened in two rooms on the ground floor of the Akron Public Library on East Market Street.
    Agricultural Heritage Museum, Northcentral USA
   - Brookings, SD           
The museum is dedicated to preserving our rich agricultural history and rural heritage. The collections and exhibits depict technology, crops, and livestock. In addition the exhibits examine human experiences, institutions, and cultures that were shaped by the state's rural landscape and diverse environment.
Located on the campus of South Dakota State University at the corner of Medary Avenue and 11th Street the museum is open and free to the public.
    Cooper Landing Museum, Northwest USA
  Mile 48.7 Sterling Highway - Cooper Landing, AK           
Cooper Landing's history is displayed in two historic buildings: Jack Lean's Cabin built in the late 1920's and the home of the Cooper Landing Post Office for almost 40 years. The School House built in 1955 and used until September 2001. Both buildings were moved to the museum site (owned by the Cooper Landing Community Club) on the south shore of the Kenai River.
The museum is manned by volunteers and funded through donations, sales in museum store, and garage sales.
    National Railroad Museum, Midwest USA
  2285 South Broadway - Green Bay, WI
          
The origin of the National Railroad Museum dates to 1956, when local individuals advanced the concept of a national museum dedicated to the American rail road history. Two years later, a joint resolution of Congress recognized the Museum as the National Railroad Museum. Since then, the Museum has operated as a privately funded 501 (c) (3) educational organization with a mission to foster an understanding of railroading and its significance to American Life. What began as an effort to acquire a single steam locomotive for a city park has grown into one of the largest rail museums in the nation. It now serves over 75,000 visitors annually. Today, a professional staff of 12 and over 100 unpaid staff members welcome visitors from all over the world. http://www.nationalrrmuseum.org/
    Missouri Historical Society, Southcentral USA
  Lindel and Debaliviere - Forest Park - St. Louis, MO             
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The Missouri Historical Society seeks to deepen the understanding of past choices, present circumstances, and future possibilities; strengthen the bonds of the community; and facilitate solutions to common problems.
    Russian Orthodox Museum, Northwest USA
  605 A St. - Anchorage, AK
          
View the history of Alaska through the beauty of Orthodoxy at the Russian Orthodox Museum - icons, needlework, and artifacts dating from 18th Century Russian America to the present. http://www.russianorthodoxmuseum.com/
    Science Museum of Minnesota, Northcentral USA
  120 W Kellogg Boulevard - St. Paul, MN             
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A large regional science museum located on the banks of the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul. The Science Museum's programs combine research and collection facilities, a public science education center, extensive teacher education and school outreach programs, and an Imax Convertible Dome Omnitheater to provide science education to our audience of more than a million people per year.