558 Best Sights in USA

Adjacent to Sam Hicks Monument Park, this museum focuses on Temecula Valley history, including early Native American life, Butterfield stage routes, and the ranchero period. A hands-on interactive area for children holds a general store, photographer's studio, and ride-a-pony station. Outside there's a playground and picnic area. A walking tour ($5) of Old Town Temecula is given every Saturday 10–11:30, departing from the Temecula Valley Museum.

Formerly known as the Texas Memorial Museum (a name still etched in the historic building's limestone facade), this UT campus museum had a major revamp in 2023 that included a name change that reflects its true mission—to serve as the only science and natural history museum in the Austin area. Visitors can explore the natural world of Texas, from prehistoric to modern times, with fossils from millions of years ago, life-sized dinosaur models (including a 40-foot-long pterosaur), and dioramas of Texas wildlife, from buffalo and roadrunners to cougars and flying squirrels. Excellent permanent and rotating exhibits are now on view throughout the four-story space, and a partnership with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center plans to provide for native pollinator gardens around the museum exterior.

Aboard the restored 1877 tall ship Elissa, detailed interpretive signs provide information about the shipping trade in the 1800s, including the routes and cargoes this ship carried into Galveston. Inside the museum building is a replica of the historic wharf and a one-of-a-kind computer database containing the names of more than 133,000 immigrants who entered the United States through Galveston after 1837.

Located in the historic 1923 Flowers-Roberts House, this museum and history center contains exhibits about the history of Thomas County along with seven historical buildings you can tour. The buildings, carefully preserved and moved to the museum grounds, include an 1870 "dogtrot" log cabin and an 1893 bowling alley believed to be the second-oldest bowling alley still standing in the United States. To get the full picture of Thomasville's history, purchase the combination tour which includes the nearby Lapham-Patterson House (offered on Fridays and Saturdays).

An eclectic assortment of items dating from 1860 to 1900 includes a petrified wedding cake, the eponymous limb of "Club Foot" George Lane, rifles, and numerous photographs. The collection is made up of the heirlooms of three local families. The local library is upstairs.

Costing $25 million for construction—and filled with artifacts valued at more than $4.5 million—this half-scale replica of the Titanic is designed to give you an idea of what it may have felt like to be a passenger aboard the sinking ship on that fateful night during her maiden voyage. You'll have the opportunity to climb the grand staircase, touch an iceberg, and try to stand on sloped decks.

Travel down to the bottom of the North Atlantic where the "ship of dreams" rests after grazing an iceberg in 1912. A visit to the 25,000-square-foot exhibit inside Luxor Las Vegas starts with a boarding pass representing an actual passenger. Visitors tour replicas of guest compartments, the grand staircase, and the promenade deck that movie fans will recognize from a little film by James Cameron. Among the 350 emotionally arresting artifacts: luggage, personal toiletries, a bottle of unopened champagne, and pieces of the ship, including a 15-ton section of the iron hull. You can even see what it would feel like to touch an iceberg.

Native artifacts and pioneer relics revisit the mining and fishing eras at this interesting museum. Exhibits include a big, brilliantly polished lens from Tree Point Lighthouse, well-presented Native tools and artwork, and photography collections. Thoughtfully developed signage throughout the museum gives visitors a sense of what it was—and is—like to live in this part of the world, and helps bring the objects to life.

In a restored Queen Anne–style house, the Tread of Pioneers Museum is an excellent spot to bone up on local history. It includes ski memorabilia dating to the turn of the 20th century, when Carl Howelsen opened Howelsen Hill, still the country's preeminent ski-jumping facility.

 This 25-acre complex is home to the Savannah History Museum, the Georgia State Railroad Museum, and the Savannah Children's Museum, as well as Battlefield Memorial Park. This site offers an unbeatable introduction to the city and a full day of fun for the whole family. The battlefield was the site of the second-bloodiest battle of the Revolutionary War, where on October 9, 1779, 800 of the 8,000 troops who fought lost their lives.

This complex with two historic houses (only accessible through tours at an additional charge), a museum, and a garden is a place to learn about the town's history. The first is Baca House, the 1870s residence of Felipe Baca, a prominent Hispanic farmer and businessman. Displays convey a mix of Anglo (clothes, furniture) and Hispanic (santos, textiles) influences. Next door, the 1882 Bloom Mansion was built by Frank Bloom, who made his money through ranching and banking. He filled his ornate Second Empire–style Victorian with fine furnishings and fabrics brought from the East Coast and abroad. The adjacent Santa Fe Trail Museum is dedicated to the effects of the trail and railroad on the community. Inside are exhibits covering Trinidad's heyday as a commercial and cultural center. The Historic Gardens are filled with native plants and grapevines similar to those tended by the pioneers.

This museum honors Harriet Tubman, the former slave who led more than 300 people to freedom as one of the conductors of the Underground Railroad. The museum's signature piece is a large mural depicting several centuries of black culture. Permanent galleries are focused on African American inventors, Middle Georgia history, and folk art. Rotating exhibits showcase African American arts and culture.

Displays of model ships and memorabilia from naval heroes and fighting vessels tell the story of the U.S. Navy. The Rogers Ship Model Collection has nearly 80 models of sailing ships built for the British Admiralty, the largest display of 17th- and 18th-century ship models in North America. Kids of all ages will enjoy watching the restoration and building of model ships on the ground level and might even learn a few tricks of the trade should they wish to purchase a model ship kit to build when they get home.

A 15-minute drive north of Bremerton (not far from Poulsbo), this museum is fronted by a can't-miss sight: the 88-ton Trieste II submarine, which dove to the deepest spot in the ocean (the Marianas Trench) in 1960. The main building presents rotating shows and contains excellent permanent exhibits on oceanography, torpedo technology, submarine rescues, mine warfare, and the navy's strategic war deterrence initiative. 

Inside the Uintah County Heritage Museum are collections of Fremont and Ute Indian artifacts, including baskets, water jugs, and beadwork, as well as pioneer items like carriages, guns, saddles, and old-fashioned toys. Be sure to check out the wooden cataract boats built by local river-running legend A. K. Reynolds. They're still in great shape considering they date back to the late 1940s. The most off-beat installation is a collection of kitschy handmade porcelain dolls modeled after the nation's First Ladies, from Martha Washington to Nancy Reagan.

From the late 19th century through the end of World War II, tens of thousands of Ukrainians made their way to New York City—and particularly to "Little Ukraine," as much of the East Village was known. This museum examines Ukrainian Americans' dual heritage, with a permanent collection made up of folk art, fine art, and documentary materials about immigrant life. Ceramics, jewelry, hundreds of brilliantly colored Easter eggs, and an extensive collection of Ukrainian costumes and textiles are the highlights. To continue the Ukrainian experience, head to nearby Veselka restaurant for borscht and pierogi.

This Smithsonian-affiliated museum gives a visual portrait of the history of the 15 counties of the South Carolina Upstate, including life-size dioramas. There are two floors of interactive displays and a small theater where special programs are regularly presented.

A pair of 1909 sandstone buildings in the town of Harlowton, 25 miles southwest of the mountains, house the Upper Musselshell Museum. The collection primarily contains artifacts of the people who lived in, worked, and developed the land around the Upper Musselshell River. There are also fossils of bison and dinosaurs (including a full-size reproduction of "Ava," from the recently discovered species Avaceratops). The museum is one of the 15 stops on the Montana Dinosaur Trail.

If you're interested in the lives of the region's original residents, stop by the renovated Ute Indian Museum, 3 miles south of town. The museum contains several dioramas and the most comprehensive collection of Ute materials and artifacts in Colorado. It's housed in the 1956 homestead of Ute Chief Ouray and his wife, Chipeta. Today, the complex includes the Chief Ouray Memorial Park, Chipeta's Crypt, a native plants garden, picnic areas, and shaded paths linked to the citywide walking trail.

Located between the Alamodome and the Tower of the Americas, this fascinating museum features 65,000 square feet of exhibits that focus on the major cultural groups who made Texas what it is today. Exhibits explore the customs, traditions, food, music, and ways of life of the many people who came to define the Texan identity. Highlights include a re-created sharecropper's house, a cowboys and cattle drives exhibit, large-scale murals depicting Native American cultures, and an in-depth Tejano exhibit on the intersection of Spanish and Indigenous peoples that birthed a new culture.

The museum has two sections, the Egan and the Hazelet, named after their respective streets. The highlights of the museum at 436 S. Hazelet include a 35- by 40-foot model of what Old Town looked like before the 1964 earthquake and artifacts of the historic event that registered 9.5 on the Richter scale. An award-winning film that screens often describes the quake. Two blocks away, the 217 Egan site explores the lives, livelihoods, and events significant to Valdez and surrounding regions. On display are a restored 1880s Gleason & Bailey hand-pump fire engine, a 1907 Ahrens steam fire engine, and a 19th-century saloon, and there are exhibits about local Alaska Native culture, early explorers, bush pilots, and the 1989 oil spill. Every summer the museum hosts an exhibit of quilts and fiber arts made by local and regional artisans, and other exhibits are presented seasonally.

Don't judge a book by its cover: what's inside this very ordinary-looking building is extraordinary. Operated mostly through the efforts of an enthusiastic team of volunteers, the museum has an impressive collection of memorabilia and aircraft from World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam and more recent conflicts, as well as extensive displays of vintage military flying gear and uniforms. There are posters that were used to help identify Japanese planes, plus a Huey helicopter and the cockpit of an F-106 that you can sit in. In the north hangar a group of dedicated aviation volunteers busily restores old planes. It's an inspiring sight, and a good place to hear some war stories. In the spring the museum puts on the Tico Warbird Airshow, featuring fighter and bomber aircraft that formerly flew in combat around the world. The lobby gift shop sells real flight suits, old flight magazines, bomber jackets, books, models, and T-shirts.

Tucked into two hangars at the Van Nuys Airport is a kooky, fascinating, and somewhat chaotic archive of all things 818. Well, post-urbanization anyway. Clearly assembled by folks who take great pride in being from The Valley and constantly being added to, artifacts including retro neon signs from closed businesses, movie memorabilia, concert posters, vintage BMX bikes, cars like Spicoli's van, and postcards fill cases and shelves, cover the walls, sit on the floor, and hang from the ceiling. Exhibits on the history of the Burbank airport, which covers the role it played in World War II, and rhinestone suit designer-to-the-stars Nudie Cohn are not to be missed. There's a free-play arcade with pinball machines and games and a gift shop for souvenirs.

The collection here, begun in 1838, focuses on all things Vermont—from a catamount (the now-extinct local cougar) to Ethan Allen's shoe buckles. The museum store stocks fine books, prints, and gifts. A second location in Barre, the Vermont History Center, has rotating exhibits with notable photographs and artifacts.

The state's skiing and snowboarding history is documented here. Exhibits cover subjects such as the 10th Mountain Division of World War II, the national ski patrol, Winter Olympians, and the evolution of equipment. One of the most memorable mobiles you'll ever see, made from a gondola and ski-lift chairs, hangs from the ceiling. One recent exhibit, Searching for Vermont's Lost Ski Areas, documents a 20-year search for the state's long-gone destinations, from Buckturd Basin to Freak Peak.

Three small historical buildings contain artifacts from the town's past, including photographs, models, and mementoes from some of the large schooners that slid down the ways here in the 1800s. The town lays claim to having built the first five-masted schooner, the 265-foot-long Governor Ames, which at the time of construction was the world's largest cargo vessel. You'll also see beautiful examples of antique Waldoboro hooked rugs, prized for their intricate workmanship and sculptural detail. Be sure to step into the one-room schoolhouse dating from 1857 and imagine sitting in one of the old student desks beside the wood stove.

Joseph's history museum has a small but poignant collection of artifacts and photographs chronicling the flight of the Nez Percé, a series of battles against the U.S. Army that took place in the late 1870s. Built as a bank in 1888, the building was robbed in 1896, an event commemorated by a number of the museum's artifacts, including a massive old safe and some yellowing newspaper accounts.

This beautifully refurbished brick barracks is a tribute to the man behind Mickey Mouse, Disney Studios, and Disneyland. The smartly organized displays include hundreds of family photos, and well-chosen videos play throughout. Disney's legendary attention to detail is evident in the cels and footage of Fantasia, Sleeping Beauty, and other animation classics. Galleries tell the story of Disney's life from his youth in the Midwest to lesser-known bits of his professional history, like the films Walt Disney made for the U.S. military during World War II. The liveliest exhibit, and the largest gallery, documents the creation of Disneyland with a fun, detailed model of what Disney imagined the park would be. Teacups spin, the Matterhorn looms, and that world-famous castle leads the way to Fantasyland. You won't be the first to leave humming "It's a Small World." In the final gallery, a series of cartoons and quotes chronicle the world's reaction to Disney's sudden death. Worth checking for are periodic special exhibitions that take a deep dive into film themes or historical periods surrounding Disney's life.

Established in 1976, this museum moved in 2010 to a new, James Polshek–designed, contemporary building near Independence Hall. The 100,000-square-foot facility, via multimedia displays, historic objects, and ephemera, traces the history of American Jews from 1654 to the present. Highlights include "Only in America," a showcase of the accomplishments of famed Jewish Americans, including Jonas Salk, Barbra Streisand, and Irving Berlin; a three-level timeline covering immigration, the formation of Israel, and the civil rights movement; Seinfeld; a Contemporary Issues Forum, where you can share your views on Post-it-style notes that are electronically scanned and displayed; and "It's Your Story," where you can record clips about your family history. The museum's exterior offers two contrasting sculptures symbolizing how American Jewish history is intertwined with the nation's story: a 19th-century marble monument dubbed Religious Liberty and a sculpture by contemporary artist Deborah Kass.

Located in two connected early-1900s former government buildings, the city's well-designed history museum contains Native American and pioneer artifacts, exhibits on Washington's famed apple industry, and a display about the 1931 landing of the first-ever nonstop flight across the Pacific, which went from Japan to Wenatchee. Children enjoy the hands-on area and the model railway. The museum also displays works by Northwest artists.