558 Best Sights in USA

Learn about the cranberry cultivation that's taken place since the early 1900s in coastal Washington by taking a self-guided walking tour through the museum's bogs (open daily), and then check out the museum with its historical photos and advertisements and antique harvesting and processing equipment. Enjoy a dish of cranberry ice cream and pick up some cranberry products to take home.

Tucked away from the highway behind a stand of trees, Crane Point is part of a 63-acre tract that contains the last-known undisturbed thatch-palm hammock. The facility includes the Museum of Natural History of the Florida Keys, which has displays about local wildlife, a seashell exhibit, and a marine-life display that makes you feel like you're at the bottom of the sea. Kids love the replica 17th-century galleon; the pirate dress-up room; and the re-created Cracker House filled with insects, sea-turtle exhibits, and children's activities. On the 1-mile loop trail, visit the Laura Quinn Wild Bird Center and the remnants of a Bahamian village, site of the restored George Adderly House. It is the oldest surviving example of Bahamian tabby (a concrete-like material created from sand and seashells) construction outside Key West. A boardwalk crosses wetlands, rivers, and mangroves before ending at Adderly Village. From November to Easter, docent-led tours are available. Bring good walking shoes and bug repellent.

The small but well-organized Crazy Mountain Museum houses exhibits on Big Timber's history and people, as well as the Crazy Mountains. Highlights include the famous Cremer Rodeo, sheep and wool exhibits, a collection of chaps and cattle brands, and a room dedicated to pioneers that includes artifacts dating from the late 1890s. An early-20th-century schoolhouse and a Norwegian stabbur, or storehouse, also stand on the grounds.

Occupying the original Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Depot, the museum paints a vivid portrait of the town's rough-and-tumble early days. It also includes World War I and World War II exhibits.

This museum is housed in rooms that modern miners blasted out of solid rock to commemorate the lives of 1880s-era miners and trace the history of mining in the area. In summer, there are guided tours at 10 and 3 daily, but before 2:15 pm you can also take a self-guided audio tour. Reservations are recommended.

Housed in an 1893 hardware store, this museum showcases the essentials for life in an 1880s mining town, such as clothing, furniture, and household items. There's an intricate diorama of the town in the 1920s, complete with a moving train, plus exhibits on skiing, sledding, biking, and Flauschink, a quirky local ceremony that welcomes the return of spring.

The museum set in five historic buildings—including a vintage railway depot—contains a vast collection of artifacts, photos, and exhibits that provide a glimpse into mining life at the turn of the 20th century.

Seven galleries of campus history sweep you into exploring the past, present, and future of university achievements and traditions. Warp into space with the University of Colorado's astronauts, and see an Apollo 15 moon rock; strut to the tunes of master swing conductor Glenn Miller; challenge yourself to building a 1.5-million-LEGO-brick model of the Boulder campus; and see if you can name the school's latest Olympians.

One of the area's first hand-hewn-log homesteads, built in 1886, is now the Darby Pioneer Memorial Museum, a repository for pioneer artifacts, photographs, and memorabilia. There is even a photograph of the building, constructed near the mouth of Tin Cup Creek, in its original setting, before it was moved into town.

This museum provides a window into the daily lives of the pioneers. The large collection of artifacts (most donated by descendants of the area's early settlers) range from a working loom to guns to a mortician's tools. Most everything is displayed in period rooms, including a shop, a house, and a doctor's office.

At Washington's oldest standing depot, the museum houses exhibits illustrating the history of Dayton and surrounding communities. Outside there's a caboose in the adjacent city park. The gift shop is worth a stop to pick up souvenirs to remember your visit to this quaint little town.

This tiny museum documents Stonington's quarrying tradition. The museum's centerpiece is a working model of quarrying operations on Crotch Island and the town of Stonington at the turn of the last century. Granite was quarried here for Rockefeller Plaza in New York City and for the John F. Kennedy Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, among other well-known structures.

The Deschutes County Historical Society operates this museum, which was originally built as a schoolhouse in 1914. Exhibits depict historical life in the area, including a pioneer schoolroom, Native American artifacts, and relics from the logging, ranching, homesteading, and railroading eras.

To understand why Destin calls itself the "World's Luckiest Fishing Village," visit this museum, and meet the descendants of the 19th-century New England families who transformed the land from winter fishing ground to major tourist attraction. In addition to historic and genealogical data on Destin's founding families, there are displays of antique boats and tackle and an impressive gallery of fish mounts. Knowledgeable guides can explain to everyone from small children to science scholars why the sand on Florida's Emerald Coast is so white.

The Detroit Historical Museum hosts numerous exhibits exploring the region's history, its ties to the automobile, and the city's rich legacies in music and sports. Other worthwhile exhibits are Motor City and Streets of Old Detroit—a walk through the city's long history.

Life-size dino replicas in dramatic poses will delight kids. The small museum also features many skeletons, fossils, and footprints—and reportedly the world's largest collection of movie posters starring Godzilla and other monsters dating back to the early days of film.

One of Oregon's best regional history museums, this engaging place surveys 10,000 years of human activity. The fossil collection is worth a stop, as is the state's second-largest photo collection, numbering more than 24,000 images, some dating to the 1840s.

If you can't make it out to see Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park, this is the next best thing. Opened in 2013 by the national park's official ferry commissioner, this free attraction in Key West's Historic Seaport has an impressive (1:87) scale model of the fort; life-size figures, including one of the fort's most famous prisoners, Dr. Samuel Mudd (who was involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln); and a Junior Ranger station for the little ones, with hands-on educational fun. The exhibits are housed in a historic site as well: the old Thompson Fish House, where local fishermen once brought their daily catch for processing.

The historical society offers two-to three-hour walking tours that take in historic buildings, among them Ft. Egbert, and includes tales of the famous people—among them Arctic explorer Roald Amundsen and aviation pioneer Billy Mitchell—who have passed through this historic Yukon River border town. These depart from the courthouse at 9 am daily in summer. The society also maintains an extensive archive, photo collection, and museum store stocked with regional history books and locally made items. Eagle is a sleepy town, so call ahead to schedule an appointment.

The entire entryway to the museum is made of petrified wood. Photographs, agricultural displays, petroglyphs, and a large collection of arrowheads interpret area history. Kennewick's oldest park, Keewaydin, is across the street.

The highlights of this museum dedicated to Inyo County and the Eastern Sierra’s history include photos and artifacts from the Manzanar War Relocation Center, Paiute and Shoshone baskets, and exhibits on the Los Angeles Aqueduct and mountaineer Norman Clyde. Be sure to visit the botanical garden and the outdoor exhibits as well.

In the tiny town of Haines, several miles north of Baker City, this humble museum almost resembles an antiques store or flea market at first glance, and has 10,000 household, farming, mining, and pioneer artifacts. Kids enjoy the one-room schoolhouse, as well as the 100-plus antique dolls and teddy bears. On the grounds is the old Union Pacific depot, built in the 1880s and given to the museum when the railroad discontinued stops at Haines in 1962.

Dedicated to the 19th-century miner turned environmentalist who helped create Denver's Museum of Nature and Science, this museum hosts realistic stuffed animals and interactive exhibits like the hands-on taxidermy workbench.

A nicely designed repository for the city's history, El Pueblo History Museum extends its scope to chronicle life on the plains dating back before Colorado statehood. It tells of Pueblo's role as a cultural and geographic crossroads, beginning when it was a trading post in the 1840s. Hands-on features—a giant teepee where guests can go inside and play historic drum replicas; a dress-up chest full of pioneer clothing and hats; and a covered wagon that is just the right height for small hands to discover the trinkets on board—make this museum fun for the whole family. Remnants of the original trading post are now an archaeological dig enclosed in a pavilion next to the museum.

The museum's glittering, green-certified 48,000-square-foot facility houses a permanent collection along with traveling exhibits. The museum was founded in 1961 in honor of Sterling Elliott, an inventor of an early automated-addressing machine, the egg crate, and a four-wheel bicycle, and it celebrates history, art, and technology, much of it viewed through the lens of the automobile's effect on American society. There's an impressive array of antique cars, plus paintings, historic artifacts, and nostalgic goods like vintage baseball cards and toys.

Hardware-store buffs and vintage-tool aficionados will feel right at home at this museum. Artist and author Eric Sloane (1905–1985) was fascinated by Early American woodworking tools, and his collection showcases examples of American craftsmanship from the 17th to 19th centuries. The museum contains a re-creation of Sloane's last studio and also encompasses the ruins of a 19th-century iron furnace. Sloane's illustrated books and prints, which celebrate vanishing aspects of Americana, are available for sale here.

The museum showcases Ute and pioneer artifacts, displays on the founding of Rocky Mountain National Park, and changing exhibits. It also publishes a self-guided walking tour of historic sites, which are mostly clustered along Elkhorn Avenue downtown.

An entertaining homage to fighter planes, flyboys, and flygirls, this museum maintains indoor exhibits about wartime aviation and displays retired aircraft outdoors and in repair shops. Bonus attraction: a huge building with spruced-up autos, drag racers, and "funny cars."

When Vermont hero Ethan Allen retired from his Revolutionary activities, he purchased 1,400 acres on the northern side of Burlington, including 350 acres of prime farmland directly along the Winooski River, and built this modest cabin in 1787. The original structure is a real slice of 18th-century life, including such frontier hallmarks as saw-cut boards and an open hearth for cooking. The kitchen garden resembles the one the Allens would have had. There's also a visitor center, a recreated mid-19th century Abenaki hunting village with traditional gardens, and miles of biking and hiking trails. In warmer months, climb Ethan Allen Tower at the south end of neighboring Ethan Allen Park for stupendous views of Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains.

Don't forget mosquito repellent.

Housed in an authentic 1876 firehouse, this museum traces the history of firefighting, from the volunteer company founded in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin in 1736 to the professional departments of the 20th century. The collection includes early hand- and horse-drawn fire engines, such as a 1796 hand pumper, an 1857 steamer, and a 1907 three-horse Metropolitan steamer; fire marks (18th-century building signs marking them as insured for fire); uniforms; other memorabilia; and a 9/11 memorial. There is also a gift shop on-site and online.