Favorite Museums to Visit With the Grandkids in Every State

Kathy Wankel, who discovered the Wankel T. rex in 1988, chats with students beneath the shade of a bronze replica named Big Mike outside the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana. The

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With around 20,000 museums across the United States, it can be overwhelming to pick the right one. Still, it’s a worthwhile endeavor as children who visit museums can exhibit higher

achievement in reading, math and science, according to the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

As a teacher with more than 20 years in education, from elementary to high school, who has visited many museums with my 12-year-old daughter, I have had extensive firsthand experience with

children and museums. This helps me recognize what qualities make museums appealing to children. 

According to the 2023 U.S. Family Travel Survey, 28 percent of grandparents said they planned to take a multigenerational trip to a museum in the next year. In the survey from the Family

Travel Association, 63 percent of grandparents said they enjoyed spending extended time with their grandchildren.

“We create environments that complement the formal learning kids experience in their schools,” says Monica Ramsey, vice president of experience development and family learning for the

Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.

“Museums are a great way to give children a learning experience without sitting in a classroom,” says Helen Stiles, former senior acquisitions and cataloging specialist for the National

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. Stiles, who retired after 37 years at the museum, says children get to experience the exhibits firsthand.

This list of museums was selected based on parent and grandparent recommendations and by consulting more than two dozen experts and site directors, including Keith Darcey, the senior

director of communications at the National WWII Museum; Mary Ellen Engman, marketing and communications manager at KidsQuest Children’s Museum; Angel Johnston, communications manager at

Jamestown Rediscovery; and Jonathan Pishney, head of communications at North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Time spent with grandchildren is precious, and with proper selection, visiting a museum is a great way to bring families together. This list is a starting point of favorite museums to

encourage grandparents to get out and explore, and maybe learn a thing or two themselves.​

Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawai‘i | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana |

Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North

Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | 

Wyoming | Washington, D.C.

U.S Space and Rocket Center; Alaska Aviation Museum; Pima Air & Space Museum Alabama

U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville

At the home of the world-famous Space Camp, see the full-scale replica of the Saturn V rocket and the real-deal Saturn V. Visit Spark!Lab, a hands-on invention center, and the VR Explorer

motion-based simulator. Tickets: $30 for those 13-plus; $20 for children 5-12; free for 4 and younger.

Alaska Aviation Museum, Anchorage

Visit the world’s largest seaplane base with four hangars and more than 25 vintage aircraft, including the Stearman C2B, built in 1928. Interactive displays for kids include a virtual

reality flight simulator. Tickets: $18 for adults; $15 for 65-plus, $11 for 3-13; free for 3 and under.

Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson

With some 400 historic aircraft from civil, commercial, military and experimental flight, this museum brings out everyone’s inner aviator. See an SR-71 Blackbird, the world’s smallest

biplane and a 747 jumbo jet. Press buttons, flip switches and pull levers just like a pilot. Tickets: $19.50 for adults; $16.75 for 65-plus; $13 for children 5-12; free for 4 and

younger.

Ryan Kost Arkansas

Scott Family Amazeum, Bentonville

Creating immersive learning experiences that integrate science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM), the Amazeum fosters curiosity and creativity. The 3M Tinkering Hub, Walmart

Market and Pampers Studio Grow cater to children of all ages. Tickets: $14 in person or $12 online for those older than 2; free for 2 and younger.

Exploratorium, San Francisco

Named one of the coolest museums in the world by The New York Times for Kids, this attraction has more than 650 hands-on, interactive exhibits that encourage visitors to not only look but

play. Touch a tornado, break light apart and even stop time. Tickets: $39.95 for adults; $29.95 for 65-plus, children 4-17, teachers, college students and people with disabilities; free for

3 and younger.

Manitou Cliff Dwellings, Manitou Springs

Explore Native American architecture in hands-on experiences. Children can climb into rooms of replica Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings, with a ladder to access one area. Browse cultural

displays including tools, pottery and weapons, and even grind corn. Tickets: $12.75 for adults; $10 for 60-plus; $8 for children 4-11; free for 3 and younger.

Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut; the Delaware Museum of Nature & Science in Wilmington; and the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, Florida. Getty Images; Delaware Museum of

Nature and Science Connecticut

Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic

Swab the deck, cook in the galley, move cargo and dress in sailors’ garb. Older kids can visit the lighthouse drawing station and a puppet playhouse. Staff guide children in building toy

boats; kids can explore a sailing ship, tugboat or fishing dragger model on their own. Tickets: $31 for adults; $29 for 65-plus; $27 for 13-17; $21 for 4-12; free for 3 and younger.

Delaware

Delaware Museum of Nature & Science, Wilmington

Delve into deciduous forests to bald cypress swamps, and see the dinosaurs in the PaleoZone. Staff members Miss Ofelia in the Nature Nook and Robbie in the Discovery Gallery are favorites,

and don’t miss Dude, the museum cat, who went viral on The Dodo. Tickets: $14.50 for 3 and older; $4.25 for children 1-2; free for younger than 12 months. Note: There’s a 5 percent discount

if visitors pay with cash.

Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, Palm Beach

A scavenger hunt throughout the house engages young visitors, and the Railcar 91 Tea Room, available November through April, is a “must do” experience with kids. Enjoy savory sandwiches,

scones and sweets at the Gilded Age–style tea, then explore Henry Flagler’s original train car, which overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway. Tickets: $28 for 13 and up; $14 for children

6-12; free for children 5 and younger.

World of Coca-Cola; Bishop Museum; Oregon Trail Center Georgia

World of Coca-Cola, Atlanta

Meet the lovable Coca-Cola Polar Bear, and discover the connection between scent and memory. Explore the history and intrigue of the secret formula for Coca-Cola. Sample more than 100 drinks

from around the world. Tickets: $21 for 13-64; $19 for 65-plus; $17 for 3-12; free for 2 and younger.

Bishop Museum, Honolulu

Among 25 million historical, cultural and natural treasures, such as model canoes and woven mats, the Science Adventure Center has something for everyone, including animal lovers and those

curious about how Hawaiʻi was formed. The J. Watumull Planetarium offers showings of “The Stars Tonight” and “Navigating By the Stars.” Tickets: $33.95 for adults; $30.95 for 65-plus; $25.95

for 4-17; free for 3 and younger; online discounts available.

National Oregon/California Trail Center, Montpelier

Head west on the 1850s Oregon Trail, stopping by a gun shop and mercantile. The simulated Wagon Trail Adventure allows visitors to feel, touch and experience the journey, guided by a cast of

pioneers whose dialogue and stories will make history come alive. Tickets: $12 for 18 and older; $11 for 60-plus; $9 for 8-17; $5 for 4-7; free for 3 and younger.

Museum in Chicago; the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis; and the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa. Field Museum; Shutterstock; National Mississippi River Museum

& Aquarium Illinois

Field Museum, Chicago

Inspiring curiosity in young scientists involves engaging their sense of wonder. Travel through time in the “Evolving Planet” exhibit, shrink down to ant size in “Underground Adventure,” or

connect with scientists in the Grainger Science Hub and the Crown Family PlayLab. Take a journey back millions of years in the 3D movie Dinosaurs of Antarctica, and enter a polar winter. 

Tickets: $30 for adults; $27 for students 12 and older; $23 for children 3-11; free for children under 3.

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Indianapolis

Kids and grandparents can search for archaeological treasures at the “National Geographic Treasures of Earth” exhibit and climb aboard an actual tool car from the late 1800s at the “All

Aboard!” exhibit at the world’s largest children’s museum (nearly 500,000 square feet). Step into the past with Dinosphere’s real fossils, launch into the future with “Beyond Spaceship

Earth,” and hop aboard a more than 100-year-old Dentzel carousel with hand-carved animals. Tickets: Purchase online for best price. $31 for 18- to 59-year-olds; $29.50 for adults 60-plus;

$26 for 2-17; free for 1 and younger.

The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, Dubuque

Indoor and outdoor exhibits welcome nearly 200,000 guests per year. Be sure to stop to see the otter habitat, the stingray touch tank and the tide pool touch tank in “Rivers to the Sea” for

a truly unique experience. Tickets: $24.95 for adults; $22.95 for 65-plus; $18.95 for 3-17; free for 2 and younger.