Midwest USA Museums and Culture

Circus World is a thrill for all ages — a chance to see how the circus has entertained people for generations.

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/

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! <br> 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.

Since opening, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum has attracted more than 11,000 visitors per month. Over 3,000 objects are on display in a very modern exhibit environment. Continued growth in visitorship is anticipated, particularly as an outreach effort is underway to advertise the facility. The unique characteristics of the old museum-its legislatively established mission to recognize the role of Wisconsin citizen-soldiers in the Civil War and “any subsequent war,” its fortuitous administrative position as part of a dynamic state agency, its programmatic link to some of the important events of history, its impressive and long established collection of historical materials, the emotional association with Wisconsin’s tradition of service to the nation, and the high regard accorded to veterans by a grateful citizenry continue to be embodied in this living memorial.

"The Frankenmuth Historical Museum offers more than just the historic travels of the original fifteen settlers from Germany to the Saginaw Valley in 1845. Our Museum is an entertaining look at the people, and the motivations of the immigrants who framed the history as well as the future of Frankenmuth. We use hands-on displays, video and audio, and interesting artifacts to tell this fascinating story. <br> If you enjoy visiting Frankenmuth, you're sure to love the Historical Museum. Your senses will come alive as you learn why and how Frankenmuth became "Michigan's Little Bavaria." The Frankenmuth Historical Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums."

The Exhibit Museum of Natural History is a dynamic, evolving organization committed to promoting the understanding and appreciation of the natural world and our place in it. We accomplish this through creative educational programs and exhibits for the benefit of the University community, school groups, and the general public. The Museum provides a window onto the research in Natural Sciences conducted at the University of Michigan.<br> Approximately 20,000 school children visit the Museum annually. Most students participate in guided tours and educational programs. The Museum uses inquiry-based styles of teaching, in which children are invited to look, touch, and question. Tours are led by a corps of 50-60 University student docents extensively trained by Museum staff.

The Museum's purpose today is what it has always been: to educate the public, to preserve historic artifacts of the craft, to inspire magic lovers, to establish a resource for scholars and to celebrate the men and women who have been purveyors of wonder throughout the ages, the magician entertainer. <br> The American Museum of Magic is devoted to magic as entertainment , not the occult.

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.

A volunteer run, non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve Indiana's railroad history, educate the public in the history of the railroad, and provide our visitors with an opportunity to experience railroad travel as it used to be. We operate on 38 miles of track once known as the Indianapolis & Peru, and more recently, as the Nickel Plate Road.<br> The Museum and restoration facilities are located in Noblesville, Indiana, only 20 miles north of downtown Indianapolis. The Museum is located in Forest Park which is less than 1 mile north of State Route 32 on State Route 19, North and West of downtown Noblesville. Enter at the South entrance and follow the main road to the Museum.

Located in the Old Pathology Building on the grounds of the former Central State Hospital on the near westside of Indianapolis. The museum represents the beginning of scientific psychiatry and modern medicine while the building itself is the oldest surviving pathology facility in the nation and is on the National Register of Historic Places.<br> The museum maintains a collection of scientific artifacts from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in a completely authentic setting. Constructed in 1895 and inaugurated in 1896, the nineteen-room Pathological Department Building, as it was then called, is equipped with three clinical laboratories, a photography lab, teaching amphitheatre, autopsy room, and library.

The mission of the Cleveland Museum of Art is to fulfill its dual roles as one of the world's most distinguished comprehensive art museums and as one of northeastern Ohio's principal civic and cultural institutions. The museum, established in 1913 seeks to bring the pleasure and meaning of art to the broadest possible audience in accordance with the highest aesthetic, intellectual and professional standards. Toward this end the museum augments, preserves, exhibits and fosters understanding of the outstanding collections of world art it holds in trust for the public and presents complementary exhibitions and programs. The Cleveland Museum of Art embraces its leadership role in collecting, scholarship, education and community service.

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.

Comprising more than 12,000 works of art from virtually every culture and spanning the history of art, the AMAM's collection is a vital cultural resource for the students, faculty, and staff of Oberlin College as well as the surrounding community.

One of the largest science museums in the world, is home to more than 35,000 artifacts and nearly 14 acres of hands-on exhibits designed to spark scientific inquiry and creativity. We have welcomed more than 175 million guests in our 75 years, and our ongoing mission has been to inspire the inventive genius in all of them with world-class, permanent exhibits such the U-505 Submarine, the only German U-boat in the United States; or world-premiere temporary exhibits such as 2008's Smart Home: Green + Wired.<br> Even bigger than our mission is our vision, which is to inspire and motivate our children to achieve their full potential in the fields of science, technology, engineering and medicine. In addition to our fun and interactive exhibits, the Museum's Center for the Advancement of Science Education is continually developing and facilitating student learning labs, after-school science clubs, teen volunteer programs, teacher development classes and community outreach—all ways in which the Museum's seek to make science come alive for children of all ages.