Museums Near Me

A trip to the museum can be a trip back in time or even a trip to a whole other planet. Few places off the intrigue, knowledge, and depth that a museum can offer. Whether you’re interested in an art museum or a science museum, there are plenty of opportunities for you to find a museum that you love.

Are you interested in finding a museum near you? Simply browse museums near me on the map below and find a list of museums located in your area. Need a bit more information on museums? Read on for interesting facts, trivia, and information on museums!

Museums Near Me – Find it on the Map

Museums Near Me – Museums Trivia

When did museum’s first begin?

Believe it or not, museums have always existed in one form or another, for as long as civilized humans have walked the earth. The earliest museums began as private collections housed by wealthy individuals, families and institutes of art. They often included rare and curious objects and artifacts. These items were often displayed in areas known as wonder rooms or curiosity cabinets. The evidence of these old museums was Ennigaldi-Nanna’s museum which is believed to have begun in 530 BC and was devoted to Mesopotamian antiquities. There was much traffic at the museum, as evidenced by the labels that were ordered for the collection. Despite the seeming popularity of this museum, there is little in the way of information on what it housed. Public access to museums was only possible for the “respectable” members of society, especially when it came to private art collections. One way that elite individual could climb the social ladder was to become a collector of curious objects and display them. This denoted culture and an eye for great objects. By putting these collections in a museum or on display in their home, individuals not only got to show their fantastic finds but they were able to manage their hauls and expose them to the world. Consider these facts as you search museums near me.

An exterior shot of the Field Museum of Natural History.

How many people visit museums each year?

Something you may be surprised to know is just how popular museums still remain to this day. Despite the internet and the ability to tap into virtual reality headsets, people still can’t get enough of museums. According to statistics, there are approximately 850 million visits each year to American museums. That’s more than the attendance for all major league sporting events across all sports and theme parks combined. That number was at around 483 million in 2011. In 2006, museums received an additional 524 million online visits from just adults, and that number is only going to grow. Most people are beginning to see museums for their true value. Not only for their ability to enrich the mind and foster growth, but in their ability to captivate audiences all while nurturing history. As you search museums near me, consider exactly why you’re visiting a museum near you.

Museums Near Me – Museums Facts

Museums Help Serve The Public

You may know the traditional ways that museums help to enrich people’s lives, but you may not realize just how much museums also help to serve the public at large. Consider these facts as you search museums near me. Many museums offer programs that are tailored to help veterans and military families. In 2016, around 2,000 museums participated in the Blue Star Museums initiative. Participating museums offered free admission to all active duty and reserve members along with their families. That’s a lot of families getting to spend some quality time together. Overall, the effort helped to serve more than 923,000 people. Most museums also offer military discounts throughout the year, even on days that aren’t specifically designated as such. Some even invite veterans to tell first hand accounts of their time in the military. This can help connect veterans to their communities all while easing post war stress. Museums also provide social services, this includes programs for children on the autism spectrum or those struggling to learn the English language. Many are also doing outreach programs for those with autism or who may be suffering from other forms of cognitive impairments. Many also facilitate job training programs, provide greenhouses for low income communities, and help foster court supervised visits in for families of divorce.

Museums Serve Everybody

Unlike many community institutions, museums seek to serve everyone in the community. They are committed to ensuring that Americans of every background and income level is granted access to high quality museum experiences, regardless of ability to pay. Many museums offer free admission or will take a donation to enter. This isn’t true at all museums, but many of the larger institutions will take a donation as low as $5, especially if it seems obvious that paying a larger sum might cost you more than your museum ticket. It is this approach to accessibility that has helped museums to continuously grow in popularity without charging extra or out pricing themselves from the very people who would most enjoy a trip to the museum. As you search museums near me, look into which museums charge a standard entrance fee and which offer free or lost cost admission fares.