In addition to our feature story on the Cook Museum of Natural Science, here is a list of museums that are just a day trip away:
Birmingham
Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum
In addition to its professional automobile and motorcycle race course, Barber Motorsports offers a museum dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, exhibition and history of motorcycles, vintage vehicles and motorsports. Website: barbermuseum.org
McWane Science Center
McWane Science Center’s mission is to “spark wonder and curiosity about our world though hands-on science.” To accomplish this mission, McWane Science Center creates hands-on science experiences that parents and teachers value and kids love. The museum’s newest permanent exhibit, Brickology, features construction block play. Website: mcwane.org
Birmingham Museum of Art
The Birmingham Museum of Art houses a diverse collection of more than 27,000 paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings and decorative arts dating from ancient to modern times. The collection presents a rich panorama of cultures, featuring the museum’s extensive holdings of Asian, European, American, African, pre-Columbian, and Native American art. Current visiting exhibitions include All Things Bright and Beautiful, An Epic of Earth and Water and Wall to Wall. Website: artsbma.org
Southern Museum of Flight
Southern Museum of Flight, one of the largest aviation museums in the Southeast, is dedicated to presenting civilian, military and experimental aircraft and memorabilia from the earliest history of powered flight. The 75,000-square-foot facility houses more than 100 aircraft, as well as engines, models, artifacts, photographs and paintings. In addition, the museum is home to the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame, with more than 70 biographical plaques presenting Alabama aviation history. Website: southernmuseumofflight.org
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, part of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument and an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is a cultural and educational research center that promotes a comprehensive understanding of the significance of civil rights developments in Birmingham. Website: bcri.org
Vulcan Park and Museum
This 10-acre public park, first constructed in the 1930s and since extensively renovated, houses the statue of Vulcan atop Red Mountain. The facility includes an observation tower, park grounds and a museum that houses collections recounting Birmingham’s past and present. Website: visitvulcan.com
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
Attached to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, this three-story, 33,000-square-foot museum is one of the largest sports halls of fame in the nation. It is home to more than 6,000 pieces of sports memorabilia, with items from each inductee, dating back to the first induction class in 1969, displayed throughout the facility. Website: ashof.org
Birmingham Negro Southern League Museum
The mission of the Negro Southern League Museum is to present the history of African-American baseball in an unsurpassed manner by maintaining a world-class facility that recognizes the league’s impact on Birmingham and the world of professional baseball. Because of the pandemic, the museum is receiving guests only by appointment. To visit, book your tour 24 hours in advance at birminghamnslm.org.
Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
Founded in 1978, the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame is a 501c3 nonprofit that honors Alabama’s jazz greats. Our mission is to preserve a continued and sustained program of illuminating the contributions of the state of Alabama through its citizens, environment, demographics and lore, and perpetuating the heritage of jazz music. Visitors take a journey through jazz history, from its humble beginnings in secular, folk traditions through its many contemporary incarnations. Website: jazzhall.com
Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum — Calera
From humble beginnings as a chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society, the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum carries out its mission to preserve the sights, sounds and artifacts of railroading for future generations. Admission to the facility’s museum collection is free of charge and train rides are offered seasonally. Website: hodrrm.org
Desoto Caverns – Childersburg
Guests will explore historic show caves and learn about their use by prehistoric Native Americans, gunpowder miners, early traders and moonshine makers. The site also offers a campground, picnic area, pavilions and more than 20 on-site attractions. Website: desotocavernspark.com
American Village – Montevallo
The American Village offers pioneering educational programs for children and adults in a campus inspired by some of America’s most historic places The American Village brings to life our nation’s stories of liberty and sacrifice. Website: americanvillage.org
Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society Home Tours
The Preservation Society operates and maintains five historical landmarks across Tuscaloosa offering daily tours, school field trips and community projects. Visitors are transported to each of the homes’ original time period. Homes open for free tours include the Old Tavern, the Battle-Friedman House and the Jamison-Van de Graaff Mansion. The Murphy-Collins House holds the Murphy African American Museum and is open for tours by appointment. Website: historictuscaloosa.org
Alabama Museum of Natural History
The Alabama Museum of Natural History is located in Smith Hall at the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa. Founded in 1831, it is the oldest museum in the state. Exhibits depicting the natural diversity of Alabama from the age of dinosaurs, the coal age and the ice age. Website: almnh.museums.ua.edu
Moundville Archeological Park – Moundville
The University of Alabama’s Moundville Archaeological Park is one of the nation’s premier Native American heritage sites. Called “The Big Apple of the 14th Century” by National Geographic, Moundville Archaeological Park was once the site of a powerful prehistoric community that, at its peak, was America’s largest city north of Mexico. The park’s Ancient Art and Technology Weekend will take place March 26 and 27. Website: moundville.museums.ua.edu
Anniston
Anniston Museum of Natural History
The museum’s galleries offer more than 2,000 natural history items on permanent display, including minerals, fossils and rare animals in open dioramas. Exhibit halls feature glimpses into our prehistoric planet, Alabama’s biodiversity, a 250-gallon freshwater aquarium, birds of America, environments of Africa, ancient Egypt and more. Website: exploremag.org
Berman Museum of World History
Featuring more than 8,000 artifacts, the museum presents treasures and objects from around the world, including paintings and sculptures. Exhibit halls highlight the American West, rare and exotic weapons, Asian art, World Wars, a Pearl Harbor room and exhibit on espionage. A new temporary gallery features the art of enamelwork and cloisonné pieces. Website: exploreamag.org
International Motorsports Hall of Fame – Talladega
The International Motorsports Hall of Fame celebrates those who have contributed to the history of motorsports racing. In addition to the three exhibit halls and pavilion area, the Motorsports Hall of Fame also includes the McCaig-Wellborn Motorsports Research Library, a 3,000-square-foot space with more than 14,000 volumes of books, magazines and other research materials. Website: motorsportshalloffame.com
Auburn
Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art
Located on the campus of Auburn University, the museum contains six exhibition galleries offering 40,000 square feet of interior space to explore. Current exhibitions include Bernini and the Roman Baroque, Outside in and Lili Quintero Weaver: Darkroom Drawings. Website: jcsm.auburn.edu
Montgomery
Legacy Museum
Located on a site where enslaved people were once warehoused and a block from one of the prominent slave auction spaces in America, the Equal Justice Initiative’s museum employs unique technology to dramatize the enslavement of African Americans, the evolution of racial terror lynchings, legalized racial segregation and racial hierarchy in America. Website: museumandmemorial.eji.org/museum
Freedom Rides Museum
This Civil Rights museum located in a historic Greyhound Bus Station is dedicated to sharing the stories of the 1961 Freedom Rides. Website: ahc.alabama.gov/FreedomRidesPlanYourVisit.aspx
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
Established in the 1930s, the museum displays several art collections featuring examples of 19th and 20th century American paintings and sculptures, Southern art and other works. Current exhibitions include Bethany Collins, Anderson Scott, Revolution and Revival, The Language of Flowers and the ongoing Caddell Sculpture Garden. Website: mmfa.org
The Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum
This is the only museum dedicated to the lives and legacies of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. The Fitzgeralds lived at the home from 1931 until 1932, writing portions of their respective novels “Tender Is the Night” and “Save Me the Waltz” during their time in Montgomery. Website: thefitzgeraldmuseum.org
Huntsville
U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum
This museum is dedicated to promoting the accomplishments of military men and women. Displays include more than 30 historic military vehicles, dozens of weapons, uniforms and artifacts. Website: memorialmuseum.org
U.S. Space and Rocket Museum
A Smithsonian Affiliate and the official visitor center for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the museum houses one of the largest collections of rockets and space memorabilia. Website: rocketcenter.com
Huntsville Museum of Art
Founded in 1970, the museum’s 75,034-square-foot facility is in downtown Huntsville and includes 14 galleries. Website: hsvmuseum.org
Earlyworks Children’s Museum
EarlyWorks Children’s Museum is designed for children as a hands-on, interactive history museum. This facility best serves children ages 2-9. Website: earlyworks.com/earlyworks-childrens-museum
Cullman
Crooked Creek Civil War Museum
This park is located on a battle site where Union Col. Abel Straight and Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest fought for several hours, with a museum housed in an old log cabin and features numerous Civil War memorabilia. Website: visitcullman.org
