This will be one epic road trip. You’ll explore everything from a one-of-a-kind children’s museum to a beautiful fine art museum. So gas up the vehicle and grab some snacks, it’s time to hit the road on an epic museum trip through Missouri! We’ve even got historic places to stay along the way.
Day One
A. Pony Express National Museum
On April 3, 1860, a lone rider, the first of his kind, left Pikes Peak Stables in St. Joseph, marking the start of the Pony Express. Brave riders, carrying saddlebags filled with our nation’s hopes and dreams, traveled more than 2,000 miles west to California. Today, the stables house a modern, interactive and educational tribute to the history and legend...
B. Patee House Museum
In the Patee House Museum, you can climb aboard an 1860 train and ride a vintage carousel. The museum houses an 1877 railroad depot, a stagecoach, automobiles, wagons, buggies and countless other exhibits.Constructed in 1858 as a luxury hotel, the building has been a hotel three times, a girls college twice, the Union Army Provost Marshal's office during the Civil War, the headquarters for the Pony Express and a shirt factory. One block away, visit the home where the infamous outlaw Jesse James was shot and killed on April 3, 1882.
C. Jesse James Home
Jesse James was murdered in this house on April 3, 1882, by fellow gang member Bob Ford. The home includes artifacts from Jesse’s life and death, as well as items from Frank James and the Ford brothers. The museum includes items from the 1995 exhumation of Jesse James. Part of the Patee House Museum complex. We recommend calling to confirm...
D. Holladay Distillery
While not a museum, this distillery is still a piece of Missouri history. It is the longest running distillery west of the Mississippi. Make plans to stop and spend your evening enjoying a tour and tasting of Missouri Bourbon.
E. Hatchery House
Get a great nights sleep and recharge for day two at this historic home in Weston. Each room is designed to be inviting, relaxing and tranquil. You can enjoy fireplaces, in room Jacuzzi bathtubs, local wine, local beer, and charcuterie tray.
Day Two
A. National WWI Museum and Memorial
The National WWI Museum and Memorial is America’s leading institution dedicated to remembering, interpreting and understanding the Great War and its enduring impacts on the global community. The Museum and Memorial holds the most comprehensive collection of World War I objects and documents in the world and is the second-oldest public museum dedicated to preserving the objects, history and experiences...
B. American Jazz Museum
Located in the historic 18th and Vine Jazz District, the American Jazz Museum showcases the sights and sounds of a uniquely American art form. Activities include interactive exhibits; films; the Changing Gallery; the Blue Room Jazz Club; and the Gem Theater, a 500-seat performing arts center. We offer education and community-based programs, traveling exhibits, live musical performances and special events....
C. Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
The Truman Library offers theaters, a museum store and dozens of interactive and hands-on exhibits designed to engage all ages.
D. Bushwhacker Museum and Jail
The Bushwhacker Museum, housed in a renovated 1920s garage and Ford agency, is a regional history center serving as a repository of more than 150 years of Vernon County history. In the circa 1860 stone jail, visitors experience the cell-room of medieval malevolence, and visit the restored sheriff's home.
Learn why the Osage Indian tribe welcomed the first white settlers and why the tribe eventually left the region. Discover why Federal troops during the Civil War called Nevada, The Bushwhacker Capital. Find out how the community survived and thrived. See what life was like for the POWs at Camp Clark during WWII.
Open May-October. Admission: $5; ages 12-17, $2; younger than 12, $1.
E. Route 66 Museum
Take a self-guided tour of this museum, which features recreations of a 1950s gas station and a classic diner, along with displays of antique cars, a collection of Route 66 books, magazines and videos. The museum is located at the Lebanon-Laclede County Library.
F. Hotel Vandivort
Rest up for another day of adventure at the Hotel Vandivort. Hotel Vandivort's unique rooms span two buildings: Historic, a repurposed, century-old structure that was once a Masonic Temple; and V2, which sits just steps away from the original building.
Day Three
A. History Museum on the Square
History Museum on the Square is located right on historic Route 66 in Springfield, MO. Our six permanent galleries tell the stories of significant events in Springfield and create distinct and intentional dialogues about objects, individuals, and history– dialogues that foster examinations of unique aspects of Springfield, Greene County and its people. A rich and vast collection of artifacts, photographs, and...
B. Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium
Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium consists of a 1.5-million-gallon aquarium adventure showcasing 35,000 live fish, mammals, reptiles and birds, and immersive wildlife galleries that bring visitors eye-to-eye with the greatest collection of record-setting game animals ever assembled. This is the perfect place for family fun. Located adjacent to Bass Pro Shops National Headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, the...
C. Route 66 Car Museum
Located on historic Route 66, the museum features a collection of more than 75 vintage sports cars, classic automobiles, and several movie and celebrity cars. The latest addition includes one of NASCAR’s Mello Yello cars like the one featured in the movie Days of Thunder with Tom Cruise. You’ll find lots of automobile memorabilia and collectible die-cast cars in the...
Day Four
A. John B. Mahaffey Museum Complex, Fort Leonard Wood
This complex of military museums has a World War II camp replica with barracks, chapel and mess hall. Also see the Army Engineer Museum, Military Police Museum, and the Chemical Corps Museum. Note this complex is on a working military base. As such, photo ID, vehicle registration and proof of insurance required to enter the post.
B. Route 66 Neon Park, St. Robert
This outdoor, open-air museum features restored, vintage neon signs that originated along Historic Route 66. Signs were rescued from St. Louis to Carthage and are displayed within the historic George M. Reed Roadside Park on Route 66 in St Robert, MO. Plan your visit to take this site in, both day and evening, as neon lights up the evening sky...
C. Missouri State Museum
The museum is located inside the Capitol. There are two galleries on the main floor. The displays cover Missouri's history, natural resources, veterans, the westward expansion, famous Missourians, the Civil War in Missouri, and other historic subjects. Exhibits are changed periodically.
D. Missouri State Penitentiary Museum
In conjunction with the Missouri State Penitentiary tours, the museum provides additional historical information about the famous prison that operated for 168 years. Located in the lower level of the Marmaduke House, the museum houses MSP memorabilia and a replica cell that demonstrates the living conditions at the prison. Visitors can view the many displays that provide information on prison...
E. The Tiger Hotel – Columbia
A full-service luxury boutique-hotel with 62 guestrooms and suites. Guests enjoy all of the business services and first-rate amenities of a luxury hotel, including valet parking, business and fitness centers and Internet access throughout the property.Our meeting/event space accommodates 400 guests, in historic and thoroughly modern spaces. Our Grand Ballroom boasts original crystal chandeliers, ornate moldings and hardwood floors.Vault, a...
Day Five
A. MU Museum of Anthropology
The Museum of Anthropology is located on the ground floor of Ellis Library (1020 Lowry St., Columbia, MO 65203). Permanent exhibits focus on Native American cultures from throughout North America. Rotating exhibits cover all fields of anthropology and archaeology. The Museum’s archaeological collection is the largest holding of prehistoric Missouri artifacts in the world. It includes items ranging from 9,500...
B. National Churchill Museum
In 1946, at Westminster College in Fulton, Winston Churchill delivered one of the most significant speeches of his long and illustrious career. That address, formally entitled, “The Sinews of Peace,” is better known as the Iron Curtain Speech, because of the evocative phrase: “An Iron Curtain has descended across the Continent…” That speech effectively marked the beginning of the Cold...
C. Missouri History Museum
Originally built as the first national monument to Thomas Jefferson, the Missouri History Museum looks at the history of St. Louis from its founding in 1764 up to the present day. The Museum is located in beautiful Forest Park, on the site of the main entrance to the 1904 World’s Fair. The Jefferson Memorial Building section of the Museum was...
D. 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis
21c Museum Hotels reimagines a historic St. Louis fixture: the 10-story, Renaissance Revival-style YMCA building. Located in the heart of downtown St. Louis, and a short walk from the City Museum and CITYPARK stadium, 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis includes a 173-room boutique hotel, contemporary art museum, Idol Wolf restaurant, Good Press café and Locust Street Athletic and Swim Club – a full-service wellness center. With more...
Day Six
A. The Griot Museum of Black History
Only the second of its kind the country, The Griot Museum of Black History and Culture opened as The Black World History Wax Museum in February 1997. The Griot Museum of Black History and Culture interprets stories and features life-size likenesses of African Americans with a regional connection whose life activities influenced the state, region, and sometimes the entire country. A must-see destination on your museum trip, there is something for the entire family to learn at the Griot Museum of Black History & Culture.
B. Gateway Arch National Park
The national park includes the Gateway Arch, the Old Courthouse and the Museum at the Arch. Ride the tram to the top of the Gateway Arch, view a film, enjoy the extensive collection of artifacts and history of the American West in the museum, learn about the freedom trials of Dred Scott, which took place at the Old Courthouse. Operated by...