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
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
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
B. American Jazz Museum
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
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
B. Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium
C. Route 66 Car Museum
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
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
E. The Tiger Hotel – Columbia
Day Five
A. MU Museum of Anthropology
B. National Churchill Museum
C. Missouri History Museum
D. 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis
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.