Art museums, children’s museums, natural history museums, and others can be found in cities across the US. There are over 15,000 museums that feature every aspect of American life. Several art museums are the A.I.R. Gallery in Chelsea, New York that features women artists from the US and around the world. The 1950’s Park Forest House Museum in Park Forest, Illinois has an authentic 1950’s home decorated with art work, toys, furniture, appliances, clothing, and other objects from this time. The Ableza’s Native American Virtual Cultural Center in California is a Native American Arts & Film Institute that demonstrates the culture of the Native American through film.
Wax museums can also be found, including Madame Tussauds, which is located in Times Square in New York City. There are many realistic figures of famous actors, historical figures and politicians, including President and Mrs. Obama.
Natural history museums may have displays of dinosaurs and prehistoric times as well as exhibits that feature the lives of earlier generations who once lived in a particular area years ago up to present times. There might be a reconstructed paddle boat that visitors can walk through with wooden figures of workers on the dock unloading the boxes or belongings from immigrants in the early 1900’s. Another area of the natural history museum may have a realistic rendition of old village shops from the late 1800’s that show how people purchased food and medicine in earlier times. There could be a display of uniforms and guns that were actually used in World War II.
Children’s museums are specifically designed to interest children and to teach them through play. There are usually some scientific experiments that children can do as they play, such as watching a coin roll down a large sloped bowl. Many of these museums have water play where children can stand around a stainless steel “river” and build dams, float boats, and try other experiments with water. There may also be a Tree House where children can climb through a pretend jungle and imagine what it is like among the tress and wildlife.
