Home to numerous world-class museums, there’s no shortage of great museums in Fort Worth to choose from.
No matter what kind of Fort Worth Museums you are looking to visit, you have plenty of options. Fort Worth has museums celebrating the cowboy culture, modern art, aviation museums a living history museum, and everything in between.
Visiting museums is one of the best things to do in Fort Worth.
Below you’ll find the ultimate guide to the best museums in Fort Worth.
Best Fort Worth Museums
American Airlines CR Smith Museum
Aviation enthusiasts can explore the history of American Airlines, what it takes to fly a plane, and learn how airplanes work.
Visitors will enjoy the hands-on exhibits like the flight simulators, slide down the evacuation slide, make flight decisions at the airline command center, and explore a MD-80 cockpit, and baggage loader area.
American Paint Horse Association
This is a small museum with free admission but is worth visiting. Visitors will learn about this singular breed and its unique place in the equestrian and western world.
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
One of the largest museums in Fort Worth, Texas, and its history dates back to 1935. Collections at the Carter Museum feature artworks of creative and complex American Art.
Artists in the collection include Georgia O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams. They also have rotating special exhibits that showcase the work of contemporary artists.
This free museum also offers lectures, concerts, films, and family-friendly programs throughout the year.
Fort Worth Aviation Museum
This aviation museum features over 60 aircraft, including vintage planes and helicopters and a World War II bomber.
Visitors can climb aboard the planes and try out the flight simulators.
Fort Worth Museum of Science & History
Located next door to the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, is this exciting, hands-on museum.
The museum offers hands-on and immersive interactive exhibits that are fun for all ages. Being a “museum within a museum” offers guests to experience the planetarium, a children’s museum, Dino Labs & Dino Dig, and Cattle Raisers Museum, you need to plan on spending several hours exploring all they have to offer.
John Wayne: An American Experience
John Wayne: An American Experience is located in the heart of the Fort Worth Stockyards! Featuring over 400 pieces of personal and professional memorabilia, the exhibit will take you through John Wayne’s life and how he achieved the ultimate American dream through hard work and determination.
Kimbell Art Museum
The Kimbell Art Museum is one of the most renowned art museums in America. It features some of the world’s most iconic artwork ranging from ancient to contemporary art. Admission is always free for the permanent exhibits.
It also has rotating exhibitions that showcase art from artists like Van Gogh, Picasso, and Monet.
The artwork isn’t the only thing worth admiring. According to TripAdvisor, the Kimbell has been named one of “America’s Best Architectural Wonders” by Smithsonian Magazine.
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Leonard’s Department Store Museum
Leonard’s Department Store was located in downtown Fort Worth and opened from 1918 through the 1970s.
The museum dedicated to its memory displays photographs of the store and its employees, memorabilia like a popcorn machine and store advertisements, and even a piece of the store escalator, the first in Fort Worth.
My favorite tradition is that on two Saturdays in December, they offer photos with Santa. Guests even get FREE Polaroids with Santa. Such a fun tradition.
Log Cabin Village
This living history museum depicts what life would be like in the 1800s. Visitors will explore nine structures, which include log cabins, farmhouses, blacksmith shops, and rural scenes with interactive exhibits.
Visitors will get to experience what life was like for early settlers. The museum is equipped with original furnishings, clothes, and artifacts from the period.
There are also daily demonstrations from costumed interpreters who show skills such as spinning wool and making candles.
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Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
The Modern Art Museum is one of the best art museums in Texas.
It offers a variety of permanent pieces from contemporary and international modern artists.
Exhibits include photography, paintings, sculptures, drawings, and textiles. The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth also has one of the largest American modernist paintings and sculpture collections. Artists include Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Jackson Pollock in America.
National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
This is the only museum in the world dedicated to honoring women in the West. It includes interactive exhibit galleries that feature artifacts of the permanent collection, a renovated second floor with new exhibits, a traveling exhibit gallery, two theaters, a gift shop, a research library, and archives.
Be sure to visit the Bucking Bronc Room. Visitors can ride a mechanical bronc and receive a video of them trying out the new skill!
Oscar E. Monnig Meteorite Gallery
Located on the TCU campus, this free museum is a fun place to explore and learn about outer space.
Visitors will experience pieces of the Solar System up close and explore the mysteries of meteorites!
Sid Richardson Museum
Located in Sundance Square, this free museum features special and permanent exhibitions of paintings by the premier Western artists, Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell.
They also offer programs throughout the year for both children and adults. The programs range from art classes, lectures, summer camp programs, and more.
Stockyards Museum
Located in the 1902 Livestock Exchange Building, this museum is home to a collection of artifacts and exhibits documenting the history of the Chisholm Trail, the livestock market, and Fort Worth’s Native American culture.
Those wanting to learn about the rich history of Fort Worth’s historic Stockyards need to visit this museum.
Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame
The museum is located in the Exhibits Building in the heart of the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District.
The Hall of Fame honors 151 Texas men and women who have excelled in the sport of rodeo and cutting, performing ranching, and rodeo sports medicine.
Guests can also enjoy “the world’s largest lifestyle wagon collection” that features more than 60 antique wagons, carriages, and sleighs.
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Texas Civil War Museum
The museum has an extensive military collection, and it also holds significant collections of domestic objects and historic flags, personal items and artifacts, and postwar Victorian attire.
One of my favorite exhibits is the largest collection of original, historic Texas flags in the state.
Vintage Flying Museum
The Vintage Flying Museum is a unique “working” museum where visitors can see what it takes to “Keep ‘em Flying”. With over 30 exhibits that include vintage aircraft and warbirds, this is a great museum for aviation enthusiasts.
The museum also has special events throughout the year like dances, school activities, ride days, and more.
Looking for museums in Dallas? You might want to check out these:
- Crow Museum of Asian Art
- Dallas Contemporary Museum
- Dallas Museum of Art
- George W. Bush Presidential Center
- Nasher Sculpture Center
- Perot Museum of Nature
- Sixth Floor Museum
