Museum sights in Great Plains
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National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum covers both art and history. Even if you come for just one, you're sure to be enthralled by the other. The excellent collection of Western painting and sculpture features many works by Charles M Russell and Frederic Remington while the historical galleries range from barbed wire to rodeos to cowboy hats.
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City Museum
Possibly the wildest highlight to any visit to St Louis, City Museum is a frivolous, frilly fun-house in a vast old shoe factory. The Museum of Mirth, Mystery and Mayhem sets the tone. Run, jump and explore all manner of exhibits. A new Ferris wheel on the roof ($5) offers grand views of the city.
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Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Giant badminton shuttlecocks (the building represents the net) surround the encyclopedic Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, which has standout European painting, photography and Asian art collections. Its luminescent and cock-free Bloch Building, designed by Steven Holl, has earned rave reviews.
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Truman Presidential Museum & Library
Just east of Kansas City, Independence was the home of Harry S Truman, US president from 1945 to 1953. The Truman Presidential Museum & Library exhibits thousands of objects, including the famous 'The BUCK STOPS here!' sign, from the man who led the US through one of its most tumultuous eras.
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Iowa Historical Building
The ambitious Iowa Historical Building includes a library and museum, with exhibits ranging from a 15,000 year old Iowan Hebior mammoth to the more contemporary 'Favorite Things of the 20th Century' exhibit, which tries to explain our fascination with such things as pacemakers and miniskirts.
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Magic House Children's Museum
Kids will have a blast at the Magic House Children's Museum, where the hands-on activities are both fun and educational. If the Fitness Safari doesn't tucker 'em out, try the Face Blender, the Gear Wall, or the Kids TV station and recording studio.
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Gateway Arch
The centerpiece of the Jefferson National Park Service property, the silvery, shimmering Gateway Arch is the Great Plains' own Eiffel Tower. It stands 630ft high and symbolizes St Louis' historical role as 'Gateway to the West.
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Arabia Steamboat Museum
The Arabia Steamboat Museum is home to 200 tons of salvaged 'treasure' from a riverboat that sunk in 1856 (one of hundreds claimed by the river). It's in City Market, which is an attraction itself.
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Old Courthouse & Museum
Facing the Arch, the 1845 Old Courthouse & Museum is where the famed Dred Scott slavery case was first tried. Galleries depict the trial's history, as well as that of the city.
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Hallmark Visitors Center
The Hallmark Visitors Center features not-terribly-interesting exhibits on the greeting card giant's history, but hey, Hallmark is one of KC's biggest employers, so cut it some slack.
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Sturgis Motorcycle Museum
The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum houses dozens of bikes, including many classics. A 'freedom fighters' exhibit honors those who have fought for the rights of bikers.
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Museum of Geology
You can see some classy dinosaur bones, including a plesiosaur skeleton, and piles of very old rocks in the Museum of Geology at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
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Leila's Hair Museum
The remarkable Leila's Hair Museum in Independence holds the world's largest (and only public) collection of wreaths and jewelry made from hair, a popular 19th century art form.
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Journey Museum
The fortress-like Journey Museum takes you on a trip through 2½ billion years of the history of the Black Hills with lots of space given to the Lakota Sioux and dinosaurs.
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National Frontier Trails Museum
The National Frontier Trails Museum gives a good look at life for the pioneers along the Santa Fe, California and Oregon Trails; many began their journey in Independence.
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Missouri History Museum
The story of St Louis, starring such worthies as the world's fair, Charles Lindbergh and a host of bluesmen, is presented in the Missouri History Museum.
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St Louis Art Museum
In the grounds is the grand beaux arts St Louis Art Museum, originally built for the fair. A storied institution, its collections span time and styles.
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Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum
The story of America's worst incident of domestic terrorism is told at the engrossing Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum
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Museum of Westward Expansion
The subterranean Museum of Westward Expansion, under the Arch, chronicles the Lewis and Clark expedition.
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Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts
Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts has programs and exhibits across disciplines including architecture.
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Oklahoma City Museum of Art
The Oklahoma City Museum of Art displays good 20th-century American art.
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